In a recent survey of couples completing PREPARE/ENRICH, 91% recommended that the skills should be continued to be developed in their relationship. Over 90% found that it helped provide a more realistic view of their relationship, brought out issues they had not discussed and helped them identify their strengths. Over 70% felt that it helped them communicate in a more positive way, become more sensitive to each other’s feelings, helped improve ways to relate to each other, increased their skills at resolving differences and motivated them to complete the exercises.

Sadly, some romantic relationships involve regular aggressive episodes and premarital couples are no exception to this possibility.  Indeed, some premarital couples' idealism and preoccupation with marriage plans may mask concerns about aggression. Many couples in this situation simply think that things will improve after they are married.

Differences and disagreements are as inevitable in wedding planning as they are in marriage itself. This is a good time to learn how to deal with them. Here are some strategies you might find helpful to work through with your wedding plans or to discuss with the couple you are working with:

Expectations about love and marriage have a powerful impact on relationships. To a large degree, you will be disappointed or happy in life based on how well what is happening matches up with what you think should be happening. All married couples start out hoping for and believing they will experience the very best. Problems arise when these hopes and beliefs are not based on reality.

Each one of the PREPARE/ENRICH assessments provides an opportunity to work with couples perceptions of their families of origin.  In particular, it is worth exploring the possible impact of extreme, or unbalanced family structures on how couples are likely to approach their own relationship.

Myth 5: With the Online version, partners will collude in their on-line responses

Myth 4: I need to get recertified to use the new Customised Version.

Myth 3: Using the online system is not as secure.

Myth 2: I will somehow lose personal contact with my couples if I have them take the inventory online.

PREPARE/ENRICH is a customised online assessment tool that identifies each couples unique strength and growth areas and based on their assessment results, a facilitator provides feedback sessions helping couples to discuss and understand their results while teaching them proven relationship skills. The customised online assessment tool however is not without it's pundits. This series of articles tackles some of the most common misconceptions.