Posted on

Prepare for a lifetime of “I choose You Everyday”

Summer is here, and that means its wedding season! After a couple of years of isolation, we are all ready to kick up our heels and dance the night away to celebrate love with friends and families. I am always amazed at the time and effort that goes into planning these amazing celebrations of Love and Commitment. It makes me wonder though, how much of this planning goes into what happens the day after, or even the year after? Which is why I am a big fan of premarital counselling; specifically, how it gives you the tools to uncover the potential pitfalls facing all newlyweds.

An average wedding costs about $40,000 just for the day and takes 200-500 hours to plan. Depending on the couple, these numbers can fluctuate greatly. Couples planning their dream day will budget for the wedding attire, rings, flowers, decorations, transportation, food, drinks, banquet hall, entertainment, and honeymoon. Very few will budget for premarital counselling.

Couples may begin premarital counselling on someone’s suggestion, or because it was another item to check off on a long list of wedding-to-dos, often left to the last minute as a low priority. However, making premarital counselling intentional allows you to get more out of your marriage and perhaps prevent major challenges down the road. Premarital counselling prepares you for a realistic perspective on marital expectations, it is an investment into your marriage and your future.

Premarital Counselling sessions focus on areas such as marital expectations, communication, finances, conflict resolution, family and friends, children, parenting, blended families, personalities, spirituality, sexual expectation etc. These sessions can help you practice crucial relationship skills, so that you can be more aligned on major aspects of your relationship, creating a stronger foundation on which to begin your marriage. Couples are challenged to explore their values, greatest fears, speak their truth, be vulnerable with each other, and share parts of themselves that they might not have done during the romantic dating phases. An experienced therapist will support you, guide you, and even dig a little deeper and explore personal traumas that may affect the marital relationship. The aim is to get you started on a solid foundation.

This might be too much and even too personal, but isn’t that what you are getting into, a personal intimate relationship with each other? This journey can be fun filled, laughter inducing, serious, and even tearful at some stages. However, it looks, it is an absolute “must do” on the planning list.

At Elpizo, we offer twelve (12), 90-minute sessions to discuss the abovementioned topics, and to aid the couple in creating a marriage plan. Your investment: 12 weeks, 18 hours, and a financial investment of about $3,000-$4,000, which you claim back on your health insurance. The time to start a plan for your lifetime partnership is now. Prepare for a marriage of “I chose you, every day”. Be informed, be intentional, build a solid foundation, begin from a place of knowledge, transparency, and alignment in creating a successful marriage. Congratulations for taking this bold journey of premarital therapy. We look forward to seeing you!

Posted on

Elpizo Community Connect: Navigating The Holiday Season

The Holiday Season has arrived and it is going to be unlike any other. With COVID-19 still being a hot topic, many are opting to change from their traditional routine to a new one. 

Last week on Elpizo’s Community Connect, the team came together and discussed how to navigate this holiday season. If you don’t know what to do this holiday season you should definitely take a look! 

This is our last Community Connect for the year so if you’re interested in the other topics that we cover we recommend going over to our Youtube channel to watch our other Elpizo Community Connect sessions. 

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment on how your navigating this holiday season! 

Posted on

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Useful Tips for Families to Navigate This Unique Holiday Season

With the year coming to a close, we look forward to a new type of holidays where we may or may not be seeing extended family and friends. Instead, we will be spending even more time with the family members in our household as the temperature steadily drops. Elpizo has created some helpful tips that you can use in your family to navigate this unique holiday season. Here are three of the many suggestions we at Elpizo have made for you: 

Plan Early 

With the situation changing week-by-week, some people are still holding off on planning for the holidays. We suggest that you plan early instead and stick with that plan for the weeks to come. By planning early, you can not only better prepare yourselves but also better prepare any children in the house. This way they won’t have the same expectations they always have during the holidays. By preparing them early, you are avoiding any sudden surprises which arrive and allow time for copping if any disappointments may occur. 

Communicate Your Rules in Advance 

With safety being top priority, communicating your rules in advance will help prepare family and friends if they decide to come over. Not everyone agrees on what is safe, especially in the current world climate we live in today. Communicating rules on masks, advanced testing, and even hugging can help take away any awkwardness on the day of. 

Find the Positives

Many people find the busyness and pressures that usually come with the holiday season stressful. Take the time to slow down this year and focus on the parts of the holiday that are most meaningful to you while staying connected to those you care for and keeping your family safe.

For our full list of tips and bunch of other activities and resources to endure this pandemic holiday, please feel free to download the ‘Useful Tips for Families to Navigate This Unique Holiday Season’ pdf below. Like always if you have any questions about navigating the holidays as a family, please feel free to email us at info@elpizocounselling.com.

Posted on

Elpizo Community Connect: Effective Communication

Communication is so important in all aspects of our lives! From relationships, to family and even work, your communication skills can mean a great deal and have impact on others. 

This week the Elpizo team discussed effective communication skills and tips during their Community Connect session. If you are interested in learning effective communication skills, then this is a must watch. 

Be sure to join our other weekly sessions where we discuss a variety of useful topics to enhance your personal skills. 

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment on your own tips for better communication.

Posted on

Elpizo Community Connect: Time Management

Managing your time well can make all the difference between living a stressful or stress-free life. Join the Elpizo team in this workshop to get some valuable insights and information on time management.

Download the worksheets below:

Time Management Daily Activities Log

Where Does the Time Go Worksheet

References: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/tests/career/procrastination-test-abridged

Watch the workshop below and leave us a comment if you have tips and time hacks of your own.