Families For Life | Why You Should Attend Marriage Programmes
Prevention and Relationship Education Programme (PREP)
PREP is an evidence-based marriage and relationship education programme developed at the University of Denver in the United States, and aims to help soon-to-wed and newly-wed couples build a strong martial foundation to attain higher relationship satisfaction.
PREP employs cognitive behavioral techniques to help soon-to-wed and newlywed couples to:
Improve communication and problem-solving skill
Attain higher relationship satisfaction
Develop better conflict resolution skills
Research has shown that couples who attended PREP have higher levels of positive communication and interaction and greater confidence in the future of their marriages
PREP 12-hour Workshop
Couples can sign up for the PREP 12-hour workshop. The workshop, conducted over 2 days (weekends), provides deeper coverage on a range of topics such as communication, conflict resolution and problem-solving. Couples also have opportunities during the workshop to reflect on their relationship and learn skills to enrich their marriage.
MSF provides couples a S$140 rebate* upon completion of the PREP 12-hour workshop. The PREP 12-hour workshop is offered by the following agencies:
Cornerstone Community Services
Course Fee (before rebate): $370 per couple
Contact No : 6344 8063
Email Address : familylife@cornerstoneservices.org.sg
Website: https://www.cornerstoneservices.org.sg/family-support
Family Central - A Service by Fei Yue Community Services
Course Fee (before rebate): $419.65 per couple
Contact No : 6734 1401
Email Address : familycentral@fycs.org
Website: https://www.family-central.sg/courses/marriage-preparation-programme-communication-conflict-resolution/
Morning Star Community Services
Course Fee (before rebate): $280 per couple
Contact No : 6285 1377
Email Address : training@morningstar.org.sg
Website: https://www.morningstar.org.sg/event/prep-run-1
TOUCH Community Services Ltd
Course Fee (before rebate): $380 per couple (early bird); $410 per couple (standard)
Contact No : 6709 8410
Email Address : familylife@touch.org.sg
Website: https://www.touch.org.sg/about-touch/our-services/touch-marriage-support-homepage/preparing-for-marriage
*Rebate is applicable to all soon-to-wed and newly-wed couple(s) attending marriage preparation programme for the first time. Either one of the spouses must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident. Couples must complete the programme together to qualify for the rebate.
Online Prevention and Relationship Education Programme (ePREP)
ePREP is a complimentary, online version of the PREP workshop. ePREP consists of 6 self-learning sections that couples can complete at their own convenience over a period of 3 months. Topics covered under ePREP include communication, conflict management, commitment, friendship and problem solving.
ePREP has been proven to help couples learn how to protect and preserve fun and friendship and enhance their commitment and love for each other through four published randomised controlled trials.
To sign up, simply reach out to the following agencies:
Allkin Singapore
Contact No.: 6351 0610
Email Address: famforlife@allkin.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.allkin.org.sg/services/marriage-and-parenting-support
Care Corner Singapore Ltd
Contact No.: 6978 4090
Email Address: ffl@carecorner.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.carecorner.org.sg/services/marriage-support/
Fei Yue Community Services
Contact No.: 9791 4100
Email Address: FFLC@fycs.org
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.family-central.sg/courses/eprep/
Lakeside Family Services
Contact No.: 9023 7859
Email Address: annie-ng@lakeside.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://lakeside.org.sg/our-services/families-for-life-community/
Methodist Welfare Services
Contact No.: 8812 9630
Email Address: mwsfflc@mws.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Morning Star Community Services
Contact No.: 6285 1377
Email Address: training@morningstar.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Marriage Preparation Programmes
A strong marriage needs a good foundation, which requires commitment. These MSF-supported Marriage Preparation Programmes (conducted by approved Social Services Agencies) will equip soon-to-wed and newly-wed couples with practical skills to help prepare the life journey together.
Core modules covered:
Family of Origin
Communication & Conflict Resolution
Sexual Intimacy
Family Planning / Fertility Awareness
Financial Planning
Role relationship & expectations
In-law relationship
Sign up for a Marriage Preparation Programme today and enjoy a S$70 rebate* from MSF. View the list of MSF approved organisations here.
*Rebate is applicable to all soon-to-wed and newlywed couple(s) attending marriage preparation programme for the first time. Either one of the spouses must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident. Couples must complete the programme together to qualify for the rebate.
Prepare/Enrich Marriage Enrichment Programme
Prepare / Enrich (P/E) is an evidence-based customised couple assessment inventory that identifies couples' strength and growth areas. Based on each couples' assessment results, P/E can be used as a dynamic tool to enable couples to gain personalised insights into their relationship dynamics, commitment levels, personality, spiritual beliefs and family systems. Research has shown that the act of taking the P/E assessment improves relationship quality and brings increased awareness across multiple aspects of the relationship.
