Inclusive Premarital & Pre-Commitment Therapy
Start your relationship off with a good foundation
Josh Davis, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
In Fort Lauderdale And Virtual Throughout Florida, Vermont, And Delaware
Congratulations!! You're taking a big step in your relationship!
It’s exciting and scary all at the same time!
Maybe you've decided to move in together, or you've just gotten engaged.
You love each other, but you want to make sure this relationship lasts. You're fearful of ending up like other couples you know, or maybe even worse, like your parents.
You might handle money differently. You might be noticing that you have different values. There might be parts of the relationship you need to work through before you can fully commit.
You both want a relationship that is built to last!
Who is premarital, cohabitation, and pre-commitment therapy for?
This is for couples who are taking steps toward a committed relationship and want to make sure they're starting on a solid foundation. Maybe you've been together a while and are planning to move in together, planning to get engaged, or you're newlyweds wanting to build a long-lasting, healthy relationship, one that can withstand the ups and downs of life.
My approach: NARM and Gottman, together
I work from two frameworks that complement each other well.
The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) looks at how your earliest relationships shaped the way you connect, protect yourself, and respond to closeness now. Most conflict that shows up early in a serious relationship isn't really about money or chores, it's old survival strategies showing up and interacting with each other in real time. NARM helps us slow that down and understand where those patterns came from, for each of you.
The Gottman Method gives us research-backed, practical tools for the day-to-day of a relationship — how to fight fair, how to build friendship and intimacy, how to repair after conflict, and how to build shared meaning as a couple. Where NARM helps explain why a pattern exists, Gottman gives us concrete skills to change it.
Together, these give you both insight into your patterns and real tools to use when it counts.
What we actually work through together
Conflict — how to handle it effectively so it builds connection instead of pushing you apart
Money — setting expectations, exploring what money meant in the home you each grew up in, what it means to you now, and how to get on the same page about your financial future
Family and chosen family — boundaries, involvement, and expectations around the other important people in your lives, and whether you want to build a family together
Sex and intimacy — understanding what turns you and your partner on, how to initiate, differences in libido, and how to navigate your sex life as it shifts under stress or over time
Roles and labor — who does what, and how you can work as a team rather than defaulting into roles neither of you chose
Communication patterns — so you both feel seen, heard, respected, and able to be vulnerable with each other
Security — what each of you needs to feel safe, so your relationship stays a place you can be fully yourselves
Goals and dreams — what partnership means to each of you, what you both want out of the relationship, and the dreams you're building toward as you build a life together
FAQ: Common Questions:
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No. "Premarital" is the term most people search for, but plenty of the couples I see aren't planning a wedding. They're moving in together, merging finances, or just taking a long-term relationship to a more committed place. If you've been together and are starting to build a life together, this applies to you.
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Often, yes. Some of the couples who benefit most are the ones who rarely fight — not because there's nothing to work through, but because one or both of you learned early to avoid conflict rather than move through it, or because there are things you haven't fully thought through or spoken about yet. That tends to catch up with people a few years in. Better to speak things through sooner rather than later, instead of waiting for a crisis to force the conversation.
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Yes. I work extensively with gay and queer couples and understand the realities many queer couples face when building a committed relationship. A lot of premarital counseling is built for traditional couples and isn't inclusive of gay, queer, or otherwise diverse relationship structures. This work is.
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No, I'm a fee-for-service therapist, and intentionally so. This work is relational and complex-trauma-informed, which insurance companies typically won't cover since it isn't filed under a medical diagnosis. Working outside of insurance means no diagnosis is required for either of you, your sessions stay private with no insurance company reviewing your records, and we get to shape the work entirely around what the two of you actually need — not what a claim will approve.
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It varies, but most couples do well with 6–12 sessions. We'll figure out a rhythm that fits your timeline, whether that's a wedding date or just your own readiness.