Premarital Counseling: Treatment, Cost and Side Effects

Getting married is a major decision and it is quite normal for people to undergo the emotional difficulties related to any marriage. Marriage often entails a long list of changes that both partners would need to incorporate in their daily lives. While most people try to suppress any negative thoughts prior to the marriage, this approach is not healthy for the person or the relationship.

The best way to avoid starting your marriage in a negative manner is to deal with the feelings and insecurities that you are likely to be facing. A marriage counsellor may be of immense help in this manner. You and your partner can visit such a counsellor even prior to marriage, to clear out any unwanted tension that the relationship has. Such a counselling session is known as pre-marital counselling.

Such a counselling session does not need to come from an expert counsellor, it may be provided by a religious leader or family member as well. However, the success rate of such a session will be better when it comes from a certified counsellor. Studies have revealed that the results of pre-marital counselling is similar to the results of counselling after marriage

Similar to marital counselling, a pre-marital counselling session involves the therapist or counsellor along with the couple about to get married. It can greatly improve the chances of a successful and happy married life for the couple in question. During such a session, couples will be asked to discuss a plethora of topics, ranging from finances, beliefs, communication, sexual relations and preference, desire to have children, and even anger management.

When you visit the therapist, you and your partner will likely be asked to fill out a questionnaire. It will have basic questions regarding your relationship with one another and will also try to bring out any conflicts that may be existing between you. It is essential to answer all of the questions truthfully, in order to get the best out of the counselling session.

Any couple planning to get married soon can approach a marriage counsellor. Even when you feel that there is no issue plaguing the relationship, a pre-marital counselling session may help you better understand your partner and thus, improve the entire relationship.

If you are in a relationship, but do not plan to tie the knot anytime soon, you do not need to approach a pre-marital counsellor. Needless to say, people who are single at the moment also do not qualify for the therapy in question.

Pre-marital counselling can help people achieve happiness after their upcoming nuptials. However, for some people, the issues may not be resolved completely and may cause bigger issues after marriage. In such a case, couples can seek marriage counselling as well. The same may not be needed at all and pre-marital counselling may be beneficial.

As the treatment involves in-depth discussion between the partners, the recovery or benefits of the therapy may be instantaneous. However, several sessions may be required in order to reach a particular level of understanding between the partners.

Price of the treatment depends on the therapist and the number of sessions required. For instance, one session may cost anywhere between Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000. Depending on the number of sessions, this cost may go up.

Results of the treatment are not permanent and the problems may recur after marriage as well. How well the treatment's results are depends on the couple and also on the therapist conducting the counselling.

A couple can always try to talk about the issues among themselves, without visiting a counsellor. This may even show better results than pre-marital counselling, in some cases.