Programme Details
P/E Marriage Enrichment Programme is a complimentary programme for couples married for more than 2 years. P/E Marriage Enrichment Programme consists of four 3-hour sessions. Over these sessions, couples can expect to identify their strengths and build confidence in their relationship skills with the help of a Certified Facilitator and the P/E assessment inventory tool.
To sign up, simply reach out to the following agencies:
Allkin Singapore
Contact No.: 6351 0610
Email Address: famforlife@allkin.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.allkin.org.sg/services/marriage-and-parenting-support
Care Corner Singapore Ltd
Contact No.: 6978 4090
Email Address: ffl@carecorner.org.sg
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.carecorner.org.sg/services/marriage-support/
Fei Yue Community Services
Contact No.: 9791 4100
Email Address: FFLC@fycs.org
Registration details: Sign up here
Website: https://www.family-central.sg/courses/pe-mep/
Financial Planning for Couples
Learn how to draw up a financial plan as a couple and take steps to ensure your family is in good financial health by saving, having sufficient insurance and investing. You will also be taught how to budget for your new home and to plan ahead by making a Lasting Power Attorney (LPA) and CPF Nomination. Conducted on a quarterly basis, sign up at here for the workshop by IFL.
Marriage Programmes in Singapore
You’ve found the perfect match and you’ve set a date. You think you’ve got everything figured out, from the wedding dress, the theme, the guest list and the ceremony. But there’s one other important event which you should definitely think about including into your to-do list. It’s an important consideration which will help you to really know that you are making the right decision to get married and will also make adjusting to married life much easier. Before you get married, make the time to attend a marriage preparation course with your future spouse.
What is a Marriage Preparation Course?
A Marriage Preparation Course is the best way for you and your future spouse to make sure that you discuss all the most important decisions, values and expectations which you must agree on before you get married. Most young couples will have discussed some important aspects of their future marriage, but it is likely that they won’t have thought through all the issues which might need to be addressed.
A marriage preparation course allows you to benefit from the experiences of other married couples, family counsellors and coaches. It allows you and your partner to really sit down and think through, re-affirm and prepare yourselves for your marriage.
Is it Compulsory?
In Singapore, marriage preparation is compulsory for any party that is below 21 years old.
However, many religious organisations and groups require you to complete a marriage preparation course run directly by the group itself, or through an approved, affiliate partner in order for your marriage to be spiritually recognised.
Why is Attending One Together a Good Idea?
Even if it isn’t compulsory it’s always a good idea to attend one together. One of the best things about a marriage preparation course is that it gets you to begin building the foundations of your marriage. The better prepared you are for your future life together, the more likely you are to find peace and happiness in your marriage.
A good marriage preparation course provides an open environment in which you can address all the issues which might affect your future marriage. This is especially important when there’s an “elephant in the room” which both of you have been avoiding. A topic which is sensitive, might be divisive and which neither of you has had the courage to bring up. Topics that might fall under this category might be “What religion will our children follow? Can I continue to work after marriage? Do we have to live with your parents after marriage? Who will control the monetary decisions in our family? I don’t want you to continue to work in your current job which requires you to travel all the time, will you change for me?”
It also allows you to benefit from the experience of family counsellors and other couples. Most courses are guided by a couple who have been married for many years. They share their experiences and listen to what you have to say. They can make it easier for you to speak about things which you not have had the confidence to bring up on your own.
If you are about to embark on a cross-cultural marriage, there are likely to be even more areas where your expectations and cultural values may be different. If you come from a family where cross-cultural marriages are rare, then you may not have been able to benefit from the advice of friends and relatives. There are specific cross-cultural marriage preparation courses which can help you to understand what marrying into each other’s culture may mean.
Sometimes, a couple may find in the middle of the course that they didn’t know each other as well as they thought they did. Realising this early on allows them to take things more slowly and to make the time to resolve their issues before they actually take the next step of getting married.
What Will I Learn at a Marriage Preparation Course?
Each course varies in terms of focus and content. You should however look for a marriage preparation course which covers the following key topics:
Your future responsibilities and relationship with your in-laws and family
Living arrangements in the short term and the long term
Children, do you want children? How many will you have, what are the most important values you would like to teach your children, what parenting roles do you expect your spouse to share? What will you do if you have a special needs child or if you can’t have children?
Your life goals and aspirations
Your lifestyle expectations
How you plan to manage your finances together
Communication styles and preferences
Conflict and problem resolution styles
Your social circles and if and how you might expect them to change
Religious and spiritual beliefs
Cross-cultural issues
Who Offers Marriage Preparation Courses in Singapore?
Marriage preparation courses are offered by several groups. These are mainly social service agencies, family service and private counselling centres, religious organisations, private counsellors, family coaches and therapists. The Families for Life Programmes page is a good place to start as there are links to marriage preparation course providers and detailed overviews of the different types of courses which are available in Singapore.