Contact: Laura Waldvogel, Manager of Product and Platform, PREPARE/ENRICH, 651-259-2432, lauraw@prepare-enrich.com
 
ST PAUL, Minn., Dec. 13, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- After 40+ years of research and innovation, PREPARE/ENRICH announced its founder, Dr. David Olson, has transitioned into emeritus status. Dr. Olson continues to provide strategic consulting related to the next phase of growth for PREPARE/ENRICH.

2016 is another record year with over tens of thousands of couples benefiting from the expert care of Facilitators and thousands of counselors, clergy, and churches joining the PREPARE/ENRICH family. The Parenting Version, introduced in 2014, leverages the real-time customized assessment capability introduced in 2008 and has achieved widespread adoption with over 100% growth relative to 2015 and has increased parenting satisfaction for thousands of families.

Anticipation for 2017 is high, with a significantly larger team prepared to implement an ambitious roadmap, including new assessment versions and resources, as well as a refreshed website launching in early 2017. Additional momentum is provided by new positioning of the company under the umbrella of not-for-profit membership organization, Thrivent Financial, whose mission is to help Christians be wise with money and live generously. Bill Johnson, President of PREPARE/ENRICH commented, "In acquiring PREPARE/ENRICH, Thrivent has acknowledged the tension money can create in relationships and is demonstrating their commitment to continuing and extending PREPARE/ENRICH's mission to 'build strong marriages and healthy relationships.'"

Legacy of David and Karen Olson
Motivated to address increasing divorce rates, Dr. Olson and his wife Karen launched PREPARE, Inc. in 1980. Its flagship assessment, PREPARE, provided counselors, clergy, and other professionals with a tool to increase effectiveness of premarital counseling. The PREPARE assessment was the first of its kind to deliver insights into a couple's strength and growth areas, personality dynamics, and family of origin. As a pioneer in the field of family science at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Olson enabled professionals to connect theory and practice by developing the Circumplex Model and its accompanying measure, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES). FACES has provided the basis for thousands of research studies, and served as the foundation for what became the PREPARE/ENRICH assessment.

The PREPARE assessment was quickly adopted by thousands of counselors, clergy, and other professionals as it became the global standard for marriage preparation. In 1981, the ENRICH assessment was introduced as a version of PREPARE intended for married couples. Throughout the next decade additional assessments were developed for blended/step-family premarital couples, cohabitating premarital couples, and older adult married couples. Originally administered using paper/pencil, the assessments were made available online in 2004. In 2008, the highly anticipated PREPARE/ENRICH Customized Version was released, which employs sophisticated real-time logic to select one of over 1,500 combinations of scales for each couple based on factors including relationship status, past relationships, age, parenting status, and faith perspective.

Propagating primarily through word of mouth, PREPARE/ENRICH has transformed into a global family of people who care passionately about strengthening relationships and marriage. By the numbers:

• 110,000+ PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitators trained and operating in over 70 countries
   
• 4,000,000+ couples have gained insight into their relationships
   
• 30,000+ churches and 25,000+ counseling practices leveraging the PREPARE/ENRICH assessment and skill-building content
   
• Translation into 12 languages: Spanish, French, German, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish, and Hungarian

About PREPARE/ENRICH
PREPARE/ENRICH is the leading relationship inventory and skill-building program used by clergy and professional counselors nationally and internationally. Live workshops and online training teach proficiency in the PREPARE/ENRICH program and certifies Facilitators to administer the assessment, interpret reports, and give feedback using skill building exercises. PREPARE/ENRICH, LLC is based in Roseville, Minnesota, with Facilitators throughout the United States and around the world.