Premarital Counselling: Cultivate a bond
Marriage is an important event in an individual’s life. People’s desire to make their physical, emotional and social needs real is among important factors that lead people to marriage. Pre-marital is a period before marriage in which two different individuals decide to create a bond of love and understanding before finally making the decision to marry.
Culturally recognised wedlock is more likely to be an intimate and an equal partnership between two people. This association connect closely with sharing of emotional, physical and social needs while standing by each other in times of good days and bad days. The companionship between couple has to go on a deeper level as one aspires for longevity. Hence, knowing oneself and your partner in the premarital period becomes important.
The premarital time period helps the couple to examine the relationship in more objective manner and learn their interactions in more positive way. Being aware of each other’s harmonious and inharmonious characteristics can contribute to develop problem solving skills to tackle day-to-day stressors that may occur in their future. Therefore, premarital counselling becomes important for couple to improve their communication, build trust, and identify and eliminate dysfunctional behaviours to develop a strong foundation towards new journey before they marry.
Common Issues that needs to be Addressed
As two people decide to form a bond of love and respect to spend their life together as a happy married couple, there are certain common issues which needs to be addressed. These issues are:
- Life-Style Expectations
- Personality Match
- Marital Expectations
- Intimacy and Sexuality
- Personal Insight
- Emotion Regulation
- Mutuality and Interests
- Religion and Values
- Cohabitation and Household
- Parenting and Family
Need of Premarital Counselling
The primary goal of premarital counselling is to prepare would-be partners to understand the significance of marriage and establish effective communication to eliminate the emotional isolation. Couples are encouraged to talk openly and express their feelings and desires. They are intended to construct a comfort zone to share their emotional closeness and thoughtful commitment. Counselling enables couples to develop healthy communication to address the changes and adjustments with their partner.
When the couple is mentally prepared for the marriage, the next step is establishing compatibility between the partners based on individual strengths and weaknesses. A premarital counsellor helps to identify the couples’ strength as a whole and as a separate individual, and establish realistic goals for marriage. A positive attitude towards marriage is developed between the couples with the help of premarital counselling.
During counselling, each partner is asked questions to assess their perspectives about each other and their marital relationship. Various issues including marriage expectations, household chorus, gender role, demanding lifestyle and finances, stresses and strains of day-to-day life and parenting are discussed during the session. Premarital counselling provides a great opportunity for couples to confront these issues and settle their disagreements to sow a conjugal seed for a happy marriage.
As per Psychology Today magazine, “Globally, in the nearly four decades between 1970 and 2008, the divorce rate has more than doubled, from 2.6 divorces for every 1,000 married people to 5.5.” Statistical evidence like these is often a cause concern for couples, contemplating the prospect of getting married. Premarital therapists can help the couple to identify and confront these fears about forming and maintaining a successful relationship for a longer term. They can provide guidance to identify early signs of differences in expectations and assist in discussing and determining the ways to cope with those differences.
Premarital counselling at PSYCHOWELLNESS CENTER intends to help couples to plan their future productively and enable them to set their marriage and family planning goals. It provides a perfect place for couples to talk about their expectation they have for married life and address their trust, intimacy and relationship issues. Counsellors at PSYCHOWELLNESS CENTER and TALKTOANGEL, a mental well-being platform, effectively listens to couples and bring-out important information that a partner might have been reluctant to share. While adhering to privacy, confidentiality and obligating to couples’ privilege, premarital counselling helps the couples to relieve their fear, worries and anxieties about marriage. It encourages them to explore and communicate their individual needs, goals and values separately and prepare the couple to work together towards solution of their problems.
