Moving abroad, according to studies, places numerous stresses on a marriage that can make or break the relationship. Living in a new country, learning the local language, adjusting to the weather, being away from family & friends, not having the usual comforts of one’s ‘home country’, feeling lonely & alone – the list goes on – all of these things add stress to one’s life as well as relationships. Amongst all the packing and planning that goes into moving abroad, many couples overlook preparing for one of the most significant changes: the one that their marriage goes through.

According to a study by social psychologist Mark Mendenhall and J. Stewart Black of the University of Michigan School of Business, “up to 40% of foreign assignments are cut short, many because the family fails to adjust to life abroad.” Even though many overseas employers conduct interviews with couples to determine their flexibility and adaptability to change and their ability to cope with culture shock, it is tough to discern how well a marriage will do overseas.

TLT did a study with over 300 NRI couples across the globe to understand the challenges they faced while staying away from their place of origin. A small percentage of these couples were born and raised in countries other than India. The study helped discover that regardless of the number of years they were away, when NRI couples experience a rough patch in their marriage, there are multi-fold hurdles they need to cross. The stigma attached to reaching out to a couples therapist, the accessibility to a therapist, and the affordability of couples therapy are the major ones. Even when a couple musters courage and break the barriers of the stigma and can afford a couples therapist, they face another BIG challenge – access to a couples therapist who can offer them culturally and contextually relevant support for them.

TLT’s NRI Couples Marriage Mentoring program is designed to help NRI couples address various presenting issues, including managing conflict, navigating loneliness, overcoming negative patterns & betrayal, and lessening situational violence. Through this program, NRI couples learn to strengthen their friendship, increase intimacy, regulate conflict, and gain access to easy-to-use tools to help them in the process. The program combines scientific research and psycho-education to improve the quality of marital life for NRI couples.