Catholic Social Service began reviewing and using the PREPARE/ENRICH Program in 2010. As a result of our early experiences with this program, the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City has chosen to use the PREPARE/ENRICH assessment tool in place of the FOCCUS marriage preparation instrument. Unlike the FOCCUS instrument which was only for engaged couples, the PREPARE/ENRICH Program is designed for both engaged and married couples. It is also highly tailored and relevant for each unique couple.
PREPARE/ENRICH was started in 1980 after David H Olson, Founder and CEO of the Program, discovered that while many marriage programs and classes were interesting and informative, they made no difference in information retention and attitude and behavioral change because couples did not feel the information related to them.
The PREPARE/ENRICH Program is a more effective tool for cultivating healthy and long-lasting marriage relationships because the online assessment of a couple's strength and growth areas makes the Program more relevant and customizable for each unique couple.
Today, PREPARE/ENRICH is one of the most widely used Programs for premarital counseling and premarital education, marriage counseling, marriage enrichment, and dating couples who are considering engagement. Based on a couple's assessment results, a trained facilitator provides 4-8 feedback sessions in which the facilitator helps the couple discuss and understand their results as they are taught proven relationship skills. The program has demonstrated an 80-85% accuracy of discriminating premarital couples that get divorced from those that are happily married.
The PREPARE/ENRICH Program gives couples an opportunity to:
Explore strength and growth areas.
Strengthen communication skills.
Identify and manage major stressors.
Resolve conflict.
Develop a more balanced relationship.
Explore family of origin issues.
Discuss financial planning and budgeting.
Establish personal, couple and family goals.
Understand and appreciate personality differences.
For more information about the program, visit the PREPARE/ENRICH website. For help on finding a facilitator, or to find out more about how to be trained to use PREPARE/ENRICH Program, contact Rhonda Goodloe by Email, or by phone at 620-272-0010.
