Are you ready to find premarital bliss and start your marriage with a strong foundation? With the stress of planning, wedding conversation can overshadow important relationship conversations. This usually leads to a a growing “We’ll figure it out later” list.

Premarital counseling is most helpful for the unfinished and uncomfortable conversations that need support & guidance from an online premarital pro.

As a licensed marriage family therapist that specializes in premarital counseling, I often help couples to unpack:

• Financial Goals & Expectations

• Family Boundaries with In-Laws

• Relationship Roles & Marital Expectations

• Sexual Expectations & Monogamy Contracts

• Parenting Expectations

• Cultural/Ethnic Issues

• Conflict Resolution & Communication

Pre marriage counseling is perfect for unpacking the unfinished conversations that you’ve put on the back burner because of anxiety or fear of conflict.

A Happy Marriage is one of the most Important Life Objectives for 93% of Americans”

Did you know that?

If you’re reading this, this statistic likely includes you and that you are not alone in wanting to ensure a strong fulfilling and lasting partnership.

Statistics show that pre marriage counseling attributes to higher marital success.

In fact, Premarital counseling is associated with lower divorce rates, lower relationship conflict, and higher quality in your relationship. It’s also shown that those who attend premarital counseling were better off than 80% of couples who decided against counseling (Carlson et al., 2012).

Investing the time and energy for a deep dive into your relationship strengths, growth areas, values, and expectations is key to cultivating a strong foundation in your marriage.

My partner is hesitant about sharing our business with a stranger…

Trust me. As a couples therapist, I get it and hear this quite often.

Couples often have apprehension seeking guidance from family, friends, or pastor when it comes to intricacies of their intimate relationship. You may also have hesitation speaking to a stranger…especially if you come from a family with an unspoken (or spoken) rule that “you don’t share your business with others”

However, like with anything else (career , school, sports, etc.), relationships need support too! You’re likely outsourcing support for your wedding. Why not for your relationship?

If we take a step back and look at the multiple contexts of our life. How many of them are we actually working on or succeeding at by ourselves?

We expect and lean on support in so many other aspects of our lives. Why should we shy away from support for a healthy strong fulfilling marriage? It’s kinda nuts when you think about it.

My role in therapy is to serve as an outside perspective. The fact that I am not emotionally entangled or emotionally involved with you allows me to serve as an outside supportive perspective from a blank slate.

There is no shame in seeking to strengthen your relationship with the help of an objective unbiased relationship expert (me!). I have helped countless couples navigate these intimate personal conversations.

Will you be next?

So what is premarital counseling like with me?

Before our initial session, you will each complete a customized premarital assessment called Prepare/Enrich. This is an in-depth evaluation that will give us a snapshot of the relationship dynamics, strengths, and growth areas in the relationship.

Note that I work from a strength based approach.

Our first focus will be on assessing & improving your communication skills as communication is the heart of a fulfilling relationship.

After identifying any current major relationship stressors, you will learn and apply (in session) specific communication tools to better manage these stressors in real-time. You will be armed with conflict resolution tools that you will have in your back pocket for future disagreements or concerns.

I believe in giving authentic feedback about growth areas and potential future issues that may arise based on your assessment and my observations of your dynamics in real-time. In addition, you will receive a couples workbook from which we will utilize certain exercises based on your personalized assessment. This resource is a gem that you will keep after our work is done and that many couples continue to refer to over the course of their relationship.

As a trained & certified facilitator of Prepare/Enrich, I can assure you that it is a trusted resource with evidence-based tools and exercises based on 40 years of research that is continuously being updated. The data speaks for itself! You can learn more about the assessment HERE.

My therapeutic style offers a safe compassionate environment and I emphasize accountability and real-world application. From navigating the intricate steps of financial decisions to gracefully handling those family curveballs, my framework for counseling equips you with the tools to overcome current & future challenges side by side. With me in your corner, you'll feel solid as a couple against life's surprises.

Are you ready to take the next step in supporting your relationship goals as you take your commitment to the next level?

Pre marriage counseling provides your relationship with an extra solid layer of safety & trust.

As a relationship therapist who has expertise in betrayal trauma, infidelity repair, and has helped couples in serious crisis for 10 years - I have seen some wild sh*t!

This is not to scare you! But it’s to say that you’re in really good hands as I have worked with couples very early on in their relationship AND couples married for decades who are coming to me at their wit’s end.

So, I can easily spot current healthy & unhealthy patterns and dynamics BEFORE they become super problematic in the future. Generally, you are getting help before you truly need it.

And trust me, life will throw some curveballs at you and test your relationship at some point. Crisis, loss, and unexpected stressors are normal but how you respond and manage as a couple will determine the amount of strain it puts on your relationship.

Assuming you show up authentically & transparently, I can help you avoid the most common mishaps that couples who forego working with a relationship therapist usually come to me with much later in their relationship, sometimes decades later.

In addition, you’ll save a ton of money, time, and energy…as you won’t be starting couples therapy with years’ worth of built up resentment & open salty wounds.

The most fulfilling thing as a premarital counselor that I get to witness is couples walking away with more confidence and empowerment in navigating future relationship issues.

We’re interested but it is expensive…

Yes it is expensive…but can you afford to NOT do it?

This is an investment in your relationship AND for each of you individually. There is ample research reflecting that relationship distress has a negative influence on mental health.

For example, it’s been found that non-depressed partners in dissatisfying relationships were nearly three times more likely than those in happy relationships to experience depression.

Communication & conflict resolution skills are at the root of getting through tough times in a relationship and are necessary to expressing your needs and getting them met.

So investing earlier in your relationship doesn’t require as much “unlearning" of the unhealthy habits and behaviors of relationship communication issues.

Investing in your relationship NOW can help you avoid financially expensive and emotionally taxing experiences down the line. Investing now will save you a lot of money and emotional turmoil regardless of it’s for therapy down the line or divorce proceedings.

Think of it like going to the dentist for a cleaning.

In my experience, most couples wait until they have a couple of painful cavities to even consider couples therapy.

You don’t have to wait until you’re in unbearable pain to book an appointment. Well, what are you waiting for?

Perks of Premarital Counseling (with me!):

• It is typically a short-term process. So there is not nearly as much of a time/energy/financial investment as traditional couples therapy.

• It is future-focused and strengths-based! It is not problem-saturated and is focused on strengthening and sustaining the already good stuff in the relationship.

• I don’t see more than 8 couples per week. This optimizes my ability to be consistent in my energy, presence, and bandwidth for every single session. This also allows me to dedicate the very important time outside of sessions to further customize exercises, interventions and techniques that are unique to each couple.

• The Prepare/Enrich assessment tool is customized - beyond any other premarital tool I’ve come across in my career. It also continues to adapt and react to the changing reality of relationships and our evolving world through continued research and development of assessments and resources.

Change is Inevitable…

But that does not have to be a strain on your relationship.

The fact is that each of YOU will evolve and will change…and so will your relationship.

Change is inevitable though it does not have to be distressing. Premarital counseling gives you the opportunity to better adapt and have some control over how it changes.

If you would like to get started and book your first session or discuss any questions that you have, you can book your free consultation below!