The Case for Premarital Ed, Even if Your Partner is Your Soulmate
Even though the divorce rate has declined in recent years, nearly half of first marriages, and even more second marriages, end in divorce. Premarital education can reduce those numbers, research says. Couples who go through premarital counseling are 31% less likely to divorce than couples who did not receive counseling. With these changing realities, premarital education and the conversations that it catalyzes have never been more important, proponents say.
That is especially true for those in the early throes of love, a time marked by a heightened cognitive and emotional experience called limerence, which tends to wear off after 12-18 months of a relationship, making it challenging for the couple to work through each partner’s differences, according to Carl Caton, president of the San Antonio Marriage Initiative, a faith-based organization in Texas that works with community leaders to support marriage and train marriage preparation facilitators.
“The way the brain lights up when you feel those butterfly feelings is very similar to someone who’s on cocaine,” Caton said. “So when couples are entering this, their biology plays a trick on them — they don’t think [this course] is necessary.”
The belief in “soulmate-ism” is also alive and well, […]
Sandy Bober shares her personal testimony about being raped in college, her infection with an STD and her struggles and ultimate victory to regain her self-esteem, healthy relationships and a successful marriage.
Here at Love Smarts, we would like to share helpful information including personal stories of relationship successes and failures, insights from psychology and human experience about what leads to lasting love relationships.
We look forward to hearing from YOU which articles were meaningful and also about what you have learned from your own life experience, whether that was a top-of-the mountain joy or a relationship disaster!
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International LoveSmarts Teen Seminar LiveCast
The LoveSmarts Teen Seminar held on 2/24/24 in Matamoras, PA was also livestreamed to groups in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, the Philippines and around the U.S.
It was presented by Linda Doering, who has taught more than 50,000 youth in the U.S. and internationally about the benefits of delaying sexual involvement, setting and aiming for your chosen life goals and avoiding risky behaviors.
Here are some of the comments by those attending in person.
As a Mom, (it made me feel) proud of myself for being firm and pushing abstinence with my daughter! The presenter was amazing! I would love for this to be taught in […]
Open Letter to Girls Abandoned by Their Fathers
Personal Perspective: Words of validation to help you love yourself.
Kaytee Gillis, LCSW-BACS, November 1, 2023
- Women who were abandoned by a father often feel a strong sense of self-doubt and struggle to love themself
- They have a greater chance of entering relationships in which they are mistreated or not loved.
- Understanding that abandonment is not about them is crucial for healing, but it is not easy.
I was climbing the side of a mountain. I had never had any training, yet there I was, stuck to the side […]