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Couple Analysis
The Couple Background
One of the most meaningful subjects we debriefed during the session was the couple's
background, age, education, ethnicity, family dynamics, faith, and careers. This could be the
groundwork for the couple's relationship. While sharing their facts concerning their upbringing,
both share similarities and differences. The couple is African American; there is a year
difference in the age group (the male is older); they are from the same spiritual background but
attend different ministries. Also, they love four-wheeler mudding and enjoy each other family. I
can see a difference among the couples they're raising. The male was raised by his mother and
grandmother, all in the home together, and the female was raised with both parents until she
reached a certain teenage before the dad left. Gathering from the couple, they were raised in
loving homes by loving people.
The female is 29, has no kids, and has never been married. She has an associate degree
and graduate in December 2023 with her Bachelor's. She is the Human Resource Specialist for
American Greetings in Arkansas. The male is 37 years old, has been married, and has three
daughters he loves dearly. Since he has daughters from a previous relationship, this creates
mixed dynamics about their relationship. They both have faith, and her faith is more robust. She
believes they will conquer their problems with his daughters and their mothers. He
acknowledged there would be no disrespect, she would be treated with the utmost respect, and
she would ensure everyone was on the same page before I was.
Couples Type
Looking at the couples’ type from the report of PrePare/Enrich, the couple falls into the
category type conventional. Conventional relationships are often associated with social norms
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that dictate what a 'normal' relationship should look like.1 This includes being monogamous,
committing to one partner for the long term, sharing a home with your partner, and often getting
married.2 The conventional type is because the couple is committed to each other and the
relationship. But, they need more communication and skills for conflict resolution. For this
reason, it will cause a problem within the relationship. Couples of the conventional type are
people known to have a relationship that is more vital in the realm of the roles in the relationship
and spiritual assurance.
However, some elements of the conventional type could help the couple bond to become
stronger, which is spontaneous things they can both do. Even though the couple enjoys mudding,
they seem to like different things as she likes to travel, shop, and hang with family and friends,
while he wants to be with his family, mudding with the guys, grilling, working, fixing cars,
anything to make extra money. The suggestion given to the couple is to set aside time for each
other without friends/family, go to places neither has been and enjoy each other without their
cellphones. Try new things, places, and food! Once they try, I am sure they will enjoy
themselves. But the couple must compromise where to go, how to get there, the food, etc.
Complex Model/Family Map
The complex model/family map reveals that couples are in accord with parenting and
finances—the couple's family appears to be in a good place with each other. Everyone seems to
get along. How will it be at Holidays once married? Currently, the couple attends her (bride's)
mom for Thanksgiving, and on Christmas Eve, both families will come together for a party at the
couple's home, and on Christmas, they are at their own family house. The bride is used to
spending the holidays with her family, and the groom is used to spending it with family or
1 www.allohealth.care.com/conventionalrelationship
2 www.allohealth.care.com/conventionalrelationship
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mudding with friends. As I stated before, I wonder how it will be once they are married. But they
both agreed they would start a new tradition of having Thanksgiving at their home with both
families present. Even though they are not married, Christmas Eve will be their first family
gathering. They moved into their home during the summer, and her mom, sister, and his grandma
and mom all came together to help them move and set the house up. Everyone was so talkative,
laughing, and having fun as a family should be! On Christmas Eve, the groom will grill (because
he thinks he can outcook others), play games, exchange gifts, and enjoy both families. They are
both excited about starting new traditions; his daughters will be there.
SCOPE Personality Scale
SCOPE is an acronym for the five-factor model of personality, consisting of five scales:
Social (extraversion), Change (openness), Organized (conscientiousness), Pleasing
(agreeableness), and Emotional Stability (neuroticism).3 The SCOPE categories are designed to
be positive and easy to understand.4 When looking at the Scope scale, I have noticed at least two
or three areas that require thinking for premarital counseling with the couple. The areas are
Patience, emotional stability, and openness. Among the classifications for the couple, I can tell
both parties the areas that need to be discussed. They both hold things in until an argument
arises, and the couple wants to discuss the issue. The groom seems open but does not like how
the bride fires back with words. So, he tends to hold his words back to keep the issue from
escalating. When we think about this couple and their Scope personality scale, there seems to be
improvement and hostile firmness accomplishment, the sector that has to progress when one
scores better than the next person. This appears to be going on with the couple! The suggestion I
gave to the couple would be a fantastic concept to recommend and process, emphasizing these
3 https://app.prepare-enrich.com/pe/pdf/research/2011/personality_and_couple_satisfaction.pdf
4 https://app.prepare-enrich.com/pe/pdf/research/2011/personality_and_couple_satisfaction.pdf
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sections to cultivate lifelong marriage. For this reason, I expect it because of the couple's impulse
to start on their stability and promise one to another. For this couple, their promise to each other
(the vows they will make) will make the relationship challenging for them to give up even when
things seem to be complicated.
Possible Strengths and Growth Areas
This couple has so much potential tenacity, but it may still need to aim to overcome some
shortcomings. Every couple has weaknesses and strengths that are a part of the relationship.
Even though this couple is grounded in their spiritual faith (beliefs), their strength comes from
having faith and how both handle their finances. The matter of the finances is that the bride has
greater strength because she used to work for a bank, so the bills will be paid on time if the
finances are combined. Nonetheless, the areas that we mainly focused on were communication
and conflict resolution. A lot of time was dedicated to one of the sessions for the backbone of the
relationship to strengthen in the areas of improvement, and the couple was provided with ample
skills so they could become more assertive in those areas.
Bibliography
www.allohealth.care.com/conventionalrelationship
