Premarital Counseling in
San Diego

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PREMARITAL COUNSELING

Build a strong foundation for your future together with premarital counseling in San Diego!

Planning a future with someone is exciting but it also brings up big questions, unspoken fears and important conversations that you may not know how to start. Many couples spend more energy on planning their wedding than they do on preparing for their marriage and then they enter into long-term commitment with unanswered questions about communication, role expectations or finances.

Premarital counseling is designed to help you build a strong and intentional foundation before you enter into marriage. Together, you can work to strengthen your connection, align on your wishes and expectations for the future and prepare for any challenges ahead so you can both step into your marriage with confidence. I’d love to support you in creating that future together!

Dana SockolovPremarital Counseling San Diego

WHERE I CAN HELP

Common premarital topics we can address…

  • Exploring hopes, fears and expectations about what marriage will look and feel like

  • Navigating differences in values, long-term goals or vision for the future

  • Discussing marriage-impacting topics like children, parenting styles or family planning

  • Clarifying expectations around roles, responsibilities and decision-making

  • Understanding each partner’s attachment patterns & how they influence the relationship

  • Identifying and breaking unhelpful relationship patterns before marriage

  • Strengthening trust, commitment and the ability to navigate challenges as a team

  • Communicating effectively during conflict so issues don’t escalate over time

  • Aligning on finances, budgeting, spending habits, saving and debt

  • Building a strong foundation for intimacy, connection and emotional safety

  • Creating healthy boundaries with in-laws and extended family

  • Major life transitions such as combining households, relocating or career changes

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN

How premarital counseling can help your relationship

A shared roadmap for your life together as a couple

We’ll explore topics like finances, family expectations, communication and long-term goals, so you step into marriage aligned on the same vision.

A solid foundation for your upcoming marriage

Through this work, you’ll create the kind of relationship that feels resilient, fulfilling and aligned with the long-term life you want to build together.

Effective tools to help navigate any kind of conflict

You’ll learn how to navigate disagreements in ways that bring you closer rather than pushing you apart, a core skill for a lasting marriage.

A deeper sense of teamwork & mutual understanding

Therapy helps you understand each other’s needs, boundaries and emotional triggers so your partnership feels more supportive and collaborative.

  • Wow! What a relief to find a therapist like Dana. Dana genuinely cares about you. She helped us so much. She was the perfect blend of soft and direct we were looking for. Dana is very communicative and really seems to love doing therapy. She's also a mom so it was easy to know she understood a little bit of our struggle too. We highly recommend Dana to anyone in the San Diego area who is seeking couple therapy. We've also referred individuals to her who have had similar experience with her. A+++

    — Former Client

  • I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Dana for over two years, and I continue to be impressed by her skill, warmth, and dedication as a couples therapist. Dana is genuine and compassionate, and really takes the time to understand her clients. In our time collaborating, I’ve seen how thoughtfully she uses Emotionally Focused Therapy and has a natural ability to hold space for both partners. I would wholeheartedly recommend Dana to any couple seeking a therapist who is not only highly skilled but also deeply caring.

    — Colleague

  • I wholeheartedly recommend Dana without reservation. She is a highly skilled couples therapist who supports her clients using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to create lasting, meaningful change. Her lived experiences bring an additional depth to her work, allowing her to connect with clients in a way that feels both compassionate and truly understanding. She brings warmth, empathy, and genuine care into every session, creating a safe and supportive space for growth. Any client would be fortunate to work with her.

    — Colleague

MY APPROACH

Prepare/Enrich® Premarital Counseling to build a strong marriage foundation

For premarital counseling, I use the Prepare/Enrich assessment, a research-based relationship assessment and skill-building program designed to help couples prepare for a healthy, lasting marriage. This assessment gives you a clear, honest picture of your strengths as a couple as well as the areas in which there is room to grow.

Together, we’ll review your assessment results and explore key topics like communication, conflict styles, expectations, finances, intimacy, values and future goals. My role is to guide you through these conversations in a supportive, non-judgmental way while helping you build practical relationship skills you can use long after therapy ends.

Prepare/Enrich is generally considered to be the gold standard in premarital counseling and has been shown to reduce a couple’s risk of divorce by 31%.

Portrait photo of Dana Sockolov - premarital counseling in San Diego

ABOUT ME

Why choose premarital counseling with me?

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Certified Prepare/Enrich facilitator helping couples build a strong, intentional foundation for marriage.

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Structured, evidence-based framework that improves relationship satisfaction and lowers divorce risk by 31%.

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Available for in-person therapy in a comfortable office in San Diego. Online sessions possible when needed.

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A deeply personal & genuine therapeutic relationship. Not rushed, surface-level care you often get at larger practices.

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FEES & FAQs

Everything you need to know about starting therapy with me

Head over to my FAQ page to find all the practical information about working with me, such as what to expect, costs, the insurance providers I accept, my working hours, etc.

Check out my FAQs

Take your first step towards healing

Finding a therapist that really gets you can be tricky - I know! You never know if you’ll actually click with someone until you can speak to them. To help make that process easier for you, I offer a free 15-min online consultation so you can meet me, ask questions and decide for yourself if the vibe is right. 

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