Issues in Premarital Counseling

Steve has asked his girlfriend Nadia to marry him. They dated for a year after meeting in college at a fraternity party. Nadia has been sexually intimate with one other boyfriend, while Steve has had multiple partners.  Both are American, but Nadia’s grandparents are originally from Egypt. Despite different religious backgrounds (Steve is Methodist; Nadia was raised as a Muslim) and cultures, they have a lot in common and both sets of parents are very happy about their engagement. As part of their preparation, they have begun premarital counseling. As Steve and Nadia’s counselor, you know that a discussion of sexuality will be important to their marital success.

• Describe the important aspects of sexuality (such as arousal and response, intimacy, contraception, etc.) that Nadia and Steve need to discuss. Remember to consider psychological/emotional as well as physical factors.
• Include a discussion of at least 1 theoretical perspective that you have learned about in this course (e.g., Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, Masters and Johnson’s work, etc.).
• What risk factors pertaining to health can you infer might be present from the scenario? What can the couple do to minimize these risks?
• How will you show cultural competence during your sessions (i.e., what cultural issues should you consider)?

Write an essay that is 3-5 pages in length. Also include a cover page and reference list. Remember to support your arguments with information drawn from the online content, the textbook, and at least one other credible, scholarly source to substantiate the points you are making. You can use relevant Web sites or journal articles as sources for your presentation, but make sure that they are from reputable web and print sources such as the AU online library, or information from .org, .net, or .edu sites as opposed to .com. Please avoid Wikipedia.

Apply APA standards to for writing and citations to your work.

The paper should be double-spaced 12-point typescript, Times Roman font, with 1-inch margins all around, and free from grammatical errors.