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 Marriage is an important step and the decision to take it may be the most important you will ever take.The definition of marriage from the Family Law Act 1961 is – “Marriage is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life.” For life. And for life can be a very long time! Many marriages, no matter how much in love the couple were to begin with, just don’t make it. For some couples, their expectations of marriage are un-realistic; some may not have adequately explored how they would deal with difficult situations such as financial issues or raising children; others may have difficulty communicating. And, with two people holding different views on some issues, good communication is probably the most necessary skill of all. How to improve your chances of achieving a solid relationship and a happy marriageIdeally, you might attend a pre-marriage program together. This will give you a good awareness of the reality of your expectations and how you will deal with any differences of opinion or viewpoint. A pre-marriage program will also give you the skills and techniques to effectively communicate with each other if there is disagreement and so avoid shouting matches, or worse. Group programs are regularly held by organisations such as Relationships Australia or Centacare and will include topics such as Roles and Expectations, Family Influences, Self-Responsibility in the Relationship, Communication Skills, Conflict Management Strategies, Sexuality and Romance. Don’t wait until it’s too late to get help to resolve problemsNo one can make you attend a pre-marriage program – it’s just a very good idea. However, if you ever do experience problems in your relationship, either before, or after, you are married, it’s important to get help before the problem goes too far and gets out of hand. Counsellors and mediators can help you to solve most issues you might have – as long as you seek help early enough. Organisations offering pre-marriage coursesRelationships Australia Telephone: 5575 6041 Web site: www.relationships.com.au Centacare (Catholic Family and Community Services) Telephone: 3252 4371 Web site: www.centacarebrisbane.net.au Other organisations and private counselors can be found in your Yellow Pages telephone directory – look in the index for Relationship Counselling |