Relationship Enhancement® Couple & Family Therapy

Training, Supervision, And Certification Programs
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Relationship Enhancement® Therapy for Couples and Families
NIRE 50“I have been in private practice for thirty years. I always saw a limited number of couples until I completed my RE training. Suddenly, the number of couples I treated sky-rocketed. Since I do not advertsie my practice, I get new patients only by word of mouth. The only conclusion I can draw is that the increase was due solely to how the nature of my work has changed as a result of my RE training. Indeed, as I introspect, I feel so much surer of myself as a therapist. I know how I must intervene and what will probably occur as a result. I truly believe that the time and money in my RE training were among the best investments during my professional life.”
- Certified RE Couples Therapist
“The RE training in couples therapy has given me more than just another ‘therapeutic technique.’ In addition to improving my ability to help my clients, the training has also enhanced my effectiveness as a supervisor of graduate students and as a teacher in the college classroom. It has enhanced my own personal relationships as well.”
- University Professor
For over 25 years the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement® and its parent organization IDEALS have been training mental health professionals in couple and family therapies based on the Relationship Enhancement® Model. The goals of the Relationship Enhancement® Couples/Family Therapies are to help couples and families resolve current relationship problems while developing communication, conflict resolution, and relationship skills to prevent the development of future problems. The Director of Couples/Family Therapy Training at NIRE is Bernard Guerney, Jr., Ph.D., the internationally recognized researcher and clinician who originally developed the Relationship Enhancement® Model.

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The Relationship Enhancement® Model
The Relationship Enhancement® (RE) Model is both a psychoeducational program and a brief therapy model that employs an innovative skills-training methodology for empowering even the most distressed couples and families to resolve current and future problems on their own. Following the principles of an educational model rooted in learning therory, it accomplishes its goals by teaching a set of practical skills that enables couples and families to uncover and communicate their deepest feelings, concerns and desires, and to create solutions to problems at their deepest levels. The ten RE skills taught are: Empathic, Expressive, Discussion/Negotiation, Problem/Conflict Resolution, Facilitation, Conflict Management, Self-Change, Helping-Others Change, Generalization and Maintenance. An additional strength of RE therapy is that it equalizes power within relationships, both between genders and across generations.
Skills Training Workshops

There are several ways to learn how to do use Relationship Enhancement in your practice.  We offer Relationship Enhancement Therapy training at NIRE, Advanced Relationship Enhancement Therapy training, and a Homestudy Version of the Relationship Enhancement Therapy Training Workshop.

The basic Workshop is described here.  See button at the side for descriptions of the Advanced Relationship Enhancement Therapy training and the Homestudy Course.

For a description of our On-site RE workshops, see  On-site Professional Training Workshops on the Home page.

Supervision and Certification Programs–see button at the side
Relationship Enhancement Therapy Workshop
The purpose of this three-day skills training workshop is to provide participants a comprehensive introduction to the theory and methodology underlying the Relationship Enhancement® Model and to teach participants how Relationship Enhancement® therapy is conducted with couples and families, beginning with the intake interview and proceeding through all the phases of RE therapy. The workshop emphasizes the building of participants’ therapeutic skills through a process that combines lecture, video, role-play demonstrations and intensively supervised skill practice.
Completion of this workshop is a prerequisite for application to NIRE’s:

Certification Program in Relationship Enhancement® Couple Therapy
Certification Program in Relationship Enhancement® Family Therapy

Those desiring to complete this workshop at home should look into our

Homestudy Version of the RE Couple/Family Therapy Workshop

Workshop Objectives
Upon completion of the workshop, participants will learn:

  • How to structure an intake interview so as to minimize in-session conflict and maximize commitment to positive therapeutic engagement
  • How to teach clients the nine RE skills
  • To avoid the “Dozen Deadly Sins” which lead to early termination or retard progress in therapy
  • How to motivate the doubtful, resistant or hostile adolescent, spouse or parent
  • How to overcome power imbalances among family members
  • How to prevent anger escalation
  • How to turn emotional flare-ups and breakdowns into positive experiences
  • When and how to generate catharsis of repressed feelings from early-life or traumatic experiences
  • How and when to use unique RE therapist techniques of “Becoming,” “Laundering” and “Trouble-shooting” to manage the clinical process
  • When and how to combine individual therapy of family members with RE couple and family therapy
  • RE methods for crisis intervention
  • When and how to combine RE therapy with your other preferred approaches
Agenda
  • Definition and overview of the RE Model
  • 3 principal formats of RE therapy
  • Supporting research
  • Sources of power of the RE Model
  • What makes RE therapy distinctive
  • Demonstration of intake interview and RE therapist technique of “Laundering”
  • Video to illustrate experiential format for RE therapy
  • Demonstrations of how all 9 RE skills are taught to couples and families
  • Frequent supervised practice of RE therapist skills
  • Video illustrating use of therapist technique of “Trouble-shooting”
  • Video illustrating the promotion of emotional catharsis
  • Video illustrating use of therapist technique of “Becoming” to equalize power within a family
CE Information
20 hours of CE credits or 2.0 CEU’s are provided to psychologists, social workers and counselors. For further information, see Continuing Education Information
Presenters
Robert F. Scuka, Ph.D., M.S.W., LCSW-C
On-Site Training Opportunities
This and all other NIRE professional training workshops can be offered on-site and tailored to meet your organization’s or group’s distinctive needs. For more information on this potentially cost-saving alternative, please see

On-Site Training Opportunities

Schedule, Cost and Registration Information
Cost of the RE training workshop is $375.
A discount of $25 is available for each person attending from the same site and registering together.
The workshop meets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Lunch is on your own.
To Register, or to obtain a brochure, contact Ms. Laura Landi:

Phone:
301-986-1479
Fax:
301-680-3756
E-mail:
niremd@nire.org
Mail:
NIRE – Administrative Office
12500 Blake Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904-2056

If you register by fax or mail, please include your name, address, home and work phone numbers, and the dates for which you are registering.
Payment may be made either by check or credit card. Registrations by fax must be accompanied by a credit card number.
If payment is made with a credit card number, please write your name exactly as it appears on the card, the expiration date and your signature.
Additional Training Opportunities
Participants completing this workshop may also wish to attend NIRE’s:

Advanced Relationship Enhancement® Couple/Family Therapy Workshop

Mastering the Mysteries of Love Leader Training
Mastering the Mysteries of Stepfamilies Training
Ready for Love Training (Skills for Singles and Solos)
You might also wish to consult:

Home Study Version of the Couple RE Program Educator/Leader Training Workshop
Couples Relationship Enhancement® Weekend
Bibliography