Therapy-At-Home Workbooks(TM): Premarital Counseling Workbook
I'm excited to announce the availability of my new Premarital Counseling Workbook, the first in my series of Therapy-At-Home Workbooks(TM) which are ebooks with the purpose of providing an easy to follow, convenient and cost effective alternative to face-to-face therapy.
Therapy-At-Home Workbooks(TM): Premarital Counseling is for couples to use together and provides a framework for you to strengthen your relationship foundation prior to marriage. Its’ interactive format with exercises, worksheets and a space for couples journaling makes it a great keepsake for you and your fiance – to remind you of what you worked on in preparation for your marriage.
This premarital counseling workbook is 71 pages from start to finish and includes the couples counseling theories, methods and exercises used by me in my own San Diego premarital counseling program. It will provide you with guide posts leading to an understanding of the basic principles of a strong relationship foundation and emotional safety – the two driving forces underlying my relationship counseling work.
My premarital counseling workbook will help you and your fiance:
1) Strengthen Your Communication Skills: Being able to effectively listen, truly hear and validate the other’s position is a skill that isn’t necessarily a “given” for many people. Couples that communicate well can discuss and resolve issues when they arise more effectively. I will help you tune up your talking and listening skills. This is one of the most important aspects of emotional safety between couples. We will discuss in detail ways you can communicate effectively as well as look at conflict resolution skills.
2) Increase the Levels of Emotional Safety: I have a very specific definition of “emotional safety” and way to assess the level between two people. They are how much a couple feels respect, trust, prioritized, heard, understood, validated, empathy with and love from each other.
3) Explore Your Relationship Balance: How much attention is paid to the “you,” “me” and “we” of the relationship. Couples who are out of balance can suffer a number of problems. It’s ideal to identify where you’re both at, if you’re ok with it – or if adjustments might be beneficial to your relationship.
4) Identify Problematic Family of Origin Issues: We learn so much of how to “be” from our parents, primary caregivers and other early influences. If one of the partners experienced a high conflict or unloving household, it can be helpful to explore that in regards to how it might play out in the marriage. Couples who have an understanding of the existence of any problematic conditioning around how relationships work are usually better at disrupting repetition of these learned behaviors. We’ll explore what each of you might be bringing into your relationship from your past – and whether there is anything to stay aware of.
5) Explore Your Marriage Logistics/Expectations: It’s incredibly common for married couples to never really have discussed “who” will be doing “what” in the marriage. This can apply to job, finances, chores, sexual intimacy and more. Having an open and honest discussion about what each of you expect from the other in a variety of areas leads to fewer surprises and upsets down the line. We will take a look at you and your partner’s role expectations.
6) Develop Your Personal, Couple, Family Goals and Marriage Vision: It amazes me how many married couples have never discussed their relationship goals – let alone personal or family. This is a long term investment together – why not put your heads together and look at how you’d like the future to look? Where do you want to be in five years? Approximately when would you like to have children? How many children? There are many areas that can be explored and it can be a fun exercise to do together. You and your partner will each learn about the other’s goals and how to combine them into one vision.
Therapy-At-Home Workbooks(TM): Premarital Counseling FAQS
What is an ebook? An ebook is an electronic book which can be read on your computer - or in my case - is also downloadable so you can print it out in order to do the exercises, worksheets and couples journal entries.
What format is it in? PDF format is a popular format for ebooks and this is the one I'm using. All platforms are able to gain access and read PDF formatting. So regardless if you have a PC or Mac, you're ok. PDF requires the Acrobat Reader but this software comes on many new computers and if not included, it's a free downloaded from Adobe http://www.adobe.com. PDF files are good for printing out pages - which you will be doing.
How much does the Premarital Counseling Workbook cost? The price for the workbook is $20.00.
How do I get the workbook? The most efficient way to get the item is by visiting my storefront on Lulu.com, a large and reputable publisher and seller of print-on-demand books. I have a link at the bottom of the page to get there. Once you create an account, you can purchase my workbook and dowload it immediately.
Another option is to purchase via Google Checkout or Paypal in which case I will e-mail the item in the PDF format. This method is a bit more archaic (technology problems, e-mail issues, etc) but I've sold a number of workbooks this way so I will continue to offer this as an option for now. However, there have been a few problems that I'd like to help people avoid so please keep in mind a few things if you choose to do it this way:
1) Allow up to one business day to receive the item.
2) Set your spam filter to be able to receive mail from lisa@lisakifttherapy.com.
3) Be advised that the item on you billing statement will read, "LBK Services."
4) If you're experiencing any problems, please call me directly at 619-977-6426 or be sure to include your phone number in your e-mail so I can call you.
Anything else I should know? There is a no refund policy on this workbook. Also, please note that though this premarital counseling workbook is a face-to-face therapy alternative, it can't possible replace face-to-face counseling, as clearly the only therapist interraction is guidance via my written word. Though I strive to help guide readers through potentially rough waters, it's possible that you will be challenged in some of the areas presented. If this happens, I strongly encourage finding a local therapist or counselor in your area.
Feedback: I always appreciate feedback - positive or negative - for any writing I do. If you purchase the workbook and have thoughts about the experience using it I'd love to hear them. I want to continue to improve my products as I release different "Therapy-At-Home" workbook topics in the future. E-mail me at lisa@lisakifttherapy.com with subject, "Premarital Counseling Workbook" in the subject line. You can also read previous writing feedback for my relationship writing.
Click Here to Visit my Storefront at Lulu.com