|
In western cultures, there seem to be no institutions more firmly committed to the possibility of preventing marital distress than the church (particularly the moderate to conservative elements of the Protestant church and the Catholic church). In fact, Dan Trathen has collected survey data that reflects what has seemed true for many years: you can hardly be married in many churches, especially conservative Protestant churches and The Catholic Church without having participated in some premarital program. Christianity by and large is already committed to prevention of marital failure in its various forms.
Nevertheless, the bulk of the premarital training and marriage enrichment programs conducted by churches in our culture have no demonstrated effectiveness. This is not to say that they are of no value. But, there is no particular evidence that they are of value, either. The biggest concern is that much time is spent giving information without training in specific skills. In his highly respected reference for premarital Christian counseling, Dr. Everett Worthington, Jr., writes:
"Probably the fairest, up-to-date evaluation of the effectiveness of premarital counseling programs is that they are thought to be effective to the extent that they (1) have clear goals, (2) last at least six to twelve weeks, (3) focus on communication and problem solving about issues that the couple considers relevant, and (4) include information, interaction between partners (especially with feedback by video or by other people), and discussion. Purely information-oriented approaches and time-constrained conjoint sessions might be effective; but there is no research to support that method." (Worthington, 1990, p. 2)
The above describes the program presented here quite well. A key goal is to provide a program that pastors, Christian professionals, and lay leaders can use that is hopefully as effective as possible. As long as the body of Christ is intent on spending massive resources to help marriages, it seems only fitting that this be time and money well spent. What we present here is as strong of a six session program for both premarital and marital couples as we can devise based on our understanding of Christianity and the available knowledge about marriage in our culture.
|
