Premarital Counseling in Marin, San Francisco & the Bay Area
Premarital Therapy
Build the marriage before you need to repair it.
Most couples wait until something breaks to ask for help. This program is for the ones who want to build something that holds, before life tests it.
A structured 6-session program, completed over 6–10 weeks. Available in person in Marin County and virtually across the Bay Area.
The patterns that will challenge your marriage are already present. The question is whether you name them now or discover them later.
The Kodo Approach
This isn't premarital counseling as you know it.
Most premarital programs teach you communication skills. This one goes deeper. Using the Kodo depth-oriented, attachment-based approach, we look at what each of you brings from your history, your family patterns, your nervous systems, your unspoken expectations, and help you build a relationship architecture that can hold the weight of a real life together. Not just scripts for hard conversations, but a real foundation.
Who This Is For
For couples who want to go deeper than "are we compatible?"
Compatibility is the beginning, not the answer. This program is for couples who are serious about understanding each other at depth and building something that lasts not because it's easy, but because it's honest.
Engaged couples doing due diligence
You're excited and you want to go in clear-eyed with real tools and honest conversations before the wedding, not after.
Couples with known friction points
You've already noticed the patterns conflict styles, family tensions, unspoken expectations. You want help working through them intentionally.
High-achieving, high-stress couples
Your lives are full. You want to make sure the relationship doesn't become the thing that quietly suffers while everything else succeeds.
Couples navigating real complexity
Different backgrounds, cultures, religions, family structures. You love each other and you know the differences matter. Let's work with them.
What We Cover
Seven conversations every couple needs to have before marriage.
Each session goes beyond surface-level discussion. We don't just cover the topics; we also look at the emotional layers underneath them, the patterns each of you brings, and how to navigate them together with honesty and care.
How each of you fights, shuts down, or pursues — and how to break the cycles before they calcify.
Desire, expectation, vulnerability, and what each of you needs to feel genuinely close — not just physically, but emotionally.
Not just budgets — the meaning you each attach to money, the fears underneath, and how to build financial trust.
The patterns, loyalties, and wounds you both carry — and how they show up in your relationship without you realizing it.
Where you each want to go — and what happens when your visions diverge. Building shared direction without losing individual identity.
Who does what — and the resentment that builds when it's never named. Explicit conversations about invisible labor and fair partnership.
Navigating real differences in background, belief, and worldview — with curiosity instead of conflict.
INVESTMENT
$1950
Six 75-minute sessions · Completed over 6–10 weeksThis is a complete, contained program, not open-ended therapy. You'll know exactly what you're doing, how long it takes, and what you'll walk away with.
→ 6 depth-oriented couples sessions (75 minutes each)
→ All 7 core topic areas covered
→Attachment and family systems assessment
→ Personalized communication roadmap
→ Reflection prompts
→ Kodo model framework and resources
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This is for couples who feel stuck, not just frustrated.
If weekly therapy hasn’t shifted the pattern, or things feel like they’re looping, the intensive format gives us enough time to actually work through it.
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Premarital counseling is preventative, and is for couples who are building something and want to go in with clarity, not couples who are in crisis. We're looking at the patterns, differences, and unspoken expectations that exist in every relationship before they become problems. Marriage counseling, by contrast, tends to be repair work: addressing conflict, breach of trust, disconnection, or pain that has already built up over time. Both are valuable, but they're very different in focus and tone. If you're engaged or newly committed and things are generally good between you, premarital work is the right fit. If you're already in the thick of something hard, couples therapy is probably what you need.
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Premarital counseling costs vary depending on the therapist, location, and format. At Kodo, our premarital program is a complete 6-session package at $1950, and includes post-program materials and personalized roadmap.
Premarital counseling is not typically covered by insurance. Some employers offer EAP benefits that may offset the cost, so that's worth checking before you start.
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No. Many couples who do this program are engaged, but it's equally valuable for couples who are seriously committed and moving toward marriage, even if no ring has been exchanged yet. If you're building a life together and want to do it intentionally, you're a good fit.
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Yes. We offer the full program in person at our Novato office in Marin County, and virtually throughout California. Both formats are equally effective and we work with what makes sense for your lives.
What most couples want to know before reaching out
Start your marriage with clarity, not hope
Schedule a 15-minute consultation to talk through whether this program is the right fit for you and your partner.