Couples Who Want a Better Relationship Can Benefit from Colorado State University Workshop

This Valentine’s Day, couples who want to better their relationship can forget what they’ve heard about learning to fight better, digging up scars from their childhood and romance. Instead, they can learn about a relatively new theory in couples therapy that focuses on understanding the emotional attachment they share.

Couples can learn about their patterns of connection and conflict through a workshop series hosted by CSU’s Center for Family and Couple Therapy. The workshop – which is educational and not group therapy – is called Hold Me Tight and spans four weekly 90-minute classes with other couples. Workshops revolve around helping couples recognize their negative patterns, resolve conflicts and reconnect.

“The Hold Me Tight approach to discussing relationship patterns has had a huge impact on couple therapy. And, although this workshop is not group therapy, the techniques taught in the workshop are touted among marriage experts as having a significant impact on marriages at all levels of emotional intimacy while being practical and grounded in real-life research at the same time,” said Ashley Harvey, a licensed marriage and family therapist and CSU faculty member who is facilitating the workshop. “These workshops can help couples learn about their conflicts and the underlying issues, whether those couples are simply engaged or have been married for decades. The workshop is open to any couple interested in understanding and strengthening their relationship.”

The Hold Me Tight workshop is based on the teachings in the book, “Hold Me Tight,” by Susan Johnson, and uses the concept of emotionally focused therapy. Emotionally focused therapy has a 70 to 75 percent success rate, and results have been shown to last even in the face of significant stress.

Couples who participate in the workshops will have the opportunity to learn without sharing details about their relationship. The workshops are from 6 to 7:30 p.m. once a week for four weeks on Mondays, starting on March 19 and ending on April 9. Workshops are offered through CSU’s Center for Family and Couple Therapy and will be held on campus. Each session is $45 or, if the series is paid for in full, $120. The deadline for registration is Wednesday, March 7.

For more information or to register for the workshop, call the Center for Family and Couple Therapy at (970) 491-5991.

The Center for Family and Couple Therapy is in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Applied Human Sciences. For more information, visit www.hdfs.cahs.colostate.edu/cfct.

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