Westminster Premarital Counseling: A Solid Foundation for Your Marriage
Deciding if you want to get married and planning for the “big day” is a major turning point in life. Who you are today as individuals and as a couple will change immeasurably in the coming weeks, months and (we hope) years.
At this point, even the kinds of decisions you’re making are changing. You’re going from “What do you want to eat tonight?” to “What kind of food do we want to serve at the reception?” Instead of wondering about who to hang out with, you’re wondering about seating arrangements. Soon, you’ll be discussing household duties, parenting techniques, financial stability and more.
You’re beginning to have to make decisions that take into account two lives intertwining into one future.
In your sessions with us at Thriveworks Westminster Premarital Counseling, we’ll help you process through these considerations, as well as help prepare you for others that have yet to come but surely will.
Is Premarital Counseling Right for Us?
Unless you’ve been married in the past, your understanding of what it takes to build a deep, successful and potentially lifelong relationship is limited. Sure, you each have your parents’ example (for better or worse) and the example portrayed in the media (usually for worse), but you don’t have the ground-floor experience of what a marriage feels and looks like from the inside.
If you have been married in the past, then you do have some great insight on what to expect, but there is still more understanding we can provide you with to help ensure the stability of your current relationship.
Our counselors have worked with many couples at varying stages of their relationship — from first-time daters to seasoned spouses. Whether these couples have come to us in a moment of bliss for continued exploration of their relationship or during a period when the words being exchanged (if any) are more cutting than loving. We’ve seen it all, and can use our broad experience helping different types of couples work through unique issues to benefit your upcoming marriage.
What Should We Expect Premarital Counseling to be Like?
Since no two couples are exactly alike, no two premarital counseling programs look alike — we tailor our approach to your specific needs. While it’s not possible to predict every sort of conflict and challenge you will face in your relationship, it’s important that we address as many proactive solutions as possible up front, so you’ll be better equipped to know how to engage with even the most troublesome situations.
Some of the topics we address with our couples include:
- Open communication techniques (radical honesty is key)
- How to identify and approach conflicts constructively
- How to deepen your connection
- Methods for making mutually-beneficial compromises
- Spousal role expectations
- Family finances
- Balancing time together vs. individually or with friends
- Sexuality and intimacy
- Setting and achieving goals as a couple
It’s Your Turn to Drive
When you find your soulmate, you expect to be whisked away on a long-term adventure with the person you love most. You expect your happily ever after. It’s reasonable to want (if not expect) such a scenario, but you can’t make that dream a reality by simply letting life happen
You (both) must be present. You must decide (together) to have a say in the direction of your life and relationship.
Here’s our advice: It’s much more enjoyable (and much safer) to take this journey head-on with your hands firmly on the steering wheel and feet on the pedals. If you try to make it simply on cruise control, you’ll quickly find yourself veering off into a ditch — or worse.
Thriveworks Westminster Premarital Counseling is here to teach you how to drive, how to anticipate life’s curves and how to stay on track — together. Make your life and marriage what you want by being involved in the process from as early on as possible.
