Couples therapy can only benefit your relationship.
Premarital Therapy
Marriage is beautiful. The merging of two people, two completely different lives with different experiences, is profound. Starting a new life as a married couple is so exciting, and can feel a bit overwhelming. That is perfectly normal. One thing I always recommend to couples considering marriage is to try premarital therapy. Premarital therapy can only benefit your relationship and future marriage. Premarital therapy allows you the chance to discuss your expectations for marriage based on your lived experiences. It allows you the chance to fully get to know your future spouse. It is a time to put everything out on the table so you can know each other on the deepest level possible.
Benefits of Premarital Therapy
What are your thoughts on marriage? What examples of marriage did you see growing up? Did you see a happy and healthy marriage? Did you instead grow up with a single parent? Oftentimes, what we experience as children has a big impact on how we show up in our adult relationships. If you grew up seeing a healthy marriage, you may have a better idea of how to engage in a marriage in a happy and healthy way. If you did not have a healthy marriage to witness, you may need to learn how to show up in a marriage in a healthy way. In premarital therapy, you can discuss your expectations and assumptions that may lead to conflict down the road if left ignored. You can explain your experiences and how they shaped the person you are today. Conflict is inevitable in even the healthiest relationships. It’s not about avoiding conflict, because that is simply impossible. It’s about how you show up and manage situations of conflict together, as a team.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
There are many couples therapy modalities that can be used for premarital therapy. Depending on both partners’ past experiences, you may opt for trauma-informed couples therapy and research-based couples therapy. If you don’t know where to start, an excellent modality for couples therapy is Gottman Method couples therapy. It is research-based and provides excellent tools for maintaining a long, happy, and healthy relationship. Which is what you deserve. Don’t wait for problems to arise and for contempt to build; it is so much better to address possible problems beforehand. If you are considering marriage, set yourself up for a successful relationship and reach out to a premarital therapist in your area today. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy is another modality I recommend as it will help you unlock the unhealthy patterns of communication and improve intimacy and connection.
