Relationship and Marriage Preparation Course

Your Relationship is an Investment

Wouldn’t it be great to future-proof your relationship by knowing where things are likely to go wrong in your relationship BEFORE it happens?

If you are in a relationship that is moving towards something serious. If you are moving in together, getting married, or in the first few years of marriage or living under the same roof. This personalised course is designed to help YOU reflect on where YOUR relationship is at and the patterns and habits you need to be aware of to prevent trouble down the track.

In this relationship/marriage prep course, you will discover how to build a lasting relationship and create the future you want for your family.

You will learn skills for staying true to yourself AND your relationship

More relationships would thrive if couples allocated a fraction of the time spent planning their wedding to learning about good relationship skills. Put the time in now to reap the rewards in the future.

The prime time to know what it takes to build a lasting relationship is early in your commitment. The sooner you learn what it takes to redirect negative patterns, the less likely they will become entrenched and destructive.

We start in love and with the best intentions, but few of us get good relationship education. Our society focuses more on getting to commitment than keeping that commitment alive day after day.

The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. — Esther Perel

• This 3-hour course is a practical road map of relationship skills, tools, and insights that lay a solid foundation to build your marriage upon.

• Each course is private and customized to help your unique relationship.

• It will help you to understand the underlying causes of relationship distress and how to avoid these pitfalls.

• The course encourages you to discuss 13 key areas of your relationship, some that you may not have considered before.

• You will learn important communication skills and be guided through any difficult discussions.

• It teaches you ways to deal with conflict.

• Differences are part and parcel of any healthy relationship. Learn the skills it takes to navigate, manage and celebrate your unique differences.

• Discuss your individual goals and goals you have together. Explore ways to make room for both and how best to support each other’s personal development and desires.

• The quality of childhood experiences affects couples’ relationships. Decide how you and your partner will incorporate the positive characteristics of your families of origin and leave behind the negative aspects.

Taking time to discuss some of these things, even for a few hours, can help strengthen your relationship or marriage and significantly improve your chances of long-term success.

What sets this course apart from other group marriage prep programs:

• Each course is private and customized to help your unique relationship.

• The pre-assessment questionnaire allows you to reflect on what you most need from this opportunity and gives your therapist time to reflect on how best to support each of you personally and support your unique relationship.

• As your couples therapist you can come back to me for relationship support, e.g. counseling / periodic relationship check-ups/booster courses, whenever you need it.

• You can return to the questionnaires as a baseline document for many years to come.

• Your takeaway toolkit is an ongoing resource to keep your long-term relationship on track.

• This course is available to any couple in a primary intimate relationship regardless of religion, race, culture, or sexual orientation.

Here is a preview of what’s Included in the Toolkit

4 TIPS FOR CREATING A RELATIONSHIP THAT IS BUILT TO LAST

Good relationships are a balance…

Between the right amount of intimacy as a couple and the right amount of separateness as individuals. Both are important. Intimacy can only truly flourish in a relationship where each partner is self-defined as an individual with their own feelings, beliefs, and interests, and each can accept the other’s unique self-definition.

View yourselves as a team

This means you are two unique individuals contributing different strengths and perspectives. That is the value of a team. The acronym for TEAM – Together Each Achieves More.

Understand that love is not an absolute,

Nor a limited commodity that you are in and out of. It is a feeling that ebbs and flows depending on how you treat each other. If you learn new ways to interact, good feelings can come flowing back, often stronger than before.

Know your desires and speak up for them clearly.

Don’t expect your partner to read your mind. This is a common mistake that leads to misery!