PREPARE/ENRICH vs FOCCUS: Which Premarital Assessment?

Bottom line: These two are not really rivals. PREPARE/ENRICH is the clinical generalist used across therapy practices and faith settings alike, while FOCCUS is purpose-built for Catholic and parish marriage preparation, and in many dioceses it is the instrument the parish actually requires. So for plenty of couples the choice is already made, and the useful question becomes what to expect.

Two people land on this page, and they need different things from it.

The first is a couple who has been told to complete one of these before the wedding. Maybe your parish named FOCCUS, maybe your counselor handed you PREPARE/ENRICH. You want to know what you are walking into.

The second is a therapist, pastor, deacon, or mentor couple deciding which certification to buy. You want to know which instrument fits the people you actually serve.

Both questions have the same shape. These are not competing products so much as tools built for different rooms.

One thing to get out of the way first. Neither assessment is a pass or fail test. There is no score that clears you for marriage and no score that stops you. Both instruments exist to start conversations you have not had yet, and both assume the conversation matters more than the number.

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The decision, up front#

If a parish, diocese, or pastor requires a specific instrument, that requirement settles it. Everything else is preference.

For a couple with a genuinely free choice, pick by the setting you are in. For a facilitator, pick by the people you serve. The rest of this page fills in what that means.

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PREPARE/ENRICH vs FOCCUS at a glance#

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PREPARE/ENRICH: the clinical generalist#

PREPARE/ENRICH is a structured relationship assessment used with a trained facilitator. It covers over 30 dimensions, the widest coverage of the two, and that breadth is why it turns up in so many different rooms.

Each partner completes it individually online, and it takes about 35-45 minutes per person. The cost is roughly $35 per couple.

The facilitator side matters here. Certification is required, costs roughly $200, and is online and self-paced, so you can finish it around a full-time practice or a ministry schedule.

The dimensions run from communication and conflict resolution through financial management, leisure, sexual expectations, spiritual beliefs, family and friends, relationship roles, and personality. That is a long list on purpose. It is built to give a clinician a full map rather than a single reading.

The output is a personalized couple report with visual scales, and the debrief is not one meeting. Expect to work through it over roughly 4-8 sessions. Those sessions are where the value lives, which is why PREPARE/ENRICH suits therapists, coaches, and clergy who already sit with couples over time, in secular and faith settings alike.

For more on how the sessions work, see our explainer on /blog/prepare-enrich-explained, and the service page at /premarital-counseling/prepare-enrich.

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FOCCUS: purpose-built for Catholic parish preparation#

FOCCUS comes from a different world, and that is its strength rather than a limitation. It is published by FOCCUS Inc. USA, a ministry of the Archdiocese of Omaha, and it was designed for Catholic and parish marriage preparation rather than for a general clinical caseload. In many dioceses, it is the instrument the parish actually requires.

The core instrument is the Pre-Marriage Inventory, Fourth Edition, built on 151 statements. Each partner answers separately using an agree, disagree, or uncertain format, and it takes about an hour or less per person. The uncertain option is worth noticing. It surfaces the places where a couple has not yet decided, which is exactly where a good conversation starts.

Facilitator certification is required, and it runs $195 for the online self-paced course. A limited-time live Zoom option has been offered at $99, with the regular price at $195. Unlike some ministry instruments, it is genuinely open on who may facilitate. Clergy and laypeople, including counselors and mentor couples, can become certified.

The editions cover a lot of ground, including Pre-Marriage, Cohabiting, Convalidation, Mid-Life and Beyond, REFOCCUS, and Deacon Formation. The faith variants include Catholic, Christian, Orthodox Christian, General, plus an Easy Reading version.

The report is different in shape from a clinical profile. It is a facilitator report that organizes answers by topic, showing where partners agree, disagree, or were uncertain. It is a conversation map, not a verdict.

On price for couples, the honest answer is that the publisher does not list a public per-couple price. Credits are bought inside a facilitator login, so the price a couple pays is set locally by the parish or facilitator. You will see a range of numbers from different parishes, and that is expected. If a page presents a single firm national price for FOCCUS, treat it with suspicion. It is a local fee, not a publisher price.

For more on the instrument and how the debrief runs, see /blog/foccus-explained.

