Fact #1 About 50% of all first marriages end in divorce, and 20% of those divorces occur in the first two years.

Fact #2 Many divorces occur partly because couples are not prepared for marriage. Usually couples spend more time preparing for the wedding ceremony than for their marriage relationship.

Fact #3 Research indicates that the earlier a couple identifies their strengths and differences and learn practical skills - talking, listening, and conflict-resolving skills - for dealing collaboratively with life's issues, the better their chances are for building a satisfying, viable, and lasting relationship.

What is Great Start?

Great Start is a program that helps couples prepare realistically for marriage and prevent divorce by building a skilled, happy, and growing relationship. Great Start puts together two highly acclaimed and well-tested national programs:

• COUPLE COMMUNICATION teaches effective talking, listening, and conflict resolving skills, and is described throughout this web site. It was developed by Interpersonal Communication Programs, Inc., of Evergreen, Colorado. There's more detail online...
  
  
• PREPARE/ENRICH provides assessments and feedback to couples for identifying their strengths and developing their relationship skills. It was created by Life Innovations, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The PREPARE/ENRICH inventories consist of questionnaires for the following categories:

  Communication Conflict Resolution Couple Closeness Couple Flexibility Children & Parenting Personality Issues Leisure Activities Financial Management

  Role Relationship Marriage Expectations Family & Friends Sexual Relationship Spiritual Beliefs Family Closeness Family Flexibility Idealistic Distortion

After each partner takes the inventories, the inventories are submitted to Life Innovations, Inc., for analysis. A confidential computer report summarizes the strength and growth areas for the couple. For more details, visit the PREPARE/ENRICH web site.

Who teaches you Great Start?

As a couple, you work with a person certified in both COUPLE COMMUNICATION and PREPARE/ENRICH who lets you know the details and sequencing of these two programs to help you launch your marriage successfully. The Great Start instructor provides the feedback for the PREPARE/ENRICH inventories and teaches the COUPLE COMMUNICATION program. Later, the instructor offers follow-up marital review plus skill reinforcement and extension from the two programs.

Great Start instructors generally work with the approval of a congregation or group of congregations in an area, as part of a pre-marriage or early-marriage ministry. Many congregations add a theological component for pre-marital couples.

Where can you find a Great Start instructor?

Click on this screen in the box that says "Instructors Near You." Once on that page, click on your state. If a COUPLE COMMUNICATION instructor offers the Great Start Program, a reference to Great Start will be indicated on his or her listing.

Build Your Marriage

Click here for an article that describes what is involved if you want to "Build Your Marriage."

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