Therapeutic Services

Premarital Counseling

Today's clergy and wedding officiants recommend and often require premarital counseling. As someone who has worked with many marriages in trouble, I heartily agree. The stars in the eyes of couples about to marry often cloud their perception of reality, and sometimes cause them to overlook or ignore critical matters that can make or break the relationship. The benefits of premarital counseling far exceed the time, effort and cost. You will have the opportunity that couples in love might neglect in their blissful trip to the altar:

To confirm and validate the positive reasons for this marriage
To explore differences in your backgrounds that can enhance your partnership
To anticipate and avoid difficulties and arguments that can arise from your differences.
To discuss these essential but difficult (or possibly even taboo) topics, such as the roles of each partner, expectations, finances, sexuality, religion, conflict styles and management, childrearing, in-laws.
To raise any concerns either partner has about the future, with a supportive facilitator as a coach and assistant.

I offer a premarital counseling package at a cost considerably below my usual fee. It includes: three 2-hour counseling sessions (total of 6 hours) for $585, which is less than $100/hr. This is the amount of time often required by clergy for premarital counseling. A longer amount of time might be needed if there are any issues already popping up that need to be resolved, or if there are previous marriages or children to take into account. It is possible that insurance will reimburse you for a portion of the cost, depending on the issues related.