Best Online Premarital Counseling

Ours is a hybrid therapy option for couples that employs both live talk therapy and self-guided lessons based on premarital counseling to help address potential issues or barriers in your relationship.

Each couple meets their counselor, or "guide," for a welcome Zoom call. Then, your designated counselor chooses lessons from various modules that address areas you may need to work on in your relationship, including intimacy, communication, speaking and listening, finances, navigating differences, values, and the future. Your guide will be available to answer questions and assist you along the way, and you'll have one more live session with them.

Each “guide” has a minimum of a master’s degree in therapy, mental health, or counseling. You will be given a questionnaire to help your guide craft a personalized program. You’ll meet twice over Zoom so you can ask any questions you may have and receive personal feedback.

In our survey, 78% of users reported having most or all of their needs met by Ours, and 84% considered the therapists to be well qualified. Overall satisfaction rates were also relatively high, with 80% of survey respondents saying they had a positive experience at Ours. Still, only 61% of users said they would recommend the service to a friend.

There is only one plan, which includes the two live sessions and four lessons for $400 upfront. Alternatively, you can pay $50 to start; the remaining $350 will be debited if you decide to continue after the first session. Insurance is not accepted.

Growing Self offers online premarital counseling by therapists who specialize in marriage and family counseling. You can choose your therapist based on their bios, then set up a free consultation to see if they’re a good match for you. At this time, you will also go over your goals. If the match doesn’t feel right, you can choose another therapist. 

Growing Self helps couples work through potential sticking points that can surface throughout their relationship and in their future as a couple, in part by encouraging you to practice clear communication with your partner by establishing good communication with your therapist. Depending on your needs and goals, your therapist can help you build conflict resolution skills, open and honest communication, address differences in parenting and finances, sexual intimacy, and much more.

Growing Self has a high user satisfaction rate, according to our user survey, with 90% of respondents rating it as good, very good, or excellent, making it one of the highest-rated services in our survey. Sixty-eight percent of users said their therapist met all or most of their needs, and 89% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent.

Growing Self is a pay-per-session therapy service that is not covered by insurance, although you can check with your insurance provider for potential reimbursements. The fee is based on a sliding scale and your therapist's qualifications. 

New therapists charge $105 per session, master’s degree-level therapists charge $115, more experienced ones will charge $135, and some advanced therapists charge $175. Each may reduce the price depending on your specific case.

Octave offers personalized care through its diverse providers who include members of marginalized communities specializing in racial trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, and trans issues. The therapists also have a broad range of specialties, such as expertise in family, marriage, and relationships. 

Once matched with your therapist, you will form a plan to address any issues, concerns, or goals you have for your relationship. Your therapist will track and measure your progress throughout your sessions to help you achieve your goals. The methods used are evidenced-based and scientifically backed, including:

• Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT), which focuses on emotional security and attachment
• Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), which focuses on emotional acceptance
• The Gottman Method, which focuses on building positive emotions to replace negative ones 

The type or combination of therapy you receive is based on your individual needs and goals. Our survey revealed 71% of users found Octave to be a good, very good, or excellent service overall, and 82% found their therapist met all or most of their needs. What’s more, 74% of users rated their provider’s qualifications highly, and 66% said they would recommend the service to a friend or family member.

Couples therapy costs $190 to $275 per session. Octave works with insurance providers that may cover part of the cost and will provide a superbill for potential reimbursement with your out-of-network insurance provider.

Premarital counseling through Talkspace aims to help you build a solid foundation before your marriage commitment. Your therapist will help you learn communication skills and conflict resolution, identify your values, help you match expectations around parenting and intimacy, work through anger issues, build trust, and more. 

In order to ensure quality care, Talkspace only employs licensed marriage and family therapists to provide premarital counseling. While your therapist is matched to you by Talkspace's algorithm, you can change therapists if you feel the one assigned to you is not a good fit. If you prefer a range of communication options with ongoing support through unlimited messaging, Talkspace is an excellent choice.

Our survey revealed that 90% of Talkspace users found the service good, very good, or excellent overall, making it one of the highest-rated services in our survey. Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed said their therapist met most or all of their needs.

Plans begin at $396 monthly for live audio and video sessions, as well as unlimited text messaging. 

You will be billed monthly, although the website states prices by week. Talkspace accepts insurance, primarily through employers or employer-sponsored plans.

Couples therapy with Couples Therapy Inc. starts with an assessment of over 800 questions aimed at fleshing out specific areas of concern and targeting trouble spots to work on with your therapist. Once you complete the assessment, a step-by-step plan is provided with actionable advice for each session. The online intensives are scheduled for Fridays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. followed by Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other modified formats are available upon request if you can’t make the weekend sessions.

During the premarital counseling intensive, a licensed marriage counseling specialist will work with you separately and together during sessions. The intensive will focus only on what you should address before your marriage and provides advice and areas of work for each of you as individuals and as a couple.

Our user survey revealed 90% of Couples Therapy Inc. users felt the overall service was good, very good, or excellent, and 82% said most or all of their needs were met. Also, 90% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent.

