Premarital counselling · By video · BC & 5 other provinces
Premarital Counselling Online
Talk through the big things before you marry, with a counsellor who is on neither side.
Every session is by video, with no office to travel to. You still talk face to face, on screen, and you can join from the same room or from two different places. Your counsellor is Mohamad Shabib (MACP, CCC) or, if you live in BC, Alison Shaji (RCC, BCACC). Both have completed Level 1 and Level 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy.
Opens our secure booking page. Choose "New Client Consultation (Telehealth) – 15 minutes", then pick a time. One of you books it, and both of you can join. Our booking system, Jane, will ask you to create a free account to confirm it. Nothing to pay for the consultation.
Prefer not to create an account? Text two times that suit you to (519) 760-5211 and we will book it for you, or send them through the short form. We usually reply within 24 hours.
$150 individual · $175 couples · 60 minutes · direct billing with Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans (Canada Life, Manulife); an insurance-ready receipt for every other plan. Fees & insurance · Direct billing
Is counselling by video right for the two of you?
On screen, your counsellor can see both of your faces and guides the conversation one topic at a time, as they would in a room. What changes is the practical side: no commute, no waiting room, and you can join from one place or two.
Some couples would rather sit in a room with a counsellor. That is a fair preference. If it is yours, a practice with an office will suit you better.
If you are not sure, the free consultation can be by video. It is a low-pressure way to see how talking on screen feels before you commit to anything.
At a glance
Premarital counselling online in BC and five other provinces, at a glance. If you are engaged, planning to marry or move in together, or newly married, you can have premarital counselling with TEO Counselling by video. It is available in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador. Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, sees couples in all six provinces, in English or Arabic. He is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO in Ontario. In British Columbia, you can also see Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC (BCACC), in English, Hindi or Malayalam. Both have completed Level 1 and Level 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. A couples session is $175 for 60 minutes. Sessions run 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific, seven days a week. You get an insurance-ready receipt after every session, and Mohamad and Alison can bill Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans directly. Whether a plan covers couples sessions varies by insurer, so check your plan or ask on the consultation call. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation, with no referral needed.
Before you book together: if one partner is being hurt, threatened or controlled, or is afraid of the other, couples counselling is not the right first step. Being honest in a session and then going home together can raise the risk rather than lower it, so individual support comes first. That is not a judgement about you, and it is not a door closing: either of you can book an individual session. In British Columbia, VictimLinkBC is 1-800-563-0808, call or text, 24/7. Outside BC, sheltersafe.ca lists 24-hour crisis lines in every province. You can call or text 9-8-8 at any hour. In an emergency, call 911.
What is premarital counselling?
Premarital counselling is couples counselling before marriage, or in the first years after. You may also see it called pre-marriage or pre-marital counselling. It is the same thing. The two of you meet with a counsellor by video and talk through the things that tend to cause trouble later, such as money, family, children and how you argue.
The counsellor is not on either side. Their job is to keep the conversation fair, slow it down when it gets heated, and make sure each of you is heard.
You do not need a problem to book. The point is to talk about the big topics while things are calm, rather than for the first time in the middle of an argument.
It is open to couples who are engaged, planning a wedding, about to move in together, or in the first years of marriage. Dating couples thinking about the future are welcome too. So are common-law couples, couples marrying for a second time, and couples where one or both of you already has children.
What premarital counselling is not
- It is not a test that scores how compatible you are. It is a conversation, 60 minutes at a time.
- It is not a course or a class. Courses and workbooks can be useful, but you work through set material on your own. Counselling is live sessions with a counsellor who responds to the two of you.
- It is not a church marriage-preparation program.
- It is not a verdict on whether you should marry. That decision stays with you.
- It is not legal or financial advice. You can talk about how you each feel about money, debt or a marriage agreement (sometimes called a prenup). For the legal side of a marriage agreement, a family lawyer is the right person. For budgeting or investment questions, a financial planner is.
- It is not sex therapy. You can talk about expectations around affection and sex. The sessions do not treat sexual problems.
What couples talk about in premarital counselling
You choose the topics. These are common ones:
- How you argue. What happens when you disagree. Who pushes, who goes quiet, and how you make up afterwards.
