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Family Law

: SC Family Law Blog

Is It Time for a Marital Checkup?

By Ben Stevens

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The following Guest Post is from Julie Thompson:

Earlier this month Good Morning America presented a report called “Do You Need a Marital Checkup?” It cited the research of James Cordova, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Cordova said that an annual marriage checkup is the marital health equivalent of the annual physical or the every six-month dental visit. Like a tiny dental cavity you can’t see, “so much is what is predictive of a deteriorating relationship is difficult for the couple to detect.” That’s where the checkup comes in.

In a two-year study, Dr. Cordova followed 68 couples for six months. Each had been married an average of 15 years, and were in their mid-40’s. One half of the couples participated in a two-session “marital checkup” with a battery of questions and a face-to-face relationship assessment. Cordova found that the couples who did the checkup reported greater marital satisfaction and “had improved in all kinds of ways” compared to those without the checkup.

While a marriage and family therapist can provide such a checkup, there are other lower-cost alternatives to consider as well.

A couples communication workshop introduces communication tools that help couples to improve their emotional connection. They learn to listen with empathy, reduce misunderstanding, and resolve conflict in healthy ways.
A relationship assessment from PREPARE-ENRICH can help couples to identify strengths and areas needing growth.
A coaching session helps couples set goals for improvement in their relationship, and provides support and accountability for making healthy changes.

In the Greenville-Spartanburg area, the Rev. Julie Thompson, ordained minister, relationship educator and coach offers all of these services for couples through her practice Roots and Wings Workshops and Coaching, Inc. A couples communication workshop begins January 8 at the Spartanburg County Headquarters library. Visit www.rootsandwingsworkshops.com for registration details or click HERE to download a brochure.

Full post as published by SC Family Law Blog on December 17, 2008 (boomark / email).