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Which should you choose#

Start here. If a parish, diocese, or pastor requires one instrument, that requirement overrides preference. No amount of feature comparison changes a diocesan rule, and it is not worth fighting. The useful work then becomes preparing well for the instrument you were handed. If nothing is required, the split is straightforward.

If you are a couple#

• Your parish named FOCCUS. Take FOCCUS. Set aside about an hour each, answer honestly rather than aspirationally, and treat your uncertain answers as the agenda for the debrief.
• Your counselor or therapist suggests PREPARE/ENRICH. Take PREPARE/ENRICH. Plan for roughly 35-45 minutes each, and expect the real work in the debrief sessions rather than in the questionnaire.
• You are choosing freely and want the widest coverage. PREPARE/ENRICH covers over 30 dimensions.
• You are in Catholic or parish preparation. FOCCUS is usually the better fit, and often the required one.
• You are not in a faith setting at all. PREPARE/ENRICH is built for secular settings as much as faith ones.
• Cost is the deciding factor. PREPARE/ENRICH is roughly $35 per couple. For FOCCUS, ask your parish or facilitator what their total fee includes, since the publisher does not publish a number.

If you are a facilitator#

• You work in a Catholic parish or diocese. Get certified in FOCCUS. If the diocese requires it, that is the only certification that lets you run what your community needs.
• You run a general therapy or coaching practice. Get certified in PREPARE/ENRICH for the over 30 dimensions and the clinical report.
• You serve a mix of secular clients and church couples. PREPARE/ENRICH covers the widest range of settings for a single certification, at roughly $200.
• You lead a parish program and want lay involvement. FOCCUS certification is open to clergy and laypeople, including counselors and mentor couples, at $195 online self-paced.
• You want the lower entry point. Watch for the limited-time FOCCUS live Zoom option at $99. Treat it as a promotion, not a standing price.

If you serve both settings over time, certifying in both is reasonable. They are not redundant, and the debrief skills transfer.

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FAQ#

Can we use both?#

Yes, and some couples do. PREPARE/ENRICH gives you the broader map with over 30 dimensions, while FOCCUS gives you the topic-by-topic view of where you agree, disagree, or were uncertain. If your parish requires FOCCUS and your counselor also uses PREPARE/ENRICH, running both is more conversation, not more conflict. Just avoid stacking them in the same week, so you have room to talk between them.

We already took one and the parish wants the other. What do we do?#

Take the one the parish requires, and do not treat the time you spent as wasted. The earlier assessment already surfaced the topics worth talking about, so bring that list into the debrief. Tell your facilitator you have completed the other instrument. They will usually fold it in rather than start you from zero.

Do we have to be Catholic to take FOCCUS?#

No. FOCCUS is Catholic in origin, and in many parish settings it is the required instrument, but it also offers Christian, Orthodox Christian, General, and Easy Reading variants, and its editions cover cohabiting couples, convalidation, and couples at mid-life. Plenty of non-Catholic and interfaith couples complete it as part of parish preparation.

Is PREPARE/ENRICH only for couples in therapy?#

No. It is used by therapists, coaches, and clergy in secular and faith settings alike. The over 30 dimensions and the 4-8 session debrief fit a clinical practice, but nothing about it requires a diagnosis or an ongoing therapy relationship. Churches and coaching practices use it too.

How long does each one take, and who needs certification?#

PREPARE/ENRICH takes about 35-45 minutes per person and is completed online. FOCCUS takes about an hour or less per person, with each partner answering separately. On certification, the facilitator needs it and the couple does not. PREPARE/ENRICH certification is roughly $200 online and self-paced, and FOCCUS certification is $195 online self-paced, open to clergy and laypeople. A couple simply completes the assessment and then sits down to talk about it.

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Where to go next#

• /blog/foccus-explained covers the FOCCUS instrument and its debrief.
• /blog/prepare-enrich-explained walks through the PREPARE/ENRICH process.
• /blog/premarital-counseling-cost breaks down what couples actually pay, including where a requirement sets the price.
• /premarital-counseling/prepare-enrich lists counselors who work with PREPARE/ENRICH.

Whichever one you were handed, the point is the same. Neither is a test you can fail. Both are a structured way to find the conversations you have not had yet, in time to have them.

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Official sources#

• FOCCUS: official site for the assessment and its facilitator training.
• PREPARE/ENRICH: official site for the assessment and its facilitator training.