About the Workshops

The S.H.A.L.O.M. Workshop (Starting Healthy And LOng-lasting Marriages) is a highly successful premarital education program that aims to prepare engaged couples for a healthy and successful marriage. Many hundreds of engaged and newly married couples have attended this innovative workshop that teaches them how to increase understanding and sensitivity to each other’s feelings, communicate effectively, build a sense of mutual respect, promote self confidence in each other, utilize valuable tools for conflict resolution and gain better financial awareness.

It’s a fact of life that young couples today face more demands than ever before. The typical complex marriage - managing two careers while rearing children - requires that couples have very strong, well-established abilities to communicate, resolve issues, maintain mutuality and set goals. Without this foundation, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by stress and time pressures. Problems can intrude much more easily than most couples realize. Marriage preparation can function as an immunization that boosts a couple’s capacity to handle potential difficulties. According to a U.S. Advisory Committee on Marriage, “pre-marital education could help reduce divorces by as much as 30%.”  

The feedback to the S.H.A.L.O.M. Workshop has been outstanding.

• 91% said that they were better able to talk about their true feelings
• 87% said they learned how to talk more respectfully
• 96% learned how to resolve their differences more effectively
• 95% reported that they learned how to become better listeners
• 97% said they learned some valuable communication tools that they can use to discuss difficult issues
• 84% said they learned how to express their opinions and ideas more clearly.

S.H.A.L.O.M. Workshop, given in one or two sessions, is led by Orthodox professionals who have been specially trained and have successfully assisted many young couples in making sure that their marriage is healthy at the outset and will be long lasting.It is important to note that this workshop is not therapy nor is it intended for couples in distress. The workshop does not replace traditional pre-marriage classes offered by Chassan and Kallah teachers; rather, it enhances it.

 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. and other Rabbanim have endorsed the workshop and we strongly recommend all engaged couples to register for the S.H.A.L.O.M. Workshop.It is given in groups or individually, on an ongoing basis in NewYork City and in Long Island, however, arrangements may be made for out of town groups depending on details.