"Let Relationship Wings Take Your Relationship to New Heights"
January 06, 2009
Serving the St. Louis Area

Testimonials

I'm 60 years old and have been married 38 years. These short four months have been more meaningful to me than any other educational endeavor I have ever experienced.
Course Outline
Self Awareness
  • Trace your family's emotional history so that you can uncover the hidden expectations and communication styles which may be influencing your relationships.
  • Recover your past decisions that may be sabotaging your relationships today.
  • Know and appreciate the rich complexity of your unique personality.
Couples Awareness
  • Acknowledge and enjoy the differences between you and your partner, rather than see them as a threat.
  • Recognize the different roles you and your partner play - the masks you don, the behavior you assume in different moods or circumstances and find out how they work, or don't work, together.
  • Avoid the mind-reading that so often leads to misunderstanding between couples; learn to avoid assumptions and not to expect that "if you loved me, you would know".
Communicating
  • Express your feelings so that they can get met without causing your partner to feel resentful, smothered, burdened, manipulated or inadequate.
  • Recognize when your communication style is more of a problem than the actual problem you are communicating.
  • Clear the air of fear, pain and anger between you and your partner before trying to resolve conflicts.
  • Develop the ability to feel real empathy for your partner, instead of secretly resenting the roles of caretaker or provider.
Sexuality and Sensuality
  • Satisfy your biological need for that combination of physical closeness and emotional openness, which is called "bonding".
  • Learn the difference between affection, comfort, "bonding", sensuality and sexuality so that sex is not your only avenue to closeness.
Fighting Fair
  • Express anger without destroying love.
  • Accept anger comfortably and non destructively.
  • Recognize covert, indirect expressions of anger.
  • Cope with either a fight phobic or aggressive hostile partner.
  • Fight in such a way that you actually resolve the issues at hand, especially those related to sex, money, children, use of time, in-laws, ex-spouses, housework, fidelity and jealousy.
Negotiating
  • Use a negotiating style in which each partner feels heard, respected and considered; avoid using power or control that makes the loser want to withdraw emotionally or get even.
  • Negotiate a relationship you can both live with joyfully.