Meet Kristen Franzen, MA, LPC, LMHC, LPCC, NCC
Kristen Franzen wrote and teaches the Tennessee premarital course on this site. She is a Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder and clinical director of Cadenza Counseling LLC.
Years of one-on-one therapy behind the course
Before building online courses, Kristen spent years working with clients in live, one-on-one therapy. Her clinical work centers on family dynamics, emotional development and conflict resolution: helping people talk without escalating, handle hard emotions and stay steady through big life changes.
Engaged couples rarely have the time or money for weeks of counseling before the wedding. So she took the most useful evidence-based tools from her practice and built a self-paced course couples can finish together, from home, in the 4 hours Tennessee asks for.
Why she can teach the Tennessee premarital course
Tennessee's law, T.C.A. 36-6-413 (summary by the UT County Technical Assistance Service), lists who may teach a premarital preparation course for the $60 license fee waiver: psychologists, clinical social workers, licensed marital and family therapists, clinical pastoral therapists, professional counselors, psychological examiners, official representatives of a religious institution, and other instructors meeting the local judicial district's guidelines. Kristen is a Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC #8036), and that is the basis on which she teaches Tennessee couples. Her name, qualifications and license number go on every Tennessee Certificate of Completion, as the state form requires.
Credentials you can check
- Tennessee: Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC #8036. Tennessee license verification (license lookup).
- Florida: Licensed Mental Health Counselor, license MH22317.
- National: National Certified Counselor, NCC #1727660.
- Texas: Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC #97926.
- Other states: Minnesota (LPCC CC04980), Colorado (LPC 0019499), Pennsylvania (LPC PC016512), Louisiana (LPC 10219), Arizona (LPC 23358), North Carolina (LPC 20928), Missouri (LPC 2023037577).
- Clergy: Ordained minister, Universal Life Church.
How she built the course
You will not sit through dry academic lectures. Each lesson gives you something to use together the same week: how to talk about money, how to fight fair and repair afterward, and how to set boundaries with family.
Couples are different, so the course comes in three versions:
- Standard
- Faith-Friendly
- Inclusive (LGBTQ+ couples)
All three are 4 hours and come with the same mailed, notarized Certificate of Completion.
How we keep this site accurate
Every rule on this site comes from a primary source: the text of Tennessee Code 36-6-413 (as summarized by CTAS) and each county clerk's own marriage license page. We recheck them when the law or county practice changes. Spot something out of date? Email info@cadenzacounseling.org and we will fix it.
Reviewed by Kristen Franzen, LPC. Facts checked against T.C.A. 36-6-413 and county clerk marriage license pages. Last updated .