Premarital Counselling
Preparing for marriage or a long-term commitment involves thinking about the life you want to share. Alongside plans for a wedding or a home, there may be important conversations about expectations, responsibilities and how you will navigate decisions together.
Premarital counselling gives couples dedicated time to explore these questions. We support partners who are engaged or considering a deeper commitment and want to understand each other more fully before taking that next step.
Your sessions can build on what already works in your relationship while creating room for topics that have received less attention. Each partner brings personal experiences, family influences and assumptions about partnership. Understanding these differences can help you make more deliberate decisions about the relationship you want to create.
Book an appointment or call 403-801-4839 for help choosing a counsellor.
When premarital counselling may be useful
You may want to discuss decisions about children, parenting, finances, work, household responsibilities or relationships with extended family. Differences in culture, faith or personal values may also shape your expectations and deserve time for an open conversation.
Some couples arrive with a particular disagreement; others want a structured opportunity to identify questions they have not yet considered. Counselling can be especially useful when a major decision feels difficult to raise, when you assume you agree but have not discussed the details, or when outside expectations are affecting your plans. Your counsellor can help you choose a focus that matters to both partners.
How we help you prepare for commitment
We begin by learning about your relationship and what each partner hopes to gain from the sessions. Your counsellor can help you identify areas of shared understanding and topics where expectations differ. The conversations can then move from broad intentions to what those intentions might look like in everyday life.
You may explore how you make decisions, communicate disappointment, manage conflict and ask for support. Practical conversations about spending, family boundaries or dividing responsibilities can sit alongside questions about closeness, independence and the values you want your relationship to reflect.
The aim is to help you understand each other's perspective and practise discussing important matters directly. Your counsellor can support you in identifying agreements, acknowledging unresolved questions and considering how you will return to these conversations as circumstances change.
What to expect at your first appointment
At the first appointment, you can share how your relationship developed, the commitment you are considering and any questions you would particularly like to discuss. Each partner has an opportunity to describe what they value in the relationship and what they hope for its future.
Your counsellor can help you identify a starting point and discuss how the sessions could be organised. You might begin with one important decision or work through several areas over time. The plan will reflect your priorities, and you can ask about the approach, appointment arrangements and how to prepare for subsequent conversations.
Meet the counsellors who work with newly engaged couples
Maria Schmid
Registered Psychologist
Maria is a registered psychologist who works with couples preparing for marriage or a long-term commitment. She helps partners put their expectations into words and discuss how they want to handle important decisions about family life and responsibilities.
Danielle Smith
Registered Psychologist
Dr. Smith is a registered psychologist whose couples work is informed by systemic family therapy. Her approach brings attention to how partners communicate about differences and how each person’s family experiences shape expectations for a shared life.
Renata Logan
Registered Psychologist
Renata is a registered psychologist with graduate training in family and marital therapy. Her work with couples gives partners space to explore how their values and family histories influence their expectations of a long-term relationship.
Jason Stein
Registered Social Worker
Jason is a registered social worker with a collaborative approach to counselling couples. His work with relationship conflict can help partners think through how they want to address disagreements and share responsibility as their commitment deepens.
Sheri Sadowick
Counseling Therapist (AB), Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (BC)
Sheri is a counselling therapist whose relationship work addresses communication, family expectations and practical pressures at home. These themes can be relevant when you are considering how a new commitment will affect your routines, responsibilities and plans together.