Counseling
You probably got here because you are looking for pre-marital counseling. Which probably means you’re engaged (congrats!). I’m so glad you made it here and I hope I’m able to help get you ready for marriage!
The goal of pre-marital counseling is to help you create a plan of action when it comes to building a marriage that’s going to last.
Here’s the thing, I don’t do traditional pre-marital counseling, where we sit in an office and I try to figure out how your relationship with your mother is connected to your emotional eating binges and your inability to be intimate with your fiancee.
No, I’m more of a coach. I want to guide, give advice and counsel you guys on what a healthy marriage is and how you can have one. I want to help you learn more about yourself, your future spouse and help you develop a marriage plan that will make your marriage stronger. Because when you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right?
If you want to be fully prepared for marriage by learning more about each other and learning how to more effectively manage conflict and communication then this is an investment you want to make!
Note: I have a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, however, I am not a licensed or practicing marriage and family therapist. Please contact me if you would like a referral to a licensed therapist in the Middle Tennessee area. If you are in a relationship struggling with addiction or abuse please seek professional help.
The Happily Ever After Plan: Online Marriage Preparation
Having a great marriage can improve your life more than probably anything else in the world. Unfortunately, quality marriage preparation is often limited to those who have access to couples counseling. I’m changing that with Happily Ever After: Online marriage preparation.
I have taken everything I do in pre-marital counseling with a couple and packaged it into an online course. You get the convenience of taking this course at your own pace and in your own home. The best part is you can be extra honest with yourself and each other because it’s private! No counselor is sitting across from you as you dive into the complicated parts of your relationship and life.
When you sign up for The Happily Ever After Plan (THEAP) you will get 8 weeks of in-depth instruction and guidance on 8 different topics that are important for a young married couple to discuss. THEAP opens on February 1, 2012. Space is limited so sign up today!
Course Overview
Week 1 – The Story:
Having a thorough knowledge of yourself, your partner and your relationship is key to the building of a healthy foundation. Learn how it’s the first step in your marriage’s life cycle (and learn what a marriage life cycle is!) and is the barometer of how healthy your marriage currently is. You’ll learn about you and write your love story this week.
Week 2 – The Anxiety:
Learn how confronting and talking about your fears about marriage will bring relief and intimacy to your relationship. Yes, weddings are fun and exciting, but there is also some fear and anxiety AND THAT’S OK. Honestly? It means you’re a healthy individual. You’ll learn how to deal with the anxieties and clarify exactly what your goals are for your Happily Ever After Plan.
Week 3 – The Family:
Figure out where your buttons are, how to deal with in-laws, and what you want for the new family that you guys are creating. You’ll look at where both of you came from and what you see that is similar and what is different. You’ll decide what family characteristics you want to keep in your marriage, what you want to throw out and what you want to see in the future.
Week 4 – The Talking:
Quit talking in circles and learn how to really hear each other. By figuring out what your communication style is and why you talk (or don’t talk) the way you do you’ll unlock the door to open and healthy conversations that make BOTH of you feel connected and secure in the relationship. You’ll learn your communication style, the rules for talking and (more importantly) the rules for listening.
Week 5 – The Fighting:
Create an Anger Plan and learn how to talk about and use the F-word (The F-word is feelings, guys… keep your mind out of the gutter, geez) so that fights end quickly and smoothly. Figuring out what your relationship’s conflict dance looks like gives you a guide to get out of unhealthy and destructive patterns before they start. You’ll learn how to compromise, how to talk about “bad” feelings and have a plan for fights that will keep coming up.
Week 6 – The Money:
Money is the number one reason that couples give for wanting a divorce (interestingly enough, it costs an average of $20,000 to get a divorce). Having a plan for what to do and how to talk about this hot button issue are going to be VERY important to your marriage’s success. This isn’t just about how you spend it, but also how you bring it in. You’ll develop a budget, uncover your issues and beliefs about money and plan how you want to bring that money in.
Week 7 – The Sex:
Marriage sex is different. Very different. Learn about the emotional reasons that each of you want and even NEED sex (yes, ladies, you need sex). You’ll learn how to use sex to gauge how healthy your marriage is, games to keep the fun alive and tips on overcoming Married Sex Syndrome.
Week 8 – The Goals:
Marriages that last are built because two people recognize regularly that they need one another to achieve their goals and build the life they’ve always wanted. You’ll learn how setting goals will transform your marriage, set goals for your first year of marriage and dream about what you both want in the life you’re building as a team.
The Cost – $99/couple
The more people that are prepared for marriage means less people getting divorced and fewer kids growing up in broken homes. I want to make marriage prep a reality for anyone that wants to protect their marriage and home. I’ve made everything you would get in traditional pre-marital preparation available to you in this course. Going through this level of traditional pre-marital counseling would cost you close to $800. This course is less than 1% of a 10k wedding budget… be for real, isn’t your marriage worth at least 1% of your wedding?
Recap
8 week course that prepares you for marriage.
Opens on February 1st.
Costs $99/couple.
Space is limited.
Sign up here.
