The Importance of Pre-Marital Counseling

Pre-marital counseling is an important aspect in marriages that a lot of couples do not take advantage of or utilize. Around 50% of marriages end up in divorce for reasons that could have been prevented in pre-marital counseling. Whether the reason was the person was not the right fit, both people did not agree upon finances or what have you, the reasons could have been identified and processed through in Pre-Marital counseling. Depending on the therapist, pastor or whomever, couples get deep into their relationship and explore areas where they never thought to explore or thought would never be a problem. In pre-marital counseling couples explore a lot of things like the following: Familial relationships and expectations, Finances and expectations, Living styles and expectations, Expectations for the other person, Values, Religion, Politics, Marriage and Life goals, Mindsets that revolve around a lot of different things both inside and out side the marriage and more.

A lot of couples believe that Pre-marital counseling isn’t covered by their insurance. There are ways to work around that so that insurance can cover pre-marital counseling. One way is by utilizing a Z code (Z63 I believe) in the back of the DSM. Another way is to have one person go through an assessment and get diagnosed and have one of the main focuses of the treatment plan be put in regards to marriages. That way the spouse is able to come in and talk as well. True that’ll be a different processing code, but that code can be reimbursed by insurance.

In conclusion, don’t let money be a reason why you aren’t going to pre-marital therapy. There is nothing wrong with doing pre-marital therapy with a pastor, but I would recommend you do pre-marital therapy with someone who has a mental health license. Hopefully what was talked about in here will help alleviate any concerns about finances, but ultimately do what you are comfortable with.