- Money. Debt, saving and spending. Joint or separate accounts. Supporting family members, here or overseas.
- Family. The families you each grew up in, in-laws, family expectations, holidays, and how involved each family will be.
- Roles and expectations. Who does what at home, work and careers, where you will live, and what a normal week looks like.
- Children. Whether you want them, when, and how you each want to parent. Step-parenting, if one of you already has children.
- Faith and culture. Different faiths, different traditions, and different ideas about what marriage means.
- Affection and intimacy. Expectations about closeness, affection and sex.
- Your histories. Past relationships, and hard things either of you has lived through that still show up now.
Some couples come with one topic, like a disagreement about money that keeps coming back. Others want to cover most of the list. Either is fine.
What happens in premarital counselling
After the free consultation, your first session is 60 minutes with both of you. Each of you describes the relationship as you see it, what brought you in, and what you want to cover. Nobody is asked to share more than they are ready to.
Later sessions follow the topics you picked. Your counsellor keeps things structured: one topic at a time, each person gets heard, and the conversation slows down if it heats up.
Both counsellors draw on Gottman Method Couples Therapy. That approach looks at the friendship under your relationship. It also looks at how you start hard conversations and how you make up after an argument. The Gottman Method page explains it in more detail, and the couples therapy and marriage counselling page covers couples work more broadly.
Between sessions, your counsellor may suggest a conversation to have at home. Two free printables can help with that. The Couples Communication Kit shows how to bring up hard things gently, and how to calm things down in the middle of an argument. The Couples Connection Journal is a set of prompts for staying curious about each other.
If you want to see what an online session looks like from start to finish, read what to expect from online therapy.
Premarital counselling online, from one place or two
You join from home, or from anywhere private with a door that closes. You can sit side by side in front of one screen, or each join from your own device in a different place.
Joining from two places can suit you if you:
- live in different cities while you plan a move
- work away on rotation, or travel for work
- work different shifts and rarely get home at the same time
A few practical things help:
- Each of you needs a private space and a stable internet connection. Headphones help, especially if you are in two places.
- Sessions run 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific, seven days a week. That is 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern time, so evenings and weekends are part of the schedule in every province we serve.
- If you live in different provinces, or one of you lives outside the six provinces we serve, mention it when you book. It affects which counsellor can work with you.
Who you would be working with
Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO in Ontario, and he sees couples in all six provinces the practice serves. Sessions are in English or Arabic. Couples who want to talk in Arabic, or move between Arabic and English, can read more on the Arabic-speaking therapist page.
Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors, so she sees couples in British Columbia only. Sessions are in English, Hindi or Malayalam.
Both have completed Level 1 and Level 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy.
Who you see depends on where you live and what suits the two of you. If it matters to you who your counsellor is, for example their gender, age, experience, language, faith or background, say so on the consultation call. You can ask about their training before you commit to anything, and if we are not the right fit, we will say so.
Christian premarital counselling in BC
Premarital counselling at TEO is not religious unless you want it to be. Couples of any faith, or none, are welcome with either counsellor.
If you live in BC and want your Christian faith to be part of the sessions, you can see Alison Shaji. She is a practising Christian. She brings faith in as much or as little as the two of you want. That can mean prayer and scripture in your sessions, or simply a counsellor who understands the faith you are building your marriage on. She does not take sides on questions of doctrine, and she welcomes couples from different church backgrounds.
If only one of you is a believer, or your faith has taken you in different directions, you are welcome too. Neither of you is asked to take on the other's beliefs.
This is counselling with a registered clinician, not pastoral counselling. If your church asks for a particular marriage-preparation program, check with your church whether these sessions count toward it. More about Alison's faith-integrated work is on the Christian counselling page.
How many premarital counselling sessions, and when to start
There is no set number of sessions and no package to buy. You pay per session, and you decide with your counsellor what you want to cover. Some couples book a few sessions around specific topics. Others keep going for longer, or come back later, for example after the wedding or before a first baby. You review it together as you go, and you can stop at any point.
Any time is a fine time to start. Starting a few months before a wedding gives you room to talk without a deadline pressing on you. The last weeks before a wedding tend to be busy, so leave some space if you can. Newly married couples are welcome too, since the first year can bring up things you did not see coming.
