| What is the PREPARE-ENRICH CUSTOMIZED VERSION program? |
| The PREPARE-ENRICH CUSTOMIZED VERSION is the latest form of
the PREPARE-ENRICH resources. This on-line system has been available in
Australia since mid-September, 2009. Training has been offered since late September, 2009 (see the link above for details of current training opportunities). The program is designed to assist a variety of professionals (mainly counsellors, educators and religious celebrants) working with premarital or married couples. Professionals who have been trained and accredited to work with the PREPARE-ENRICH materials in Australia are called Facilitators. For a couple, after being invited to participate and having the program explained to them, the first step is to take online the Customized Version of the PREPARE-ENRICH inventory in order to provide a self-report description of their relationship. As well as providing important demographic and background information for a couple, 22 areas are assessed and individual and couple responses in these areas are summarized in reports made available to the Facilitator: A. Significant Issues for Couples (10 scales):
The next step is for the couple to return for a number of feedback sessions (as determined by them and the Facilitator). This process is aided by the Facilitator and Couple Reports provided on-line to the Facilitator. Couples also receive a a Couples Workbook that contains over 20 exercises designed to help a couple to respond to the feedback dialogue being facilitated by the Facilitator. There are six core couple exercises to complement the larger feedback process:
Prepare-Enrich has provided a service in Australia since 1979. Version 2000 was launched in Australia in 1997. The Customized Version is the most recent revision of the inventories (2009). Over 10,000 Facilitators have been trained in Australia and about 7,000 couples annually participate in the program throughout Australia. A nation-wide team of Trainers continues to provide training and ongoing skills development for persons desirous of working with the Prepare-Enrich program in Australia. Apart from USA and Australia, there are international offices in New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Sweden and South Africa. |
| The value of Prepare in particular has been demonstrated
through research.
In 1986 Blaine Fowers and David Olson published a study (Journal of
Marital
and Family Therapy, 1986, Vol. 12, No. 4, 403-413) designed to
determine
the predictive validity of PREPARE. This study assessed how helpful
PREPARE
scores would be in predicting marital success. A 3-year follow-up study
was conducted with 164 couples who took PREPARE during their
engagement.
The authors reported that “…satisfied couples scored significantly
higher
on the inventory than dissatisfied couples, divorced couples, and
couples
who cancelled their marriage…Using discriminant analysis, it was found
that the PREPARE scores from 3 months before marriage could predict
with
80-90% accuracy which couples were separated and divorced from those
that
were happily married. These findings not only demonstrate the
predictive
validity of PREPARE, but its potential utility in identifying high-risk
couples who could benefit from more intensive premarital counseling.”
This
finding was repeated in a second study by Andrea Larsen and David Olson
published in 1989 (Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1989, Vol.
15,
No. 3, 311-322).
In 2000 Luke Knutson and David Olson evaluated the effectiveness of the PREPARE Program (Version 2000) with 100 premarital couples in three groups: the PREPARE Program group (who received an average of four feedback sessions), the PREPARE No Feedback group (who received feedback after the post-test), and the Control group (who received both PREPARE and feedback after the post-test). The PREPARE Program group showed significant positive change, from pre-test to post-test, on marriage expectations, communication, financial management, children and parenting, family and friends, couple closeness, couple flexibility and spiritual beliefs. The PREPARE No Feedback group also showed some significant changes but no significant changes occurred in the Control group. |
Persons working with couples (eg. marriage celebrants,
educators, counsellors)
who already have formal training as a -
The Marriage and Relationship Educators Association of Australia has developed a Users’ Guide for Relationship Educators. One section of this guide is tailor-made for Educators who work with inventories such as the Prepare-Enrich range of resources. Below is a summary list of the main areas of knowledge and competency detailed in the Users’ Guide. These are listed below so that clergy may reflect on them and aim to look for these competencies when selecting and nominating lay couples and individuals for training as Prepare-Enrich Administrators. To work effectively with inventories one needs to have: Knowledge of... The ability to... |