The decision to get married is a big one!

One that might cause anxiety even if you are sure you have made the right decision.  Anxiety, or being worried, can start from the moment you say ‘Yes’ and last right through until you are standing at the altar!

Premarital counseling is a step some couples are taking to increase their rate for success down the line.  Couples choose to engage in premarital counseling for a variety of reasons.

But what is premarital counseling?  The Mayo Clinic defines premarital counseling as ‘a type of therapy that helps clients prepare for marriage’. Some common concerns discussed during premarital counseling sessions can include financial goals, ideas about starting a family, role expectations, and intimacy issues, just to name a few.  The length of time the couples would be receiving sessions would vary among couples, depending on their treatment needs and the therapeutic approach of their counselor.

How does online premarital counseling work?

Online premarital counseling can be a possibility for couples in a few ways.

Depending on their needs and a psychotherapist’s approach to counseling, this can be done in a few online chat or digital video session or emails.  This is really entirely up to the couple and how much time they want to put into their sessions.
Some couples may have only a few concerns before the big day. Others may have a longer list of areas of focus.  There is no one right way!

One Approach

One example is engaging in digital chat or email exchanges in a solution-focused model.  Here, couples would meet with the therapist in either a chat session or exchange ideas through an email. From the onset the couple is asked to identify goals for the sessions.  Questions such as ‘What are you doing now, that you would like to see continue in your marriage?’ might be a typical question asked by a solution-focused therapist working with clients in a premarital counseling session.  Focusing on the positives couples already have and empowering clients with new skills would be some of the main goals of treatment on the part of the therapist.
As with each marriage, each couple waiting to be wed will have  unique needs in therapy.

What areas of married life do you think should be of focus in distance premarital counseling?

Belky Perez Schwartz is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida and on Breakthrough.com.  Read more about Belky Perez Schwartz on her website.

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