Pre - Engagement Counseling

Before you pop the question or before you say, “Yes”, take some time to explore whether it's a good decision to marry each other.  Deciding to marry is the most important decision you will ever make. You can't afford to just make this decision with your heart.  A decision made with both your head and your heart is more likely to lead to a happy, healthy marriage.

“Increasingly, couples are seeking out ‘pre-pre-marital counseling’ or pre-engagement counseling.  It provides an opportunity to sit down with trained advisers to examine, dispassionately, whether their love is a passing fancy....  Using tools from social science, it aims to prepare them for conflict, to prevent unions based on blind impulse — and, ultimately, to reduce the divorce rate....”  (Los Angeles Times)

The best time to start pre-engagement counseling is when you have been dating for a while and are contemplating the real possibility of marriage.  If you've already decided to marry and feel the relationship is suffering or if you want to make your pending marriage the best it can be, we also offer pre-marital counseling.

Our approach and philosophy comes from the research of Dr. John Gottman.  The strongest emphasis on making your relationship great will be on helping you become each other's best friend and on conflict regulation.  Also, a strong component of pre-engagement counseling is conveying information about what makes marriage happy and healthy.

If you are thinking about getting engaged, or are simply interested in enhancing your relationship, we are here to help.  Please contact us today for a free consultation and ask to speak with Kimberley Harris, Ray Robinson, Jennifer Reed, or Chris Berger.