The Marriage Checkup

Why a marriage checkup? You see your dentist every year to make sure your teeth stay healthy. You might see your doctor regularly to monitor your physical health. How about keeping our marriage healthy? Is there a way to take the pulse of your marriage and identify trouble spots early on, before things get worse?

This is the idea behind a brief two-session, focused look at the strengths and work areas of your relationship.

What Does it Include?

• A one-hour initial consultation with one of our couples therapists to gather information about your relationship.
  
• A relationship questionnaire that both of you complete independently of each other (this will take approximately 1 hour of your time).
  
• A one-hour feedback interview where we review your relationship strengths, potential areas of improvement, and suggestions for enhancing your relationship.
  
• A written report for you to keep.

Is a Check-up Right For Me and My Spouse?

A checkup is a good fit for couples who are mutually committed to each other and want to strengthen their marriage, and who have a good balance of strengths and work areas in their relationship, but feel that they may just need a "tune-up." For example, you might want to work on improving a specific aspect of your relationship. You might be feeling more distant lately. Or you might be having more difficulty communicating. Sometimes transitions from one life stage to another bring new challenges you haven't dealt with before.

One or both spouses in these situations may often be reluctant to seek couples counselling for various reasons, yet feel limited in their options for addressing their issues. A checkup can be just the right step in such cases.

If your marriage is in a state of crisis, a checkup is probably not the best option for you. Severe discord, lack of commitment from at least one partner, discovery of an affair, episodes of domestic violence, or one partner wanting to end the marriage are examples of a marriage in crisis. In these situations, I recommend more timely and intensive therapy.

How Will a Check-up Benefit Us?

• Learn what you can do to create greater closeness, intimacy, support, friendship, love, fun, and happiness in your marriage.
  
• Appreciate your strengths and enhance positive feelings for each other.
  
• Find out how your styles of handling conflict impact the health of your marriage.
  
• Pinpoint harmful relationship dynamics early on while they are easy to alter before they become entrenched and more difficult to change.
  
• ‘Test out’ the process of working with a marital professional.

Is a Marriage Check-up Therapy?

While a checkup is not intensive therapy, there are therapeutic components to the process of a marriage checkup. Research has shown that couples who participate in a checkup often make significant improvements to their relationship afterward.

It is educational, practical, and solution-focused. Feedback about your relationship strengths and potential work areas is offered at the second visit and you are free to use this information as you please.

Should you wish to pursue couples counselling following the checkup, you can continue working with your therapist or we can provide several referral options that suit your needs and budget.

How Much Will It Cost?

The fee for a marriage checkup is the cost of two sessions with one of our counsellors. Please see our fee schedule for more information. There is no expectation that you continue therapy beyond the two sessions after the marriage check-up.

To Book an Appointment

Just call us (403) 255-8577 or use our easy online scheduler here to book your Marriage Checkup. 

If you have any questions or would like to contact us by email, you can complete a brief confidential contact form here. Once you submit the contact form, a Cobb & Associates intake staff member will respond as soon as possible.

We are currently accepting new clients and warmly welcome self-referrals and referrals from physicians and other professionals.

We appreciate your interest in our services and hope this information has been helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions.

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