Marriage Encounter is a weekend program designed to help married couples improve their marriage and solve problems before they escalate into divorce. The Worldwide Marriage Encounter organization operates on a mission of renewal in the Catholic church and seeks to change the world by assisting couples and priests to develop fully intimate and responsible relationships. A further attraction of the program, especially for younger couples, is the community that is created with other married couples over the course of the weekend.

While the program began in the Catholic church, today the organization holds similar weekends for various Protestant denominations as well. Similar programs, called Engaged Encounter and Pre-Cana Encounter, are held for couples considering marriage.

Over the course of the weekend, Marriage Encounter tries to instill in the couples a pattern of communication that will serve them for their entire married life. At the same time, the couples are encouraged to include God in their life together. Organizers say that a Marriage Encounter is not a retreat, marriage clinic, group sensitivity training, or a substitute for counseling, though elements of these are included in the program.

Priests and religious are also encouraged to attend the sessions. The same principles of love, commitment and communication that help married couples stay together can be applied by the priest or theologian to his or her parish or community.

Marriage encounter weekends are made step by step:

1. Getting to know oneself
2. Viewing life as a couple
3. Considering communities and the church

The basis of these weekends (which are independent of age, formation, and finances) is the humanistic psychology of Carl Rogers concerning human communication and feelings.

External links

• Homepage of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter organization