Skills for a Lifetime of Love

Is love sometimes a mystery to you?

What makes love last?

What makes love deepen over time?

What keeps love fresh and new?

The 10 Relationship Enhancement® Skills can help you solve the mysteries of relationships.

Mastering the Mysteries of Love (MML) Workshops for Couples are for couples who are:

Dating Engaged Married Remarried

Are you dating, engaged, or newly married?

In this world of exploding information and choices, easy communication around the globe, and instant intimacy portrayed in the media, most of us still yearn for that special someone with whom we share our lives – day to day and year to year. When we meet that special person and are considering making a commitment or have decided to commit, we may wonder whether this special relationship is sustainable over time. Relationship Enhancement® will give you SKILLS to make your LOVE an everyday reality for a lifetime.

Are you married or in a committed relationship?

We start out our relationship with the best of intentions, with hope, with LOVE. Then we discover that we are not equipped to handle some of what life hands us. Or we find that differences in our personalities or our desires cause conflict. And sometimes these are differences that early in our relationship seemed manageable or not that important.

Relationship Enhancement^® teaches you SKILLS to learn and grow TOGETHER – to live out that promise that you made to each other. SKILLS will help you realize three of the essentials for a healthy, long term, committed relationship.

The three essentials for a healthy, long term, committed relationship are the ability to:

talk about what is going well (appreciations)
identify areas of growth (differences)
resolve differences constructively and creatively

It is sometimes hard to talk about differences because we are afraid we will break the connection. In fact, areas of difference present opportunities for personal and couple growth. Learning relationship skills TOGETHER gives us a strong foundation to achieve a LIFETIME OF LOVE.

Relationship Enhancement® skills-based program is:

EFFECTIVE – over 40 years of research on effectiveness confirms that individual and couple satisfaction are increased

PRACTICAL – you can apply in your home, your work, your extended family, your friends, and of course, with your LOVE

EXPERIENTIAL – coaching is provided for each couple as they apply the skills to their relationship

INDIVIDUALIZED – coaching staff help you apply the skills to your unique experiences as a couple

TESTED OVER TIME – couples with skills and commitment to maintain a climate of appreciation, resolve conflicts constructively, and solve problems in a spirit of collaboration have longer-lasting, more satisfying marriages

Staff at the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement® will demonstrate and guide you through applying SKILLS OF LOVE to your relationship. With these skills you can respectfully and lovingly address questions of commitment, prepare for marriage, and launch a healthy, life-long marriage. If you are married, these skills will help you re-connect, resolve differences, reduce conflict, and help you live your commitment for a LIFETIME OF LOVE.

Relationship Enhancement® skills are taught by licensed mental health professionals in an educational setting. You have the option of group or private sessions with or without a computerized, on-line inventory.

Workshops for Couples

The Mastering the Mysteries of Love Relationship Enhancement® Program is a 2 day program where you will learn Skills for a Lifetime of Love, apply them to your relationship with coaching from trained leaders, and commit to practice sessions at home.

Day I

Listening for Understanding
Expression or Effective speaking
Discussion and Problem solving
Ten Things you can do to have a Healthy Marriage

Day 2

Managing Conflict Effectively
Coaching and Deepening Dialogues
Change and Growth – Yesterday, Today, and tomorrow
Maintaining – keeping on with the Skills of Love

Private Sessions

9 hours (1.5 or 3 hr blocks) at a mutually convenient time) is the minimum amount of time needed to cover Day I and Day 2 of the group sessions above. Additional time may be necessary depending on each couple’s situation and needs.

Inventory

Many couples meet each other and connect around ways they are similar. Learning to handle your differences while sustaining the close bond and loving feelings is the key to a healthy, life-long relationship.

At NIRE, we recommend that couples periodically assess the “state of their relationship”. Investing in a well researched and thorough assessment when contemplating commitment or preparing for marriage is highly recommended. NIRE staff use couple inventories from Life Innovations (www.lifeinnovations.com) to assist couples to identify relationship strengths and areas of growth. An inventory can help guide your application of skills during either group or private sessions.

Location, Cost and Registration

Workshops for couples are offered each month (see schedule below) at 4400 East-West Highway, Suite 24, Bethesda, Maryland – conveniently located near the Bethesda Metro station with free parking in the building’s (Topaz House) garage. Saturday is from 9-5 and Sunday is from 9-4, with snacks provided and lunch on your own in one of the many restaurants or cafes in downtown Bethesda.

Workshops for couples are $450 per couple and include snacks and two workbooks from the Mastering the Mysteries of Love Relationship Enhancement Program. An hourly fee for private sessions would be determined based on family income and number of dependents. Workbooks would be an additional $15 each. The Couple Checkup through Life Innovations is $29.95 and purchased directly over the website.

Registration for the workshops can be accomplished by contacting Laura Landi at niremd@nire.org or 301-680-8977 or mail to NIRE – Administrative Office; 12500 Blake Road; Silver Spring, MD 20904-2056. We accept credit cards over the phone to confirm your registration.

Appointments for private sessions are made by contacting Laura Landi at 301-680-8977 or niremd@nire.org .