Pre-Marital Counseling and Pre-Marital Preparation
Preparation for Marriage includes learning about:
Communication methods
Fight styles: what's YOURS? What's your PARTNER'S?
Negotiation skills
Problem solving skills
Family role exploration; "My family / Your Family": How We're Different and the Same.
Boundary definitions: Don't Give Up YOU to Be with A Partner; Discover Your Own Styles
Reflective listening: Differences Between Hearing and Listening: How do You Measure when you're Understood?
Other things you can expect....
learn what does work in relationships
stop blame
learn strategies to increase feeling loved & cared for, as well as caring & loving your partner
minimize arguing and use fair fighting
increase solutions
reduce conflict
and more...
Do we make time to talk about how our relationship is going? (a Couples exercise)
Ask yourselves these questions, and then dialogue with your partner.
Understanding
How well do you think your partner understands you?
Do they know how you think, how you feel, and what's important to you?
Do you ever try to communicate these things to him/her?
Solutions
How often do you argue without resolutions?
If you have many arguments that you don't resolve, there may be communication problems.
Lots of arguments
over what seem to be trivia or small issues may demonstrate a power struggle.
Never have arguments? Is it because you’re avoiding important issues out of a fear of arguing?
Quality Time
What interests do you have in common?
What do you do together for fun and relaxation?
How often do you do something enjoyable as a couple?
Sexual relationship
How do you feel about your sexual relationship?
Does sex usually leave you both feeling satisfied and good?
Are you having any sexual problems?
Talk comfortably with Pamela about your relationship, one on one, as a couple, and get perspectives you may not have thought about. Refresh your definition of the two of you as a successful combination of personalities that sync AND swim!
