Viewpoints Explained: Would You Try Couples Therapy? Talking It Out Before Saying “I Do”

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More couples are adding an extra item to their wedding to-do list— premarital counseling. A recent survey by the knot found that out of seventeen thousand engaged or just-married couples, about a third went to couples therapy. For gen Z’ers, this number is higher at 39 percent. And the demand is growing. Data from mental health tech company Headway shows that family and couples therapy appointments increased by more than 50 percent over the last two years.

Once seen as a last-ditch effort to save a failing marriage, couples therapy is now viewed as a way to maintain a healthy and happy partnership. And it’s not just about avoiding divorce. Many people say they don’t want to repeat the patterns they saw in their parents’ marriages. One upside is that therapy offers a neutral and supportive space to have difficult conversations about common relationship issues like where money is being spent or how couples talk to each other in moments of conflict.

Experts say that while premarital therapy can’t “fix” a relationship, it can help couples gain the right tools as they move into this next chapter. And for a growing number of young people, it’s becoming just as important as picking a venue or choosing what’s on the menu.