Premarital Counseling
Are you getting married? If you are, premarital counseling can be one of the most important things you and your partner do to help your marriage start on the right foot. Premarital counseling will not prevent every issue or disagreement in your marriage, but it will help you build a stronger foundation to build upon for your life together.
At Redlands Christian Counseling, we are committed to helping you build a marriage that thrives. Premarital counseling is one of the best tools for this, especially when it is rooted in a faith-based practice.
To help you decide if premarital counseling is right for you, here are some answers to the most common questions:
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Contact our reception team at
(424) 438-2888
No. You don’t. However, it is helpful in ways you may not expect right now. As you prepare for marriage, the focus is often on the wedding, how much you love each other, and immediate logistics like living arrangements after the wedding. These are all good, but they are limited.
Premarital counseling offers a deeper, more long-term look at the things you and your partner need to build a lasting, loving marriage.
The goal of premarital counseling is focused communication about topics now, so they don’t become problems later. In premarital counseling, the counselor will lead you and your partner through questions relating to important topics within a marriage. These can include:
- Family planning.
- Career.
- Finances.
- Living arrangements.
- Family relationships.
- Spiritual practices.
- Health.
Many of these areas are where couples find disagreement. Talking about them now, with an unbiased third party, can help you foster understanding and find common ground.
While it is good to talk about these things on your own, the counselors at Redlands Christian Counseling provide key benefits you might otherwise miss. These include:
- A trained counselor who knows an array of questions to ask.
- Someone who can listen to both sides and help you find a compromise.
- An unbiased person to mediate issues.
- Questions you would not otherwise consider.
- Spiritual guidance and faith-based support.
Additionally, premarital counseling lays the foundation for a relationship with a Christian counselor. This makes it easier later on in your marriage if you and your spouse need someone to help you through a difficult season. You will already have a person you both know and trust.
One of the fears people sometimes have is that premarital counseling will reveal an issue that causes one or both people to question the potential marriage. There are two possibilities if this happens.
First, you may discover something and address it together with your counselor. Your trained counselor can help you and your partner develop strategies to handle the issue, respond with empathy to one another, and work through it before it is a problem in your marriage. Once this happens, you can continue your plans without this issue looming.
The other possibility is that you discover something that changes the course of your relationship. This is a rare occurrence but does happen occasionally. Instead of fearing this, it can be something to consider a gift.
If there is an issue so big that you cannot work through it with counseling, it is bound to cause problems in your marriage. Recognizing it before you are married, even if it means choosing not to go on with the relationship, prevents more complex heartache and issues later.
It is generally a short process overall. Each session typically lasts one to two hours. Couples often meet with their counselor for four sessions to six months depending on their needs.
Choosing a counselor can feel difficult for people. At Redland Christian Counseling we want to make sure the process is seamless and comfortable for you. You can begin by looking up the counselors to learn more about them on this site. Next, you can call the office and ask them who they recommend and who is available in your time frame.
Once you make an appointment, feel free to ask the counselor questions and see how you and your partner connect with the counselor. It is important you both feel comfortable being honest with the counselor. If you don’t, you can talk about this with the counselor, and they will help.
We are here for you.
The counselors at Redlands Christian Counseling are here to help you and your partner begin a healthy, lifelong journey together. Reach out to us today to get started.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Contact our reception team at
(424) 438-2888