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686,000 people sought help with Thriveworks in the last year

Discover how starting therapy with a premarital counseling can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

Meet with a provider as soon as this week

Good news! We have 122 therapists in Virginia available for an online or in-person session.

Starting Premarital counseling

What is premarital counseling?

Premarital counseling is a type of therapy that helps couples prepare for and build a happy, successful marriage. Premarital therapists at Thriveworks in McLean, VA can help couples develop essential communication skills, identify potential conflict areas, and learn how to manage their specific relationship issues.

How does premarital counseling work?

When you and your partner begin premarital counseling, your counselor will want to get to know you both as well as your relationship. In order to accomplish this, they will ask questions around the following:

  • Common interests and activities
  • Marital expectations
  • Budget and Finance
  • Children and parenting
  • Intimacy

If there is a particular area that they feel needs to be explored further (for example, you note that you and your partner have very different spending habits and views on money), they’ll guide the conversation in the given direction.

Is premarital counseling conducted in person or online?

Premarital counseling at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and through Online therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you and your partner.

How long does premarital counseling last?

Generally speaking, Thriveworks premarital counseling in McLean typically lasts for 8-10 weeks. This, however, can vary depending on the counselor’s approach as well as the clients’ preferences and needs. For example, some couples might request additional sessions to work through problem areas that they’ve identified in their relationship pre-wedding.

Need more help deciding?

“To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…” Do these words ring a bell?  Do they make you hear wedding bells?

Marriage vows: the thoughtful promises one makes another on the day of their wedding. The promises to love one another through it all.  Love can be hard, but it’s a beautiful part of life.  Especially when you’ve found the person you see your forever with.  With this level of commitment though comes a host of questions and high emotions. Have I found my soul mate?  Do soul mates even exist? How can I be sure this is the one? All of these questions can be answered through premarital counseling.  At Thriveworks McLean, our counselors anknow that marriage is a huge commitment and we want to help assure you that your relationship is ready for that next step.

What Is Premarital Counseling?

Throughout the process of planning your wedding (or even before planning your wedding), prepare for your marriage.  Premarital counseling can help you build a solid foundation for your life together. It will give you the time and opportunity to get to know each other even better, as well as the ability to set goals for your future life together.

Premarital counseling gives you and your partner the chance to discuss major aspects of your life prior to the big day. Some of these include:

  • Common interests and leisure activities
  • Role expectations
  • Communication styles
  • Religion and worship attendance
  • Household duties and expectations
  • Budget and finance
  • Children and parenting styles
  • Public or private education
  • Sexuality and intimacy
  • Needs for space and privacy
  • Where the family unit will reside
  • Finances and debt
  • Occupations and careers
  • Holiday expectations and travel
  • Relationships with extended family and in-laws

This list is long, and it may seem daunting.  But these are all parts of life that are worth discussing.  In a marriage, two lives join together and become one—and you can’t pick and choose what parts of your lives merge because they all do.

Premarital counseling assists in connecting the dots of your future marriage.  Some of these items may not seem critical, but each one represents a potential source of conflict.  Discussing them early with a neutral third party is one of the best ways to approach these decisions.  Let Thriveworks McLean be your neutral third party.

What Are the Benefits of Premarital Counseling?

Premarital counseling can minimize the fear of future separation or divorce.  Better insight into your relationship can improve the way the two of you work together.  Some of the benefits you and your partner can experience through premarital counseling can include:

  • Confidence and assertiveness
  • Patience
  • Avoiding dependency and co-dependency
  • Developing realistic expectations of others
  • Contentment
  • Developing coping skills
  • Establishing individual and unit goals

When you and your partner commit to premarital counseling, you aren’t implying that you have issues. You are creating a plan, being proactive, and building a foundation for your marriage to grow on.

Begin Premarital Counseling at Thriveworks McLean

Are you planning a wedding? If so, you probably feel like there isn’t enough time in the day for premarital counseling.  But at Thriveworks McLean, we think that premarital counseling is one of the most important plans to make leading up to the big day.  Marriage is a lifelong commitment to your partner, and we want to be sure the two of you have built a strong foundation before you say, “I do.”

