Principles for Partnership: How to Build a Relationship That Works for Both of You

Overview

This six-week workshop will support couples to understand how the human brain is organized, how that organization impacts our experience in relationships, and how to build principles to set our relationships up for success.

This workshop is designed to support all couples, and can apply to any stage in a relationship.

• Session 1: introduction to brain organization, relationship frameworks, and benefits of secure functioning partnership
• Session 2: principles 1 & 10
• Session 3: principles 2 & 9
• Session 4: principles 3 & 8
• Session 5: principles 4 & 7
• Session 6: principles 5 & 6

Jess Cleeves, MAT LCSW, is the workshop facilitator.

Principles are based on the work of Stan Tatkin. Participants who want to learn about Stan's work can check out his book "Wired for Love," and the PACT Institute.

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Can't make it for the entire time? No worries, sessions will be recorded, and the recordings will be available for 30 days after the session ends.

Structure

This virtual workshop will be a combination of direct instruction and participant activities. While each day will vary slightly, here's an example agenda to illustrate how any given day will strive to balance information dissemination, active processing time, and breaks:

• Opening activity - 10 mins: micro-skill to strengthen your relationship
• Direct instruction - 30 mins: how the human brain is organized, and how our brain's organization impacts our relationships
• Activity - 15 mins: (within couples) categorize common relationship challenges based on brain organization
• 5 min break
• Activity - 10 mins: (between couples) introductions (first names, how long together), share perspectives and points of confusion
• Direct instruction - 30 mins: this week's homework assignment
• Whole-group Q&A - 20 mins

Deliverables

By workshop's end, each participating couple will leave with:

• A brain organization model to help you understand your partner's behavior under stress
• 10 personalized relationship principles to guide the relationship moving forward
• 6 micro-skills to support effective day-to-day interactions

Program Cost = $350

Tickets are non-refundable once purchased.

Early-career helping professionals (nurses, first responders, social workers) and public school teachers are eligible for a 50% discount. To access discount code, use the contact form and include a link to your employer's website verifying your employment.

If purchasing a ticket creates a hardship for you (hardship = impacting your housing, transportation, or food security), please reach out using the contact form to request a sliding scale application.

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Agreements

By registering, all participants agree to:

• Treat this workshop as a learning experience, and NOT as therapy; keep the focus on workshop ideas, and only share out information that both you and your partner agree to share out.
• Speak from your own experience. Do not offer advice/opinions about others' situations.
• Honor confidentiality, both by leaving identifying information (place of employment, last name, etc) out of group interactions and by ensuring that no one's information (name, ideas contributed, etc) is shared outside of sessions.
• Welcome each other by displaying pronouns, pronouncing each others' names correctly when in small group, and approaching each other with gratitude for all we can learn from each other. Harrassment, bullying, and hate speech are not permitted, and will be met with swift removal and disenrollment without refund.