Premarital counselling cost
- A couples session is $175 for 60 minutes. An individual session is $150, if one of you wants some time on your own.
- The first step is a free 15-minute consultation. No referral is needed.
- You pay per session. There is no package, no intake fee and no charge for receipts.
- Payment is by Interac e-Transfer or by credit card through Jane, our booking system.
- You can cancel or move a session free of charge with at least 24 hours' notice.
Insurance. No provincial health plan covers counselling in private practice, and that includes MSP in British Columbia. An extended health plan may pay for sessions. Your plan lists which kinds of counsellors it pays for. Mohamad is a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), and Alison is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Check whether your plan lists one of these. Some plans cover couples sessions and some do not, so ask your insurer before you start. If you each have a plan, ask both insurers how they handle a shared session.
Direct billing. We can bill some insurers for you, including Pacific Blue Cross, and Canada Life and Manulife through TELUS eClaims, for sessions with Mohamad or Alison. Everyone gets an insurance-ready receipt after every session. If we cannot bill your plan, you send the receipt in yourself.
If cost is the obstacle, say so on the consultation call. We keep a small number of reduced-fee spots. Full detail is on the fees page and the direct billing page.
When premarital counselling with us may not be the right fit
It is better to know this before you book than after.
- You want to meet in person. We only work by video. See Is counselling by video right for the two of you? near the top of this page.
- Your church needs a specific program or certificate. Check with your church or officiant first.
- One of you is being hurt, threatened or controlled. Individual support comes first. Before a wedding, control can be easy to miss. It can look like a partner who checks your phone, controls the money, or cuts you off from friends or family. It can also look like pressure to marry before you are ready, or to marry when you do not want to. Before you book together, near the top of this page, lists where to turn.
- An affair is going on now, or has just come to light. That needs different support, and the infidelity counselling page describes it.
- One of you is in crisis right now. Individual support may need to come first. That is a question of timing. It is not a no. The crisis lines are further down this page.
- You need sessions before noon Pacific. Sessions run from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific.
The Gottman Method page has more on who couples work may not suit right now.
How to book premarital counselling
- Book the free consultation. Use the booking button on this page and choose "New Client Consultation (Telehealth) – 15 minutes". The consultation is by video or a scheduled phone call. One of you books, and both of you can join. Our booking system, Jane, will ask you to create a free account.
- Or let us book it for you. If you would rather not make an account, fill in the short form at the bottom of this page, and we will book the consultation for you. We usually reply within 24 hours. You can also text (519) 760-5211.
- Talk it through. The consultation is 15 minutes and costs nothing. It is with Mohamad or with Rola Shbib, RSW (Ontario), who then books you with the counsellor who fits. Tell them what you want to cover, where each of you lives, and which times suit you. Ask anything you like about fees, insurance or how sessions work.
- Start your sessions. Couples sessions are with Mohamad or, in British Columbia, Alison. You join each one by video through Jane.
Common questions
What is premarital counselling?
Premarital counselling is couples counselling before marriage, or in the first years after. The two of you talk through topics that tend to cause trouble later, such as money, family, children and how you argue. Your counsellor does not take sides. At TEO Counselling it is by video, in 60-minute sessions at $175, and it starts with a free 15-minute consultation.
What happens in the first premarital counselling session?
After the free consultation, your first session is 60 minutes with both of you, by video. Each of you describes the relationship as you see it, what brought you in, and what you want to cover. You choose the topics for later sessions. Nobody is pushed to share more than they are ready to.
What do you talk about in premarital counselling?
You choose. Common topics are how you argue and make up, money and debt, and family and in-laws. Others are roles at home and at work, whether and when to have children, faith and culture, and expectations about affection and intimacy. Some couples come with one topic. Others want to cover most of the list.
Is premarital counselling worth it if we are not having problems?
Only the two of you can decide that. It gives you time to talk about the big topics while things are calm. Someone is there to keep the conversation fair. You do not need a problem to book, and the free consultation is a low-pressure way to see whether it suits you.
Is premarital counselling only for engaged couples?
