The Couple Checkup

A book and online profile that identifies a couple's strengths to help them build a more vital relationship. Based on an unprecedented national survey of 50,000 marriages, The Couple Checkup presents the principles for creating a successful couple relationship. The free online profile includes fifteen to twenty categories that are customized based on the relationship stage-whether dating, engaged, or married-the age, and whether or not children are involved. The book also includes the SCOPE Personality Profile and the Couple and Family Map of the relationship. Each chapter of the book matches a category in the free individual profile. While the book stands on its own, using the Couple Checkup with the book provides the maximum benefit. In addition, each chapter contains couple exercises to help build couple strengths in a variety of areas.

"The Marriage Checkup" provides a perfect tuneup for all married couples: those happily so, those who seldom think about their marriage and those who simply deny that problems exist and never discuss possible ways to improve the way they relate to one another. This interactive tool includes a marriage history, communication inventory, marital satisfaction assessment and much more! This is more than another how-to marriage book. It's an interactive journey that helps couples diagnose the health of their marriage, test their marriage with a self-guided quiz and tools to show them the strengths and weaknesses of their marriage.

The Marriage Checkup is designed to help couples assess the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship and to develop strategies for strengthening its health. Like physical health, the health of a relationship can be developed to greater levels of fitness and resilience to illness. Thus, even healthy couples can benefit from a marital health perspective by developing exercises for optimizing their health and fitness. This book primarily serves couples interested in improving the health of their relationship. Counselors and therapists may recommend that their couples-patients use the book. Additionally, the book may be of interest to professors of marriage and family counseling.

"The goal of this book and of the Marriage Checkup (MC) program in general is to do for marital health care what regular checkups have done for dental health care: provide a means for effectively promoting lifelong relationship health. Although the research continues to evolve, the bulk of the current findings suggest that at best cohabitation has no beneficial effect on later relationship health and at worst is associated with higher divorce rates. In short, as preventive medicine, cohabitation is snake oil--couples who think that cohabiting is a sort of trial run to reveal whether or not the relationship will become a good marriage have false expectations. However, young people and people in general are actively looking for something to help them address their fear of the divorce statistics and their legitimate concerns about long-term relationship health. I believe that the MC has the potential to legitimately and effectively address people's desire to actively protect and promote their long-term relationship health. My hope is that our ongoing research efforts will continue to support and improve on the effectiveness of the MC and that ultimately the MC, as a yearly practice over the life of a relationship, will take the place of months or years of precommitment cohabitation as the thing to which people turn to take good care of their relationship health In this book, you will find a guide to effectively conducting regular relationship health checkups in the service of promoting lifelong relationship health for all committed long-term couples--married or not"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Small groups of couples can learn important skills and revitalize their marriages with this fun and unique approach. "You will love growing together while going out together."-John GrayAuthor of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus Remember back to your dating days—the excitement you felt? Now you can reclaim that same spark, connection, and creativity in your marriage through ten intentional, memory-making dates. This proven approach to relationship growth is low-key, purposeful, effective, easy, and fun , and will help you * Communicate better* Put the sizzle back in sex* Process anger and resolve conflicts* Develop spiritual intimacy* Appreciate your differences* Balance busy lifestyles* And much more!Enjoy your dates alone as a couple or start your own 10 Great Dates group in your church or community. You probably already know 5-6 couples who could benefit from time-out to build their marriage and enrich their relationship with 10 Great Dates. See 10 Great Dates DVD Curriculum for everything you need to lead this effective, husband-friendly and fun program.

RELIGION & BELIEFS. It's Time for a Relationship Checkup! Getting routine physicals and dental checkups is essential to your health. And your car needs a regular oil change. But what about your relationship? Dating and married couples rarely, if ever, do a checkup on their relationship. But the sooner you identify problems and find ways to resolve them, the easier it will be to create a strong future. And the sooner you discover your relationship strengths and build on them, the deeper and more intimate your relationship will be. Each chapter of The Remarriage Checkup explores one of the key qualities of happy remarriage relationships. Like a GPS device for your relationship, this book has a CPS (Couple Positioning System) and built-in discussion questions that can help you and your partner discover where you are, where you'd like to be, and how to get there.

Are You Planning a Wedding or Preparing for a Marriage? Like most engaged couples, you’re researching venues, trying on dresses and picking out tuxedos or suits, tasting sample dishes, dreaming of honeymoon destinations, and doing everything to ensure your wedding day is the event of a lifetime. But as more seasoned couples will tell you, there’s more to a marriage than a wedding. A lot more. How do you build a marriage that you’ve dreamed of? Dr. Greg Smalley, vice president of marriage at Focus on the Family, and his wife, Erin, along with 14 marriage experts, serve as your marriage guides as you prepare for life beyond the wedding day. From how to handle those everyday conflicts to how to better connect on a spiritual level, they’ll show you how to get ready for a lifetime of commitment. When the flowers have faded and the last morsel of cake has been eaten, you’ll stand with your new spouse, ready to face life together. Equip yourself for a marriage that lasts by learning: How to leave your parents (while still honoring them) and cleave to your spouse Why spiritual intimacy is key to a lasting relationship Why the language of love is communication (and how to build it) How to manage conflict in a healthy, God-honoring way Why sexual intimacy in your marriage will be the gift that keeps on giving Invest in a marriage that will last for decades. Are you ready?

Make This Marriage Last a Lifetime Leading blended family authority Ron Deal and marriage and family expert David Olson show you how to build on your relationship strengths and improve your weaknesses. Whether you're dating, engaged, a young stepfamily, or an empty-nest couple, The Smart Stepfamily Marriage gives you the tools you need at any stage to create a remarriage that will last. Each chapter of this book explores one of the key qualities of happy remarriages as identified by research. Like a GPS for your relationship, this book has built-in discussion questions that can help you and your partner discover where you are, where you'd like to be, and how to get there. The online survey gives you a report with personalized results for your relationship. "The Smart Stepfamily Marriage is the road map to a healthy marriage."--Gary D. Chapman, PhD, author, The Five Love Languages and When Sorry Isn't Enough "Remarried or marrying again? This book is loaded with specific, useful ideas for helping your marriage reach its full potential."--Scott Stanley, PhD, author, A Lasting Promise; research professor, University of Denver "This book is a must-read for any remarried couple. It includes the tools needed to create and maintain a wonderful remarriage."--from the foreword by Evelyn Husband Thompson, widow of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband, now remarried to Bill Thompson "The Smart Stepfamily Marriage is the most up-to-date, relevant, complete guide for remarried couples--I know of no other resource like it."--Francesca Adler-Baeder, PhD, professor and director, Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Auburn University; director, National Stepfamily Resource Center "This book will help you thrive in your marriage and beat the odds of divorce. The preventative information is the best I have ever seen, and the practical application covers it all. I have put The Smart Stepfamily Marriage at the top of my resource library for couples who find themselves in this beautiful and yet challenging world of remarriage."--Jim Burns, PhD, president, HomeWord, author of Creating an Intimate Marriage, Confident Parenting, and The Purity Code "Remarriages have unique challenges and different relational needs than first marriages. Based on a national study of 50,000 couples, this book is a wonderful resource for remarriage couples. Take the online Couple Checkup and get a report about your relationship, read the book, and build a relationship that lasts!"--Dr. Gary Smalley, author of The DNA of Relationships "You want a marriage that lasts forever, right? Blended family couples can beat the odds--this book will tell you how."--Dr. Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, author of Stepping Up