Start Your Marriage With A Strong Foundation: Premarital Counseling in Texas

Congratulations on your engagement!

Are you engaged or making a commitment to a long term relationship?

Would you like to understand how you can set your relationship up for success?

Would you like to create a shared vision of your future together with your partner?

Wondering if premarital counseling is right for you?

Premarital Counseling, should you or shouldn’t you? There are so many things to consider once the big decision to get hitched has been made. A very couple-centered relationship can get derailed by the wedding planning train. Once planning is full steam ahead, wedding stress often ends up taking center stage. Before you know it, date nights get exchanged for Pinterest marathons and “To Do” lists. However, adding premarital counseling to that “To Do” list now will stack the odds in your favor.

What is Premarital Counseling and why is it important?   

Premarital counseling “is a type of therapy that helps couples prepare for marriage.” It helps ensure that you and your partner end up having a great marriage.

At Relationships Matter Therapy, our premarital counseling will help you increase the chance of satisfaction and success in the early stages of marriage. According to research, couples who participate in premarital counseling are better able to resolve problems using effective communication styles, and on average, report higher levels of relationship quality. This is particularly important to help curtail the high rate of divorce especially in this early stage. Evidence has led many states, including Texas, to offer generous discounts on marriage licenses.

As an approved provider with the Texas Healthy Marriage Program, our Relationships Matter Therapy clinicians can provide a completion certificate which can be presented to a Texas County Clerk for:

• Up to $60 off your marriage license fee
• Waiving of the 72-hour waiting period
• Discounts apply for a minimum of 8 hours of completed premarital counseling
• Certificates are good for up to one year

Premarital counseling- the idea is to reduce divorce rates by building healthy relationships. Bonus: A scheduled sanctuary from the planning chaos and time to reflect on how you want your marriage to be after the wedding.

Non-religious premarital guidance is increasingly popular 

Further, research has shown that religious couples are more likely to seek premarital counseling probably because pastors often require it as a prerequisite step leading to the marriage ceremony. Therefore, premarital counseling often gets linked to religion. Fine for some, however, clergy-based counseling may be unappealing to others. Such as non-religious or same-sex couples. Know that there are other options such as a licensed therapist like me!

Benefits of Premarital Counseling with Our Licensed Clinician

• Led by a clinician trained professionally in couples therapy.
• Counseling can be extended into traditional couples counseling.
• You build a relationship with a therapist that can be reconnected with in the future.
• Spirituality discussions are not based on a particular religious doctrine offering an alternative for mixed faith couples, couples that do not belong to a religious organization, and same-sex couples.
• With some premarital counseling couples, we use the Prepare/ Enrich program. For more information on the program: prepare-enrich.com

Take a step towards a rewarding and strong marriage

Ready to say “I do”? Congrats! We’ll be glad to help your love story end in a happily ever marriage- get in touch today.

Start your marriage off with a strong foundation!

Premarital Counseling- Frequently Asked Questions

Premarital counseling fees in Texas- what does it cost?

We offer a flexible pricing system that takes into consideration the duration and other factors. At the end of the session you pay for service rendered. Considering the cost involved in the divorce process, premarital counseling is a profitable investment no matter the amount you’ll be asked to pay. Check out our premarital counseling packages which feature group sessions and individual sessions to fit your schedule and budget.

How long does premarital counseling usually last?

Sometimes goals may involve changing patterns that were in the partners long before the relationship began. These situations can take longer to resolve. However, the average course of successful marriage counseling with us takes 8-10 sessions. We offer both 50 minute and 80 minute sessions.

Who is premarital counseling best for?

Premarital counseling is for couples who are engaged or are committing to a long term relationship who want to explore their relationship and learn skills to help them with communication, conflict resolution, strength and growth areas, physical and emotional intimacy, navigating relationships with friends and family, and relationship roles and expectations.

It’s important to take time to discuss your expectations and needs as you make this commitment in your relationship. We want you to have the skills to navigate the areas that couples often find challenging. Premarital counseling provides a constructive format for these issues to be addressed and to hopefully be better understood by each partner.  Not only do you explore the problem, but you learn more effective communication skills to negotiate the problem with each other. 

I am worried. Is it about finding faults?

Contrary to what most people think, premarital relationship counseling is not about finding faults. It is more about identifying strengths and finding solutions to problematic issues that may derail the marriage beforehand. It gives you a safe space to discuss and agree together how you’d like to handle your finances, division of household duties, sex and physical affection, family and in-laws, whether you want to have kids, or how to blend kids form a previous relationship into this new one. You may discover you each have values, needs, and fears that you weren’t previously aware of. Now is the time to talk about how you feel about these issues so you both can have a plan you agree on from the beginning of your marriage.

Do you work with LGBTQ+ couples?

Yes, we do! While we understand that most same sex couples can also have similar challenges in the typical areas of communication, sex, money, in-laws, parenting, use of free time, and tidiness/chores, you may also need support in navigating the following issues as well-

• Lack of family support for the couple
• Lack of cultural and social support for the couple
• Difficulties of coming out as a couple
• Additional pressure about determining whether children fit into the relationship

We have been married before. How can premarital counseling help?

Often we repeat the same patterns we learned in our previous relationships until we have an awareness of the pattern and why we reacted to our partner the way we did. We can help you identify the pattern that you and your current partner are engaged in and give you tools to deepen intimacy and compassion.