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“To make a relationship last couples must become better friends, learn to manage conflict, and create ways to support each other’s hopes and dreams.”
-John Gottman

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Are you and your partner thinking about moving in together?

Are you engaged?

Maybe you’ve just gotten married.

You likely plan for your holidays, plan for travel, plan for your career. If you are recently engaged, you may be planning your wedding. However, that is often where the planning ends. Too often, people decide to move in together or get married without discussing how their relationship will change.

Conversations to last a lifetime 

There are important conversations to have, questions that can help set-up this next phase of your relationship for success over the long-term. Counseling before marriage or living together can help you develop healthy and effective communication skills and learn how to manage conflict in a productive manner that encourages compromise.

Being able to identify and openly discuss your values allows you to see where your values align as well as bring awareness to the differences that have the potential to create conflict in the future. Mia will help you identify unspoken, perhaps even unconscious expectations, so that you can act with intention and purpose to build a relationship based on mutual honesty and respect.

So if:

• you and your partner have arguments that don’t get resolved
• you feel like you’re always the one who has to compromise to keep the peace
• you’re concerned about your partner’s finances or how your partner views money
• you’re worried about losing affection or having a diminished sex life after marriage
• you want to learn healthier ways to resolve conflict
• you wish to resolve religious, ethical, family, or cultural differences
• you want to define your marital roles and expectations

…then premarital counseling can be very helpful to you and your partner.

Learn to listen 

Through counseling, you will learn to be a better listener and create an environment of empathy and compassion. You will learn how to handle arguments — which when you live with someone are inevitable — and come to see conflict as an opportunity for growth that fosters deeper intimacy.

Counseling offers a fresh perspective on topics you may have already discussed, as well as bring up issues you may not have considered yet. These conversations will allow you to understand the areas where you may not agree and to develop the skills to handle challenges as they arise.

Taking the step to marry or deciding to live together is a special moment that announces your commitment to one another. Counseling offers you an opportunity to do so purposefully, setting yourselves up with the sense that you are a team — in it together — so that you both feel understood and supported.

For guidance and support to strengthen your future together, please contact Mia today to schedule an appointment.