couples these days are not just getting ready for the wedding but they are also getting themselves ready for the marriage it is no longer justchecking up their partners dna and going for tests to find out whether they are hiv positive but they are also opting for premarital counselling research has shown that premarital counselling reduces the chances of a divorce by 30 per cent with the fragility that most of todays relationships show it is imperative to go for a proper understanding first of what one is getting into before taking the plunge meghna paul 28 who will be married by the end of next month agrees the fast paced lives that we young couples lead these days the rate at which problems in the marital lives crop up is alarming my partner and i have attended a premarital counselling session and have come away better equipped to deal with marriage and all that this relationship entails with divorce rates hovering at a precarious 50 per cent many couples are thinking of become better prepared to face the institution of marriage with the help of counselling some couples mistakenly believe that having lived together or having known each other for a long time will prepare them for marriage surprisingly research shows that cohabiting couples have no better chance at marriage success than others however most couple these days have realised that good skillbased premarriage education can reduce the risk of divorce and lead to a significantly happier marriage the premarriage stress is also done away with when the couple listens to professional advice i have seen marriages fail and was scared of the institution of marriage but after attending a counselling session with my boyfriend i have opened up and most of my doubts have disappeared says pushpa gaur a 25 yearold executive city psychologists agree that there has been a rise on the cases where young couples want to seek premarital counselling sessions before they tie the knot many couples mention that they unnecessarily dont want to go through procedures of divorce and if they are incompatible they might as well call it quits right at the beginning rather than going through a marriage involving both the families and then facing the pain of a divorce says relationship expert and psychologist seema hingorrany since a divorce can wreak havoc on not just your emotions but your finances as well any steps you take to avoid it is definitely a good move indeed a premarital counselling session includes an alternative or supplementary approach to educating engaged couples in the skills habits attitudes and enrichment techniques that research shows lead to happy enduring marriages such sessions usually address the normal issues and challenges that all couples face in the course of their marriage sukhada mistry 29 who will be getting married by the end of this year says just like we prepare for a wedding i believe that we should also prepare for the marriage before entering a lifelong