Welcome to Smooth Relations - a new blog focusing on some often neglected but essential aspects of marriage preparation. Whether you have just become engaged or are closer to your wedding, you know that wedding planning can be a consuming whirlwind. There is so much to think about and do as you plan your celebration, it's easy to forget that it's really about creating a lifetime relationship.
Many people have heard of premarital counseling as something required by their clergy in order to have a marriage ceremony performed. In many cases, this has been near the bottom of the to-do checklist before the wedding. If it happened at all, it involved one partner dragging the other to a few classes or sessions that were unlikely to involve honest exchange or useful insights.
It is becoming a more recent trend, as our society grudgingly bears the toll of frequent divorce, to recognize the need for some careful marriage preparation. In our challenging economic times, more families are scaling back expenditures on lavish weddings and thinking carefully about what holds the most value for them. Although it clearly needs to be more widely recognized and practiced, there are increasing opportunities for couples to actively learn about what makes successful marriages and to examine their own interactions in relation to these ideals. This blog is offered as an addition to these resources.
My long-term experience as a clinical psychologist with a specialty in marriage preparation (Smooth Relations Premarital Counseling Center of Cincinnati) has provided me with a great deal of material and observations about how couples and families can function at their best and at their worst. It is my hope that this blog can provide a helpful reminder of what is meaningful in the midst of often stressful wedding planning. I look forward to sharing with you.
Leigh S. Finkel, Ph.D.
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