Pre-Marital Therapy in Salt Lake City, UT
What is the next step for your relationship? You want to make sure you are both on the same page before the wedding or before moving in together. Pre-Martial Therapy is not a warning sign - it's preparation and it's proven to help couples start their marriages off on the right foot.
Most of the time, the planning takes all the oxygen. You have talked about the venue, the guest list, and the budget for the reception far more than you have talked about money, in-laws, or what a hard week is going to look like for the two of you. The conversations you keep meaning to have get pushed to after things settle down - and things rarely settle down on their own.
Couples come in for Pre-Marital Therapy because they're:
- Engaged and wanting to start strong rather than repair later
- Moving in together and unsure how to split money, chores, and time
- Blending families, kids, or very different lifestyles and traditions
- Quietly worried about a topic neither of you brings up
- Getting a lot of opinions from family about how their relationship should go
- Carrying patterns from home that you do not want to inherit
- Coming from families that handled conflict in completely different ways
- Unsure how you will handle money as a team versus separately
- Wondering how faith, holidays, and traditions will get decided
- Already noticing a topic that turns tense every time it comes up
- Not fighting yet, and wanting to know what to do when you do
You do not need to have your future mapped out to begin Pre-Marital Therapy. Most couples find out in the first session that they have never actually said certain expectations out loud.
There is a reason preparing early works. Most marital problems are not new problems - they are old patterns that never got named, assumptions each person carried in from home and quietly expected the other to share. Preparation is far cheaper than repair, and it is a lot easier to build a habit than to break one.
The first sessions get concrete. We take stock of your strengths as a couple, because most couples underestimate theirs. We identify the areas of concern before they become arguments. We put expectations into words - about money, roles, sex, kids, time with family, and what support looks like when one of you is struggling.
I will work with you on expectations, finances, family, intimacy, and the patterns you don't want to inherit. Utilizing Gottman therapy, I will guide you to discuss your fears and anxieties as well as your excitement for the next step. You will build a shared plan for conflict before conflict shows up uninvited.
What you leave with is practical. Language for the hard topics, a plan for how you fight and how you repair, and a much clearer picture of the marriage you are both actually signing up for.
Starting well is a skill, and it is one you can learn together.
How to Book with Hugh
- 01
Request a FREE 15-minute consultation
Not sure if I'm the right one for you? Reach out by phone, text, or email and let's find a time that works to see if we're a fit! We will talk through what brought you here and what you're looking for!
Request your free 15-minute consult → - 02
Schedule your first session
If it feels like a fit, let's get to work! We'll set up your first 50- or 90-minute session — by telehealth in Utah or Virginia. We'll get to know the issue, set goals and get a clear direction.
- 03
Begin the work
Here we go! We name your goals, identify the patterns keeping you stuck, and start building the skills that move you forward, whether that's in your own life, your relationship or your family.
Format
50 and 90-minute sessions by tele-health available in Utah. Clients report seeing more progress with weekly sessions. This allows for clients to more easily implement new coping strategies and start to see real lasting change occur. I maintain consistent communication with clients concerning the frequency of sessions, allowing for adjustments when needed. Frequency of sessions can adjust to biweekly and monthly as clients progress towards their goals.