Jody Pflanzer, LMFT, M Ed is a Registered Premarital Course Provider for Broward County, Florida. Premarital counseling helps couples improve their relationships before getting married. Through premarital counseling, couples are encouraged to discuss a wide range of important and intimate topics related to marriage, such as:
Finances
Communication
Beliefs and values
Roles in marriage
Affection and sex
Children and parenting
Family relationships
Decision making
Dealing with anger
Time spent together
Premarital counseling helps partners improve their ability to communicate, set realistic expectations for marriage and develop reliable conflict-resolution skills. In addition, premarital counseling can help couples establish a positive attitude about seeking help from a marriage counselor down the road. Individuals bring their own values, opinions and personal history into a relationship, and they might not always match their partner's. In addition, many people go into marriage believing it will fulfill their social, financial, sexual and emotional needs — and that's not always what occurs.
By discussing differences and expectations before marriage, you and your partner can better understand and support each other during marriage. Early intervention is important because the risk of divorce is highest early in marriage.
Broward County offers two benefits to couples who complete a marriage preparation course from a registered premarital provider; they will discount the cost of the license and remove the three day waiting period to obtain the license.