Discussing Important Issues

Premarital counseling allows you to talk about various crucial aspects of your marriage, such as:

• Finances: Money can be a difficult and controversial issue for married couples, so planning ahead of time on how to manage your finances can help prevent problems in the future. 
• views, values, and religion: Discussing your views, values, and religious sentiments with your partner can promote greater understanding and respect. You can also talk about how these factors affect your daily life.
• Roles in the marriage: To avoid future disagreements, clarify the roles you intend yourself and your partner to play in your marriage. 
• Activities and time spent together: You and your spouse can talk about how you want to spend your time together and what activities you want to do together.
• Children: After getting married, couples may discover that they are not on the same page regarding whether or not they want to have children. It is critical to plan ahead of time whether or not you want to have children and how you want to raise them.
• Family relationships: Premarital counseling can provide you with an opportunity to be open and honest about your relationships with your own family as well as any concerns you have about your partner's family.

What Can Premarital Counseling Help With?

• Developing a better knowledge of your mate: Premarital counseling can assist you in developing a better understanding of your partner. It can help you grasp your partner's beliefs, values, expectations, motivations, goals, and routines, in particular.
• Setting reasonable expectations: This type of counseling allows you and your partner to address all of the major parts of married life so that you both know what to expect. It also aids in the identification of your individual and couple's capabilities and shortcomings.
• Future planning: Just as you and your partner would meet with a wedding planner to plan your big day, consulting a premarital counselor can help you plan your marriage and your life together. 
• Practice constructive communication: According to Romanoff, communication is an important feature of premarital counseling because "partners learn to convey their positions clearly without attacking or arming the other."
• Improve conflict resolution skills: Premarital counseling teaches you and your partner problem-solving abilities and conflict-resolution skills. "Initially, communication often leads to conflict, but with time, couples can have more constructive discussions," adds Romanoff.
• Concentrate on the positive: Premarital counseling can help you and your partner focus on the positive parts of your relationship rather than the negative.
• Eliminate dysfunctional behavior: Premarital counseling can help you recognize and modify problematic behaviors and patterns in a relationship.
• Establish healthy and equitable decision-making processes: Premarital counseling can assist you and your partner in developing healthy and equitable decision-making processes.
• Reduce marital anxiety: If you or your partner are concerned about what married life will entail, premarital counseling can help you discuss critical problems and gain clarity.
• The goal of premarital counseling is to help you improve your connection with your partner and lay a solid foundation for marriage.

According to a 2012 study, couples who participated in premarital counseling reported better levels of relationship satisfaction.

• Premarital counseling also allows you and your spouse to make key decisions about your relationship before you are married.

Improves self-awareness 
Improve communication skills 
Improves coping skills 
Develops fresh perspective