Pre-Marital Course & Counselling
What Is The Pre-Marital Course & Counselling?
At New Leaf, we offer Pre-Marital Course & Counselling, built on a trusted framework created by Cate Heffernan at Mayo Couples Counselling Services.
Strengthen your bond. Build your future.
Pre-marital support is about prevention, gently building a strong foundation for lasting love, whether you prefer a single focused course or counselling that unfolds over several sessions.
Designed for couples in the early stages of their relationship, whether engaged, newly married, or in a committed partnership, this experience offers more than guidance. It delivers clarity, connection, and confidence. Through a professionally guided review, couples gain insight into their relationship dynamics and receive practical, evidence based tools to support lasting success.
You can choose between our intensive Pre-Marital Course, completed in one focused session, or our Pre-Marital Counselling, spread gently across several. Both walk you through the same meaningful material, so you can pick whichever rhythm suits you best.
Personalised. Insightful. Empowering. Because every great relationship deserves the right start.
Choose The Option That Suits You
The same trusted framework and the same comprehensive questionnaire, simply offered at two different paces. One brings everything together in a single focused session, whilst the other unfolds gently over several shorter sessions. Choose the rhythm that feels right for you.
Whichever option you choose, you will complete the same detailed, comprehensive relationship questionnaire, consisting of 80 thoughtfully crafted questions across the 13 key areas, which will be sent to you through our MOH- and HIPAA-compliant platform.
Your responses form the same in-depth assessment, allowing our counsellor to personalise your time together and focus on what matters most in your relationship.
The only difference between the two is the pace, whether you would like to explore everything in one focused sitting, or gradually over several sessions.
Option 1: Pre-Marital Course
An 180-minute intensive relationship assessment.
Our Pre-Marital Course is a focused three-hour intensive session that gives couples a comprehensive overview of their relationship in one meaningful sitting. Together with your counsellor, you will move through all 13 key areas with guided discussion and professional feedback, reflecting on where your relationship is already strong and gently identifying the areas most in need of nurturing.
You will leave with a clear overview of your relationship, a practical toolkit to take away, and a shared sense of direction to carry forward together. It is a rich, focused experience that makes wonderful use of a single session.
This option is ideal for couples who value clarity and momentum, who may have a busy schedule, or who would love a comprehensive, insightful overview of their relationship in one well-spent sitting.
Option 2: Pre-Marital Counselling
Scheduled weekly or fortnightly, in 90-minute sessions.
Our Pre-Marital Counselling explores the same 13 key areas across multiple 90-minute sessions, giving couples the space to move through each area thoughtfully and build practical skills over time. Together with your counsellor, you will reflect on your strengths, gently explore the areas most worth nurturing, and receive the same personalised, professional guidance at a gentler pace.
You will gain the same clear insight and practical takeaway toolkit, with the added benefit of time to practise new communication and conflict skills between sessions, so that what you learn becomes part of how you relate day-to-day.
This option is ideal for couples who value a gentler, more reflective rhythm, who would like time to absorb each area, or who feel there are specific topics they would love to explore more fully. Appointments are flexible, and you choose how many sessions you would like, with a recommended minimum of three.
Please note that both options are an assessment- and discussion-based experience rather than traditional ongoing counselling. Couples who wish to explore specific areas further are warmly welcome to transition into ongoing couples therapy afterwards.
What’s Included
Build a stronger future, together.
Whether you choose the intensive course or ongoing counselling, your experience is built on the same trusted foundation and includes:
- Professional guidance from a caring, qualified counsellor, focused on connection, clarity, and building strong foundations for lasting love.
- A detailed, comprehensive questionnaire of 80 thoughtfully crafted questions across the 13 key areas.
- Fully customised content, tailored to your unique relationship and the areas that matter most to you as a couple.
- A clear overview of your strengths, along with the areas most worth nurturing, across all 13 relationship domains.
- Space to understand the different experiences and family patterns you each bring, and how they shape the way you relate.
- Practical, evidence-based tools to help you communicate well, navigate conflict with care, and grow together with confidence.
- A takeaway toolkit of valuable handouts to reinforce what you learn and support your continued growth at home.
- A certificate of completion to mark this meaningful milestone.
- Delivered privately, just for the two of you, in person or online, at a time that best suits your schedule.
The 13 Key Areas We Explore
- Role expectations in marriage.
- Different experiences growing up.
- Family and extended family.
- Strengths and limitations.
- Expectations of love and marriage.
- Sexual relationship.
- Children and parenting.
- Religious values and practice.
- Culture.
- Finance.
- Communication.
- Conflict.
- Emotional expectations.
Why It Matters
Because strong relationships don’t happen by accident. They are built with intention.
- It is a powerful opportunity to equip couples, especially those early in their journey, with the tools they need to succeed.
- Many people did not have the chance to learn healthy relationship skills growing up, and this fills that gap with practical, real-world guidance.
- It helps break generational cycles by raising awareness of unhelpful patterns before they take root, empowering couples to choose a different path.
- Couples gain a deeper understanding of the root causes of relationship distress and learn how to avoid common pitfalls.
- Those seeking relationship or marriage preparation are already motivated and open to learning, making this a prime window to build healthy ways of relating.
- The experience is fully customised to each couple, making it especially relevant, engaging, and impactful.
By investing early in your relationship, you are taking the first step towards long-lasting rewards.
The skills and insights you gain will strengthen your bond now and lay the groundwork for a fulfilling and enduring relationship. This is not just a beginning, but a meaningful step in shaping your future together.
Why This Is The Perfect Time, Whichever Path You Choose
Couples are motivated, open, and ready to grow. Both our course and our counselling are designed with them in mind, offering benefits that speak to their needs and aspirations, so they feel understood and cared for.
Motivated. Open. Ready to grow.
Couples preparing for marriage are at the start of their journey and in a powerful stage of possibility. Whether you choose the intensive course or ongoing counselling, you set the foundation for a strong, enduring relationship filled with optimism and hope.
- They are in the early years of commitment, eager to build a meaningful and lasting partnership.
- These couples are motivated and curious, ready to learn what makes a relationship thrive.
- Unlike couples seeking help during crises, couples preparing for marriage typically have fewer resentments or entrenched issues, offering a fresh start.
- They are often open and self aware, willing to explore how their personal histories and family backgrounds influence their relationship.
- Many are in the honeymoon phase or just beginning to face real life challenges, making this an ideal time to develop healthy skills and understanding.
- When support is tailored to their unique relationship, couples absorb insights quickly and are empowered to grow together.
Meet Our Practitioners Specialising in Pre-Marital Course & Counselling

Joshua Koh
Counsellor

Soolin Choi
Counsellor

Diandra Andersen
Counsellor

Shrutika Kapoor
Counsellor

Fiona Maher O'Sullivan
Counsellor, Speakers

Vivien Tay
Counsellor

Lynette Lee-Chan
Counsellor