What is Premarital Counselling?

When we hear the term counselling we automatically assume it’s for the people who are already amidst the challenges and similar is the concept when it comes to premarital counselling. But it’s not always true. 

Premarital counselling helps couples prepare for the marriage. Marriage is a big step in future planning and pre-marriage counselling can help you ensure that you and your partner are in a healthy and strong relationship, giving you a strong head start towards a happy and more satisfying marriage. This type of counselling also helps you understand the weaknesses in your relationship and how you can deal with the said weaknesses. 

 

Why Are The Benefits of Premarital Counselling?

 

• Improved communication: 

Talking to an expert will help you open up more and develop better communication skills. Multiple topics come under the “no-discussion” zone in a lot of relationships, and that’s not a healthy way to lead into a marriage. Pre-marriage counselling will help you and your partner to communicate more freely with each other. 

• Mentally prepare for the marriage 

Yes, you’re very excited to spend your life with your partner as you should be, but what some people forget to see amidst all the celebrations and excitement is that marriage is a big change for both of the parties. It’s better to get an understanding of how your life will change and mentally prepare to deal with those changes before you get married rather than figuring it out later. 

• Set realistic expectations for the marriage

Most people expect their marriage to be the same as it was in the initial honeymoon phase. But the bitter truth is, it’s not. We’re not saying that your marriage will not be what you’re expecting, but simply that it might not be all happy-go-lucky throughout. In the happiest marriages, troubles find their way, and premarital counselling can help you set more realistic expectations of what to expect and how to deal with both the good and the bad. 

• Better conflict resolution skills

When your communication skills improve, so will your conflict resolution skills. In premarital counselling, you will learn how to deal with conflicts if or when they arrive in the future and not indulge in negative behaviours which could ruin your married life. 

• Set a positive attitude towards seeking help down the road

It’s no secret that we’re not in a place where we’re comfortable with seeking help when it comes to mental health issues, and the situation is the same if not worse with marriage counselling. We’re lead to believe that issues between a husband and wife should not leave the bounds of their homes. But that’s not a healthy way to deal with any issue. When you go for premarital counselling it helps you open your mind up to more towards the benefits of seeking professional help if any troubles come your way in the future, this outlook will allow you to seek the help you might need to keep your marriage happy and healthy.  

 

What topics of discussion to expect?

The topics of discussion may vary based on your relationship and the issues that you need to resolve and the foundation you need to build on, but these are some of the very common topics that come up during premarital counselling sessions:

• Finances
• Communication
• Beliefs and values
• Roles in marriage
• Affection and sex
• Desire to have children
• Family relationships
• Decision-making
• Dealing with anger
• Time spent together

 

Challenges of Premarital Counselling:

Couples may dread premarital counselling due to the fear of what topics of discussion might come up, or if something they’re uncomfortable talking about comes up. It’ll be a difficult step to take but we suggest you take it before you get married and become completely aware of each other rather than stumbling upon these issues later in the marriage when they could become a point of friction.