Family
Wellness Associates to present at the 2010
Smart Marriages Conference in Orlando, Florida
Three
Day Institute
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
July 6, 7, 8
Family
Wellness: Skills for Families in Changing Times
George
Doub, MDiv, Ana Morante, MFT
An
effective, practical model for educators, clergy, military, community
and clinical practitioners to teach individuals, couples, and
whole families key skills for healthy marriage and family life.
Core theory and coaching skills demonstrated and practiced. Multicultural,
minority and alternative families $150 spouse discount.
Couples receive two instructor's manuals.
Family
Wellness Associates Introduces Premarital
Curriculum
Map
for Marriage: Before You Say I do
Marriage
is a popular dream, decision, and reality! About 90% of Americans
get married at least once. Divorce occurs in approximately 40
to 70% of couples, depending on whether it is their first, second,
or third marriage.
In the United States, the median age at first
marriage has steadily risen from 1960 when
the median age was 20.3 for females and 22.8 for males.
By 2004, these ages had risen to 25.8 for females and 27.4
for males.
In general, people who marry young are more
likely to break up. In 1995, marital breakup
within 10 years was highest among those individuals who
married before age 18 and lowest among those
who married after age 25.
Many couples today choose to live together
without marriage. One study found that 54% of all
first marriages between 1990 and 1994 began with
unmarried cohabitation. Just over 50% of first
cohabiting couples ever get married.
In the U.S., couples who have lived together
without marriage are at a greater risk for
divorce than couples who did not previously live
together. Couples who lived together before getting married
tend to divorce early in their marriage. If,
however, the marriage lasts seven years, their
risk for divorce is the same as for couples who
did not cohabit before marriage. If cohabitation is limited to a
person’s
future spouse, there appears to be no elevated risk
for divorce.
Many couples hope that their cohabitation
will serve as a kind of “marriage preparation,” where they can
assess their compatibility with one another. Unfortunately, this “on
the job training” often fails due to limited commitment.
Premarital education and premarital counseling
are avenues to help people learn about themselves,
their potential spouse, and skills related to
strengthening relationship, working through conflict,
and developing intimacy. Premarital counseling is most
often conducted with couples alone while premarital education
is generally conducted with groups of couples.
It is important for premarital educators
to remember that most couples seriously considering
marriage or engaged couples are IN LOVE. As such,
they seldom believe that they will experience the
same kind of problems other married couples go
through. This shared delusion is often exposed
as the couple prepares for marriage (due to the stress of
finalizing all of the arrangements).
Premarital education can reduce the divorce rate
by 30 percent. Factors that may improve marital
satisfaction are increased commitment and cooperation,
open discussion of expectations, learning communication
and conflict resolution skills, and developing
a map for marriage.
How
to Boost Attendance at Your Classes
By Michelle
Hernandez
Congratulations!
You’ve successfully completed your training
and you are now a Certified Family Wellness
Instructor. You have a great strength-based
curriculum that can really make a difference
for the better in the every day lives
of individuals, couples, and families.
How do you get the word out so your classes
will be well attended? Download
Article
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