- Marriage counselling falls broadly into two kinds: before marriage and after marriage.
- The most widely used marriage counselling tool in Hong Kong today is Enrich&TJTA, which is used to assess where a couple are out of step.
- The FPAHK’s after-marriage follow-up service is open only to people who have attended its pre-marriage counselling.
- Hong Kong Christian Service charges different fees for its groups and courses, depending on the activity, and people in financial difficulty can apply for a waiver. The Hong Kong YWCA charges counselling fees in proportion to income.
Before marrying, couples may not be sure they are ready, so some people need pre-marriage counselling. When problems arise after marriage, do you really have to choose divorce?
Knowing what services marriage counselling organisations offer, and what they charge, may help you find a way through your marriage problems.
Marriage counselling in Hong Kong: overview and process
Marriage counselling falls broadly into two parts, before marriage and after marriage:
- Pre-marriage counselling: mainly deals with each partner’s doubts before the wedding, helping them prepare so that the marriage is less likely to run into crisis
- After-marriage counselling: covers a wider range, including relationships between parent and child, between wife and mother-in-law, affairs, and changes that come with age
The most widely used marriage counselling tool in Hong Kong today is Enrich&TJTA. It assesses a couple and helps them see where they are out of step with each other, for example in:
- Personality
- Communication
- Money management
- Fears about the relationship with a mother-in-law
- Unhealthy ideas about sex
In pre-marriage counselling, the assessment results show whether these issues are really likely to arise in the marriage, and the counsellor then works on them according to how serious they are.
It usually deals with expectations about marriage, money and communication, and clashes of personality.
After-marriage counselling deals with the situations of different stages of marriage, aiming to solve the problems the couple most want solved. General marriage counselling does not include the period before marriage. The four stages of a marriage are like the four seasons:
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Spring
Newly married, still in the warm glow of romance, with everything lively. This is usually the time when two people are closest.
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Summer
The stage when children begin to arrive. Work is busy, time flies and a great deal of energy is spent.
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Autumn
Called the “empty nest” stage, when children start to leave home and a lot of tension between the couple needs to be dealt with.
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Winter
Old age, when health begins to decline, which can affect the relationship, or one of them may pass away first.
When only one is left, that person has to face their own health, mind and daily life. These are all things a marriage counsellor needs to help with.
More articles on relationship problems and marriage:
- Does marriage counselling in Hong Kong help?
- Sexless marriage in Hong Kong: a warning sign of divorce?
- Benefits of family mediation for Hong Kong families
- Common reasons and grounds for divorce in Hong Kong
- How social media and technology can become a catalyst for divorce in Hong Kong
- Signs of a marriage breaking down in Hong Kong: the effects of emotional neglect, and the right time to divorce
- Tips for couples to communicate when you do not want to divorce or break up
- How couples can keep their marriage strong and prevent divorce
Having problems in your relationship, but not sure whether you have to choose divorce?
Get in touch, and a dedicated consultant will first understand your situation.
FPAHK marriage counselling: services, fees, hotline and addresses
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK) is a voluntary organisation that advocates, promotes and provides information, education, medical and counselling services on sexual and reproductive health to people in Hong Kong.
The counsellors who provide marriage counselling for couples are the Association’s senior counsellors, sex therapists or certified PREPARE/ENRICH counsellors.
FPAHK marriage counselling falls broadly into three groups, helping couples with the challenges or problems of different stages of marriage:
- Before marriage / newly married: through group activities, discussion and case work, participants explore the meaning of marriage and communication skills from many angles, and prepare for family planning and sexual life
- Marriage preparation: using the professional assessment questionnaire “PREPARE/ENRICH: marriage preparation / growth after marriage”
- After-marriage follow-up service: open only to people who have attended pre-marriage counselling
The “marriage preparation” test has 203 multiple-choice questions and gives a detailed assessment of areas such as personality, communication, conflict management, personal stress and closeness between partners.
The assessment shows the strengths of your relationship and the areas to work on. It explores how married life changes, how you can adapt flexibly, and how to keep closeness in the relationship.
The counsellor will give each couple an assessment analysis and follow-up counselling.
Marriage counselling fees are as follows:
| Fees | |
|---|---|
| One session per couple (each session about 80 minutes) | HK$1,600 |
| Two sessions (each about 80 minutes) | HK$2,150 |
| Each follow-up session (per couple) | HK$550 |
| Each follow-up session (individual) | HK$440 |
FPAHK marriage counselling hotline and addresses:
- FPAHK Multi-purpose Room (8/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)
- Wan Chai Youth Health Centre (FPAHK Jockey Club Youth ZONE, 8/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)
- Mong Kok Youth Health Centre (Flat A, 13/F, Fu Wan Commercial Centre, 573 Nathan Road, Kowloon)
- Kwai Fong Youth Health Centre (Rooms 702-705, 7/F, Tower 2, Metroplaza, 223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories)
- Tel: 2575 4477
Marriage counselling organisations: Hong Kong Christian Service fees and address
Hong Kong Christian Service is a non-denominational Christian social service organisation. It has provided employment counselling since the 1970s.
