Premarital Education/Counseling! A Must for Brides and Grooms!
Premarital Counseling/Education Should Be Like a Marriage License: Required!
Premarital non-religious counseling/education is known to cut the divorce rate among participants. For that reason, I think that it should be a prerequisite of marriage, just like a marriage license.
It's no secret that we face a huge divorce issue in the U.S. with approximately 50% of first-time marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 73% of third marriages ending in divorce. We also know that couples with children have a slightly lower divorce rate.
It's time to do something about it!
Address Problems BEFORE Marriage!
Engaged couples need to confront the issues that are troubling their relationships BEFORE they walk down that glorious aisle!
Maybe one of you likes the bubbly too much. Maybe one of you wants children--the other doesn't. Maybe you just disagree too much... Whatever the issues are, you need to address them now and not in divorce court a few years down the road.
It's time to grab the bull by the horns and solve your problems now!
Two Great Programs for Premarital Non-Religious Education/Counseling!
There are two great programs out there that you should research. One is called Prepare-Enrich and they summarize their program this way: "The PREPARE/ENRICH Program is used for premarital counseling, marriage preparation, marriage counseling and marriage enrichment. PREPARE/ENRICH includes a comprehensive couple assessment along with feedback using skills building exercises." Check it out: www.prepare-enrich.com
The other program is called PAIRS (Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills) and they characterize their program this way: "PAIRS mission is to teach those attitudes, emotional understandings, and behaviors that nurture and sustain healthy relationships and to make this knowledge broadly available on behalf of a safer, saner, more loving world." Check this one out too: www.pairs.com
There's Also Religious Counseling/Education...
For those of you who belong to a temple, church, etc. be aware that premarital counseling may be available. Be sure to ask your clergy. (The Catholic Church requires premarital counseling and if you think about it, it's a good idea.)
In Summary: Whether the counseling you receive is religious or non-religious, take the time to get some. Anything you can do to cut the risk of divorce is critical to the success of your marriage. And brides-to-be, if you put just one-tenth of the time you spend planning your wedding into planning your marriage--you will have done something very positive for you, your fiancé and our society.