No. Couples who are dating, engaged, about to move in together, common-law or newly married are all welcome. So are couples marrying for a second time and couples where one or both partners already has children.
Can we do premarital counselling online?
Yes. Every session at TEO Counselling is by video, so you can join from the same room or from two different places. That suits couples where one partner works away, or who live in different cities. Each of you needs a private space and a stable connection. If you live in different provinces, mention it when you book, because it affects which counsellor can see you.
Is premarital counselling by video different from seeing someone in person?
The sessions follow the same structure. Your counsellor sees both of you on screen and guides the conversation one topic at a time, making sure each of you is heard. What changes is the practical side: no commute, no waiting room, and you can join from one place or two. If you would rather sit in a room with a counsellor, that is a fair preference, and a practice with an office will suit you better.
Should we take a premarital course or see a counsellor?
They are different things. A course or workbook gives you set material to work through on your own time. Counselling is live sessions with a counsellor who responds to the two of you and to whatever comes up. Some couples do both. If your church needs a specific program, check with your church whether counselling sessions count toward it.
How many sessions of premarital counselling do we need?
There is no set number and no package to buy. You decide with your counsellor what you want to cover, and you review it as you go. Some couples book a few sessions around specific topics, and others keep going for longer. You can stop at any point.
How much does premarital counselling cost?
A couples session is $175 for 60 minutes, and an individual session is $150. The first 15-minute consultation is free. You pay per session, with no package to buy and no intake fee. You get an insurance-ready receipt after every session, and some plans can be billed directly.
Is premarital counselling covered by insurance or MSP?
No provincial health plan covers counselling in private practice, and that includes MSP in British Columbia. An extended health plan may pay for sessions, depending on which kinds of counsellors it lists. Mohamad is a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), and Alison is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Some plans cover couples sessions and some do not, so ask your insurer. Direct billing is available with Mohamad and Alison for Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans, and you get an insurance-ready receipt after every session.
Do you offer Christian premarital counselling?
Yes, in British Columbia. Alison Shaji is a practising Christian. She includes faith as much as the two of you want. That can mean prayer and scripture, or simply a counsellor who understands your faith. It is counselling with a registered clinician, not pastoral counselling. Couples of any faith, or none, are welcome with either counsellor.
What if we find out we want different things?
That is useful to know before a wedding, not after. The sessions give you a calm place to talk it through, and the counsellor will not tell you what to decide. What you do with it is up to the two of you.
Will the counsellor take sides?
No. The counsellor is there for the relationship, not for one of you. Each person gets heard, and the work looks at the pattern between you rather than at who was right in the last argument.
Is it normal to feel nervous before the first session?
Yes. Lots of people feel nervous, and it is fine to say so at the start. The first session is a conversation. You will not be asked to share anything you are not ready to share, and you can ask your counsellor questions too.
What is the success rate of premarital counselling?
TEO does not publish success rates, and no website can tell you how your marriage will go. What we can tell you is what the sessions involve: a counsellor, the two of you, and time to talk through the topics you choose.
Longer pieces for couples
Couples Therapy in British Columbia: What to Expect and How to Get Started
The first few sessions in order, and what BC couples ask about coverage.
Does Couples Therapy Work? An Honest Look at the Evidence
What the research says, with its limits, before you book.
The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work: Key Ideas, Research and Critiques
A guide to the Gottman book, its principles and its critiques.
Relationship Books: A Clinician's Reading List, With the Limits of Each
Ten books, what each one does, and an honest limit for each.
Therapy is not a crisis service
- 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline — call or text 9-8-8 (Canada, 24/7)
- VictimLinkBC — 1-800-563-0808, call or text (BC, 24/7)
- Kids Help Phone (for young people) — 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868
- Hope for Wellness Help Line — 1-855-242-3310 (24/7)
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
Start with a conversation.
Book a free 15-minute consultation, by video or a scheduled phone call. You can book together or on your own.
Book a Free ConsultationOr text (519) 760-5211
Page information last updated September 2026.
Prefer not to create an account? We can book it for you.
Send your name, a way to reach you and a few times that usually suit you. We will book your free 15-minute consultation at one of those times, or offer the nearest open one, and confirm by email or text, usually within 24 hours.