When you give us a call, we could have an appointment for you within 24 hours.  We understand wedding planning is busy; we offer weekend and evening availability for those couples who might have a lot on their schedules (as well as those who haven’t yet started wedding planning).

It would be our honor to prepare you for your life as a married couple.  Choosing to get married is a huge step, and we want you to be ready.  At Thriveworks McLean, we pride ourselves on providing skilled, passionate, professional care.  Our counselors and psychologists are ready to work with you two to create a bright future. Call us today at (571) 589-4042.

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Virginia therapists and counselors accept 33 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia Medicare Advantage

  • Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia | BCBS HMO

  • Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia | BCBS PPO

  • Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Virginia | Exchange

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem (Blue Card)

  • CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia | BCBS HMO

  • CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia | BCBS PPO

  • CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield DC | BCBS PPO

  • Carelon

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

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Self-pay costs at McLean
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

5.0 Learn about verified reviews
★★★★★
My therapist is great. They aren't pushy and just ask questions that get me thinking. I feel like I am getting a little guidance to help me find my own path rather than being lead in a predetermined direction.
Read more My therapist is great. They aren't pushy and just ask questions that get me thinking. I feel like I am getting a little guidance to help me find my own path rather than being lead in a predetermined direction.
Benjamin Jan 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
Anna is incredibly respectful, professional, and compassionate. She has a strong dedication to operational and clinical excellence. Anna has proven successful outcomes for clients that she has treated. Anna is extremely knowledgeable with numerous clinics interventions and modalities. Her drive to help others is unmatched, and I believe she would make an excellent addition to the thrive works community.
Read more Anna is incredibly respectful, professional, and compassionate. She has a strong dedication to operational and clinical excellence. Anna has proven successful outcomes for clients that she has treated. Anna is extremely knowledgeable with numerous clinics interventions and modalities. Her drive to help others is unmatched, and I believe she would make an excellent addition to the thrive works community.
McLean Jan 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
Anna is wonderful! She brings her kindness, humor and tons of experience to her counseling relationships, and yet in her kind way she also knows when to call it how she sees it in a way that does not make you feel judged and makes you feel understood. Highly recommend.
Read more Anna is wonderful! She brings her kindness, humor and tons of experience to her counseling relationships, and yet in her kind way she also knows when to call it how she sees it in a way that does not make you feel judged and makes you feel understood. Highly recommend.
McLean Jan 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
As a colleague, I cannot recommend Anna enough to anyone looking for a therapist. I have worked with Anna for years and trust her completely. Anna is warm, welcoming, and professional. She also has a multitude of experience working with diverse populations and is eclectic in her approach, getting to know her clients and utilizing tools and skills that she know will work best for their situation.
Read more As a colleague, I cannot recommend Anna enough to anyone looking for a therapist. I have worked with Anna for years and trust her completely. Anna is warm, welcoming, and professional. She also has a multitude of experience working with diverse populations and is eclectic in her approach, getting to know her clients and utilizing tools and skills that she know will work best for their situation.
McLean Jan 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
Are you looking for an excellent therapist? I cannot recommend Anna Sihon enough. She's open, patient, non-judgemental, has a great sense of humor, and is extremely culturally competent (especially with the Latinx community).
Read more Are you looking for an excellent therapist? I cannot recommend Anna Sihon enough. She's open, patient, non-judgemental, has a great sense of humor, and is extremely culturally competent (especially with the Latinx community).
McLean Dec 2019
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
I have worked with Dr. Jonies Thomas over the years in a professional capacity, and have only good things about her. She has an engaging and patient interpersonal style that resonated with our patients. She brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to any interaction, and it is clear that she is passionate about what she does.
Read more I have worked with Dr. Jonies Thomas over the years in a professional capacity, and have only good things about her. She has an engaging and patient interpersonal style that resonated with our patients. She brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to any interaction, and it is clear that she is passionate about what she does.
McLean Jul 2019
Review left on Thriveworks.com

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry McLean is located off of Dolley Madison Blvd., at the intersection of Old Chain Bridge Rd and Fleetwood Rd., in Suite 3D-2. We share a building with two real estate agents from Long and Foster Real Estate.

Phone number

(571) 200-5518

Languages spoken by VA providers

  • English
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm

Shown in ET

Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm

Shown in ET

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