What is PREPARE/ENRICH?

PREPARE/ENRICH is a customized couple assessment completed online that identifies a couple's strength and growth areas. It is one of the most widely used Programs for premarital counseling and premarital education. The inventory can be used for marriage counseling, marriage enrichment, and dating couples considering engagement. Based on a couple's assessment results, a trained facilitator provides 4-8 feedback sessions in which the facilitator helps the couple discuss and understand their results as they are taught proven relationship skills.

How many people have taken the PREPARE/ENRICH Program?

Over the last 30 years, 3 million couples have been empowered by the PREPARE/ENRICH Program.

What are the major goals of the PREPARE/ENRICH Program?

The program helps couples:

• Explore strength and growth areas
• Strengthen communication skills
• Identify and manage major stressors
• Resolve conflict using the Ten Step Model
• Develop a more balanced relationship
• Explore family of origin issues
• Discuss financial planning and budgeting
• Establish personal, couple and family goals
• Understand and appreciate personality differences

What relationship areas are assessed by the Inventories?

• 12 Relationship Scales — communication, conflict resolution, roles, sexuality, finances, spiritual beliefs and more
• 5 SCOPE Personality Scales
• 4 Couple and Family Scales — based on the circumplex model
• 4 Relationship Dynamic Scales
• 30 Customized Scales

Is the PREPARE/ENRICH Program valid & reliable?

An important strength of the PREPARE/ENRICH Inventories is their strong psychometric properties. High levels of reliability and validity have been found for each instrument, making them valuable tools for research as well as clinical use.

National Norms based on over 500,000 couples

High Levels of Validity and Reliability

PREPARE has validity in that it discriminates premarital couples that get divorced from those that are happily married with about 80-85% accuracy. Reliability is high (alpha reliability of .80 - .85).

Click this to link to information on RESEARCH IN PREPARE/ENRICH

Who developed the Customized Version of PREPARE/ENRICH?

David H. Olson, Ph.D
Professor Emeritus, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota; Founder, PREPARE/ENRICH; Developed ten diagnostic tools and Circumplex Model; Licensed Consulting Psychologist and Licensed Marital & Family Therapist, State of Minnesota.

Peter J. Larson, Ph.D
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, State of Minnesota.