Couples Therapy Inc. intensives are priced depending on the experience and degree of your therapist and range from $3,500 to $6,500. If you prefer coaching services instead, they range from $150 to $275 for a 55-minute session.

ReGain’s services are available anytime, anywhere, via a computer, tablet, or smartphone, making your therapy sessions and communications easy to access, no matter how busy you get.

While ReGain is not explicitly designed for premarital counseling, it is a couples therapy service that provides counseling for improving relationships. If you feel your relationship needs a tune-up or you’re hoping to learn some quick communication and problem-solving skills for your upcoming marriage, ReGain may be perfect for you. 

You share a joint client portal with your partner to communicate with your therapist. All written communication is shared and visible to you both as well as your therapist, so everyone can stay in the loop. You can share what is going on with you personally and what you want to focus on as a couple. Your therapist will provide feedback and advice for you both to follow. 

If desired, you can also request live private sessions. You don’t need to schedule appointments for messaging-based communication; instead, your communication is in real-time, and you will receive a notification when your therapist has responded. 

Our survey found 77% of users reported ReGain’s overall service as good, very good, or excellent, and 80% felt most or all of their needs were met by their therapist.

ReGain therapy costs $60 to $90 per week and is billed every four weeks.

Relationship group therapy sessions with Mindful Care, called Connect, involve learning communication, mindfulness, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skills in a peer setting that a licensed therapist leads. Group therapy is helpful for anyone who appreciates the validation and affirmation that comes from communicating with others who have shared experiences and may better understand the issues you’re facing.

While Connect isn’t specifically for premarital counseling, it addresses topics relevant to couples who want to learn better communication skills and conflict resolution to make the transition to marriage and cohabiting go more smoothly. CBT group therapy is inclusive, judgment-free, and designed to help you recognize and change undesirable thought and behavior patterns, communicate more effectively, and increase mindfulness. 

Groups meet once weekly for one hour at a set time between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. through video chat. You can join the conversations or just listen without pressure to speak. Ninety-two percent of users of Mindful Care rated the overall service as good, very good, or excellent, and 82% said their therapist met most or all of their needs.

Mindful Care group therapy sessions cost $35 each for self-paying clients, but many health insurance providers and Medicare are accepted. Initial evaluations for group or individual therapy cost $150.

Gottman Couples Therapy is an effective relationship-building method that’s been proven to help foster intimacy and improve marital adjustment, providing lasting effects. The Gottman Referral Network is a free database of Gottman-trained therapists that couples worldwide can access. 

The network allows you to search for in-person therapists in your area or find a practitioner who offers  virtual therapy sessions. You can filter results by therapist specialties and services offered. Therapists’ profiles are available for comparing and finding someone you’re comfortable reaching out to for the next steps.

In our survey of directory users, 79% of respondents said they were satisfied with their overall experience using the Gottman Referral Network. In addition, 72% of users said the website was easy to navigate and 56% said they were able to find a therapist who met all of their needs. Finally, 71% of users indicated they were still seeing the therapist they found using the directory.

Plans and pricing will differ based on which therapist you choose. Access to the Gottman Referral Network is free.

The Happily Ever After self-guided premarital course covers six topics that commonly cause conflict or sticking points in relationships, and helps couples build communication skills so they can work through issues as they arise. These topics include finances, self-discovery, conflict and repair, sex and intimacy, how your family of origin impacts relationships, and successful communication. You’ll learn about building a connection, addressing mental health concerns like anxiety and attachment, and discussing parenting and family building. 

The course begins with an assessment that helps you pin down your relationship’s strengths and areas to work on. Then, you will move on to viewing short 20- to 30-minute videos on various topics, followed by completing worksheets designed to help you build tools to better navigate issues, and create a plan of action for your marriage. 

If you'd like more personalized advice after completing the course, you can sign up for premarital coaching, but only after you've gone through all of the self-guided material. It's worth noting that these sessions will take place with coaches at Happily Ever After, not licensed therapists or counselors.

The Happily Ever After premarital course is $97 for lifetime access. Those who’ve gone through the course can also get online premarital coaching from experienced premarital coaches for $169 to $315 per hour.

Ritual is an app-based support platform that provides couples with accessible, affordable relationship-building guidance to improve connection and closeness. It does this through a combination of live sessions and activities. The app offers daily customized skill-building tips using expert-created videos and audio. You’ll also receive guided journal prompts encouraging self-reflection to better apply what you’ve learned and understand how your newly discovered skills will improve your relationship.

The basic plan is self-guided and includes a personalized learning path with access to expert-led videos and a progress report. You’ll also receive weekly check-ins, feedback within 72 hours, and two expert-led sessions per month. If you’d like some more guidance, the expert-led option provides four expert sessions per month with ongoing expert support. There is also a couples plan, which provides three expert-led sessions per partner per month and a monthly extended couple session.

Ritual has three plan options: 

• Flying Solo journey with two expert guidance sessions per month for $100 a month
• Flying Solo journey with weekly sessions for $160 per month
• In This Together journey with three sessions with an expert per partner a month and one monthly extended couples session with ongoing expert support for $65/week or $260/month