Why Consider Pre-Marital Counseling?
It is likely that the easiest aspect of marriage is the formal act of getting married. Staying married, on the other hand, is not always without challenges. Pre-marital counseling is an investment in the quality and longevity of your relationship. Couples who participate in pre-marital counseling at Ellis Evaluation & Consulting Services learn skills designed to strengthen their capacity to discuss, plan for, and resolve some of the most common issues known to derail relationship bonds and satisfaction.
Specifically, we work with dating and engaged couples to:
∗ Identify and evaluate their strength and growth areas
∗ Develop an ability to resolve conflicts in a supportive and affirming manner
∗ Identify, discuss, and address areas of potential gridlock
∗ Explore how their personality traits can be celebrated and used to contribute to relationship wellness
∗ Strengthen their communication skills
∗ Cultivate and enhance sex and intimacy
∗ Identify and develop stress management skills
∗ Discuss how their family backgrounds and experiences impact expectations, personal views of marriage, and interaction patterns
∗ Comfortably discuss financial issues and develop a realistic financial plan
∗ Establish personal, couple, and family goals
∗ Consider issues related to children and parenting
∗ Learn ways to keep their relationship strong by maintaining a deep friendship, sharing fondness and admiration, and creating shared meaning
Pre-Marital Counseling Session Format
Pre-marital counseling sessions generally last 45 minutes, however 90 minute sessions can be scheduled. The first session provides an overview of the counseling process. Additionally, time is taken to review the your strength and growth areas (as identified by the Prepare/Enrich Inventory) and obtain a history of your relationship.
The following sessions are dedicated to helping you address your growth areas and capitalize on your strengths. Discussion and practice exercises are regularly incorporated into sessions to help facilitate skill building. Although couples are free to attend as many or few sessions they deem necessary, we recommend that couples attend 8-10 sessions to allow time to fully cover the areas listed above.
Couples who attend at least 6 counseling sessions will receive a notarized certificate of completion. The certificate will provide evidence that Georgia couples can use as proof that they have met Georgia state requirements to receive a discount on their marriage license.
We have created a workshop for dating and engaged couples. Our Marriage Preparation Workshop is designed to provide education and an opportunity for participants to begin conversation around common couple-focused topics.
Our Marriage Preparation Workshops are held each month from 9:30am-5:30pm on the 3rd Saturday (in Atlanta, Georgia) and the 4th Saturday (in Torrance, California).
Couples participating in the workshop will be guided through discussions and exercises designed to help them:
∗ Identify and evaluate their strength and growth areas
∗ Develop an ability to resolve conflicts in a supportive and affirming manner
∗ Identify, discuss, and address areas of potential gridlock
∗ Explore how their personality traits can be celebrated and used to contribute to relationship wellness
∗ Strengthen their communication skills
∗ Cultivate and enhance sex and intimacy
∗ Identify and develop stress management skills
∗ Discuss how their family backgrounds and experiences impact expectations, personal views of marriage, and interaction patterns
∗ Comfortably discuss financial issues and develop a realistic financial plan
∗ Establish personal, couple, and family goals
∗ Consider issues related to children and parenting
∗ Learn ways to keep their relationship strong by maintaining a deep friendship, sharing fondness and admiration, and creating shared meaning
Participants in our Marriage Preparation Workshops will be provided with opportunities to engage in discussion on the listed topics. Participants will additionally be introduced to skills designed to build closer, more successful relationships.
To help deepen understanding, participating couples have an option to complete the Prepare/Enrich Relationship Inventory (for an additional cost) prior to attending the workshop. Couples who choose to complete the inventory will be provided with a copy of their printed results during the workshop. All workshop participants will be provided with informational handouts and resources.
The content covered during our workshop will meet the requirements to receive a discount for a marriage license in the State of Georgia. As such, workshop participants will additionally receive a certificate of workshop completion.
Please note: The format of the workshop does not allow for deep or individualized discussion of the topics covered. If participants desire more individualized attention, pre-marital counseling may be a more appropriate option.