ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the different areas in a pre-marital couple's life that a clinician should assess. It discusses the various factors that contribute to marital success and typical challenges new couples will face when planning for marriage. The chapter talks about some of the commonly used professional assessments available should you choose to incorporate these into your pre-marital treatment program. It examines how to incorporate that assessment into a treatment plan that is individualized for your client. The chapter explains the purpose of pre-marital counseling which is to help couples work through any issues they may be struggling with before getting married. In the case of couples who are not having any issues, the purpose of pre-marital counseling is to identify potential problem areas that could become issues later in marriage and to give couples tools to create a healthy, happy marriage.