Since April 2014 it has continued its work with funding from The Community Chest of Hong Kong, and has gradually developed into a professional, low-cost counselling service.
The organisation provides professional, in-depth individual and family counselling, groups and courses. Its main areas of service include:
- Managing emotions
- Managing stress
- Adjusting to life changes
- Relationships with others
- Dating
- Marital relationships
- Parenting
- Family relationships
- In-law relationships
- Personal growth
These services aim to build clients’ resilience, help them adjust how they live, and turn potential crises into opportunities for positive growth.
The organisation’s marriage counselling fee is HK$500 for the first session.
It also runs many kinds of groups and courses, with fees that vary by activity, and people in financial difficulty can apply for a waiver.
- Address: 5/F, 33 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Tel: 2731 6251
Marriage counselling organisations: Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council fees and address
The marriage counselling service of the Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council aims to help couples in difficulty turn conflict into harmony and move towards a healthy and satisfying close relationship.
Its marriage counsellors have all received extensive professional training in marriage counselling and family therapy, and have many years of practical experience.
Counsellors meet couples face to face to explore and work through the problems in their relationship. The counselling process includes:
- Working through differences between the couple and easing conflict between them
- Dealing with emotional distress caused by marriage problems (such as depression, anger and anxiety)
- Healing marital trauma (such as affairs, financial crises and conflict with a mother-in-law)
- Improving communication between spouses, rebuilding intimacy and helping them live together in harmony
The organisation’s marriage counselling fee is a HK$100 administration fee for the first session. The actual fee ranges from HK$500 to HK$1,000.
The actual fee depends on the time spent, and is charged from a minimum of one hour.
- Address: Room 101, Low Block, Grand Millennium Plaza, 181 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
- Tel: 2810 1104
Is a sexless marriage in Hong Kong a warning sign of divorce?
If in doubt, feel free to contact our dedicated consultants.
Marriage counselling organisations: Caritas Jockey Club Sam Chuen Development Centre fees and hotline
The counselling service of the Caritas Jockey Club Sam Chuen Development Centre focuses on linking body, mind and spirit, and mainly uses directed interviews.
The purpose and direction of each interview are based on an agreement between the staff member and the service user. It uses regular interviews and different models of counselling and therapy to bring body, mind and spirit together.
The organisation’s marriage counselling services mainly cover:
- Counselling on couples’ emotional and psychological health
- Trauma therapy
- Parents’ personal growth
- Couples’ personal growth
- Collaborative services
Most of the organisation’s counsellors are registered social workers, family mediators and mediation supervisors, and the team also includes Prepare/Enrich certified counsellors.
Marriage counselling fees start from HK$720 per hour (booking required).
- Address: 9/F, Caritas Jockey Club Tsuen Wan Integrated Services Building, 9 Shing Mun Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories
- Tel: 3707-2000
- Caritas marriage counselling: marriage counselling hotline
Marriage counselling organisations: Hong Kong YWCA fees and hotline
The Hong Kong YWCA focuses on personal and family health, and designs work to improve family health for the different stages of family life, including:
- Individual counselling
- Pre-marriage counselling
- Adjusting to newly married life
- Expectant parents
- Support for families with babies and toddlers
- Family education for parents of young children
The counsellors mainly responsible for marriage counselling are senior counsellors and training consultants with more than ten years of experience, registered social workers, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and solicitors acting as consultants.
These organisations offer pre-marriage counselling and marriage counselling separately.
Pre-marriage counselling courses take the form of face-to-face counselling or the Prepare/Enrich pre-marriage / growth after marriage psychological test. They review and analyse the relationship and help you adjust your expectations and differences quickly, for example:
- The meaning of marriage
- Expectations of marriage
- Family of origin and personality development
- Communication skills
- Conflict management
- Love languages
- Family budgeting
- Roles in the marriage
- Division of gender roles
- Building a Christian family (for Christians) and in-law relationships
- Sex and marriage
- Social life after marriage
- The keys to a happy marriage
Marriage counselling offers face-to-face sessions tailored to each couple, helping them deal with the burdens and setbacks in their relationship, such as adjusting to married life, affairs and conflict with a mother-in-law.
It rebuilds positive, healthy ways of relating, and promotes love and harmony in the marriage.
Marriage counselling fees: counselling fees are charged in proportion to the client’s income.
- Address: 2/F, 66 Begonia Road, Yau Yat Tsuen, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
- Tel: 3443 1601
More tips on the divorce procedure:
- How do I apply for a divorce?
- Divorce mediation in Hong Kong: the process and its benefits
- Why hire a solicitor for your divorce: the benefits and why it matters
How do you apply for a divorce?
Feel free to check your situation with us.
