The importance of Pre-marriage Counselling
Marriage is life defining. Consider the amount of preparation the goes into making a wedding a success. When an event requires such in-depth thinking and planning, a relationship will require much more. Pre-marriage counselling is the best way to make your marriage a success as it helps build a strong relationship on healthy and even footing.
What is pre-marriage counselling?
This is counselling given to make you marriage ready. There are broadly two types of pre-marriage counselling; the singles counselling and the couples counselling.
Singles counselling
This therapy is given to individuals before they actively start looking for their life partner. Every person is different and you will have your own idea of marriage based on your unique life experience and expectations. You may have specific issues including past relationships, future intimacy issues, dysfunctions, emotional hang ups, psychological problems, social issues or sexuality issues. These will have to be addressed before you take the next step.
Singles counselling does this. It will help you understand your physical, emotional and psychological needs. You will get clear idea of whether marriage is right for you at the moment, the sort of life partner you prefer, your willingness to change and adapt and the place the new relationship will hold in your life.
In short, singles therapy will let you know if you are marriage ready.
Couples therapy
This therapy comes during your engagement period. If singles therapy helped you know who you are, couples therapy will help you discover who you will be as a couple.
A marriage requires considerable adaptations from both the man and the wife. Traditional roles are changing, and with it what every person desires in a marriage. The greatest change is that marriage today is rarely between two families. It is between two individuals with a highly evolved sense of identity, each successful in his or her world. There is risk of a clash between personalities, emotions, goals and expectations.
Compatibility
Couples therapy will address these issues and help you understand each other better. By tabling your expectations, marriage and family goals, physical, sexual and emotional needs from the marriage, you can find middle ground. The sessions will assess your compatibility with your spouse on issues such as gender equality, liberalisation, career aspirations and expectations, financial management, work-home balance and everything else that can strain a marriage. It will also help you find commonality without compromising your individuality.
Therapy will help prepare you mentally for married life. The sessions will help you understand the significance of marriage, build a strong and healthy relationship with your spouse based on mutual respect and understanding. You will be able to live together and flourish within your unique space in your marriage.
Medical compatibility
Certain medical problems such as thalassaemia, haemophilia, sickle-cell anaemia, and certain strains of Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and others can destroy a marriage. It is best to rule out these diseases and conditions before you take the important step. During a couples counselling, you and your partner-to-be will be tested to check if you have any of these conditions.
Pre-marriage counselling will address
- Beliefs and values
- Individual and joint finances
- Individual and joint decision making
- Dealing with anger
- Problem resolution
- Affection, emotions and sexual issues
- Together time
- Roles in your marriage
- Family relationships
- Children and parenting
Benefits of pre-marriage counselling
- Improve effective communication
- Establish joint goals
- Promote better understanding
- Resolve problem areas before they become problematic
- Overcome marriage anxiety
- Establish strategies for success
Pe-marriage counselling is the best preparation for a successful marriage. Take your journey into matrimony seriously. Invest a little time in getting pre-marriage counselling. It could ease your way into a long and happy married life. Contact us now for expert guidance in all aspects of married life.