Premarital Counseling

Abstract

A number of different approaches to premarital counseling have been developed to better prepare couples for marriage. A variety of these of approaches will be described here, including those used in churchsettings, where the majority of premarital counseling is performed. A brief summary of the premarital counseling research will also be presented, including what research suggests are important ingredients to designing effective premarital counseling approaches.     

Group Premarital Counseling Using a Premarital Assessment Questionnaire: Evaluation from Group Leaders

No research to date addresses premarital assessment questionnaire (PAQ) use within group settings. The current study evaluated the benefits and drawbacks of group use of one PAQ (the RELATE Inventory). Results were obtained via semi-structured interviews of group leaders and indicate overall leader agreement on the perceived desirability, benefits, and drawbacks of using PAQs in group premarital efforts. Recommended principles/guidelines for effective group PAQ use are organized into four categories: PAQ Considerations, Group Leader Considerations, Couple Considerations, and Group Content/Process Considerations.     

A Model for Individual Career Counseling

The focus of the article is on a visual model for individual career counseling. The model takes into account psychological, social, and economic factors and describes decision making as a journey with four discernible stages.     

Preferences of Individuals in Committed Relationships About Premarital Counseling

Premarital educational and counseling programs provide one way of addressing many of the risk factors associated with couple distress and divorce. Unfortunately, few couples who are offered premarital programming engage in the programs offered. This study examined preferences for premarital programming in a sample of individuals in committed relationships who intended to marry the current partner. Results suggested that premarital counseling conducted by a therapist and of short duration, following engagement, was most preferred. The most preferred topics/contents were related to communication and conflict resolution.     

Addressing Value‐Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision‐Making Model

A growing number of legal and ethical cases have involved value conflicts between counselors, or counselors‐in‐training, and their clients. The authors examine considerations that professional counselors are encouraged to take into account when value conflicts arise within the therapeutic relationship. The authors present a strategy known as ethical bracketing and the Counselor Values‐Based Conflict Model as tools to use when facing conflicts that arise between personal and professional values.     

Challenges of Pre- and Post-Test Counseling for Orthodox Jewish Individuals in the Premarital Phase

The Jewish community has traditionally taken ownership of its health, and has taken great strides to raise awareness about genetic issues that affect the community, such as Tay-Sachs disease and Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer syndrome. Thanks in part to these heightened awareness efforts, many Orthodox Jewish individuals are now using genetics services as they begin to plan their families. Due to unique cultural and religious beliefs and perceptions, the Orthodox Jewish patients who seek genetic counseling face many barriers to a successful counseling session, and often seek the guidance of programs such as the Program for Jewish Genetic Health (PJGH). In this article, we present clinical vignettes from the PJGH’s clinical affiliate, the Reproductive Genetics practice at the Montefiore Medical Center. These cases highlight unique features of contemporary premarital counseling and screening within the Orthodox Jewish Community, including concerns surrounding stigma, disclosure, “marriageability,” the use of reproductive technologies, and the desire to include a third party in decision making. Our vignettes demonstrate the importance of culturally-sensitive counseling. We provide strategies and points to consider when addressing the challenges of pre- and post-test counseling as it relates to genetic testing in this population.     

A Maslovian Counseling Model

With Maslow's hierarchy as a basis, the model expands to provide a structure for setting goals in counseling cases and overall programs. Fourteen kinds of client concerns are identified, and suggestions are made for using these 14 categories. The article includes specific suggestions for using the model in diagnosis, evaluation, counselor education, and research.     

Offering Appraisal Support Within Career Counseling

Supportive career counseling acts are discussed within the framework of 3 types of support: (a) emotional support, (b) informational support, and (c) appraisal support. Specific illustrations of appraisal support interventions are provided.     

Reconceptualizing Stabilization for Counseling Adolescents in Brief Psychiatric Hospitalization: A New Model

This research examined goal attainment as it related to client stability in the process of counseling adolescents admitted to a crisis residence. Data were collected from licensed master's‐level clinicians treating adolescent clients admitted to an acute care psychiatric program at 1 of 2 hospitals located in the mid‐South. There was a statistically significant relationship between the goal‐attainment model and client stability, as defined by symptom manifestation.     

A Model for Addressing Spiritual Issues in Counseling

The hesitancy on the part of counselors and psychotherapists to approach the spiritual concerns of clients has been widely discussed in the literature. Among the various reasons given for the reluctance of counselors and other therapists regarding spiritual matters is that such issues have not been a part of traditional training models. A counseling and psychotherapy training model is proposed here that is both continuous and developmental in nature. The model contains discrete yet continuous levels of learning; Learning Level III is concerned with emergent spiritual issues. The holistic epistemology of Gregory Bateson is used to derive guiding theoretical principles for the training model.     

Sports Counseling: A New Counseling Specialty Area

This article provides background information about sports counseling for student-athletes. A proposal for a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs specialty training area for sports counseling is presented.