A Couples’ Workshop
Hold Me Tight is a relationship enrichment program developed by Dr. Susan Johnson—an internationally recognized researcher and expert in couples therapy. Her approach, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), has been shown in studies to have some of the best results in the field, with 70% of couples moving from a place of distress and unhappiness in their relationship to feeling once again at peace, with 90% of couples significantly helped.
This psychologically educational program has been offered nationally and globally and is based on the wisdom gained from a new scientific understanding of love and the lifelong needs we all have for bonding and a finding shelter in each other. It is designed to teach you and your partner how to move away from cycles of conflict, increase emotional responsiveness, forgive old wounds, and rekindle connection and affection.
In this workshop, you can expect to:
- Recognize the “demon dialogs” that all couples get caught in and discover what you are really trying to say to each other
- Explore the feelings and needs underneath your behaviors
- Deepen both emotional and physical intimacy
- Repair and forgive old hurts and injuries
- Discover the emotional connection that creates greater bonding and can keep your love alive so your relationship becomes the safe harbor it was meant to be
- Affirm strengths in your relationship
- Address negative interaction patterns
- Recognize underlying reasons for your conflicts
- Learn how to repair and forgive
- Improve your communication
What we do at the workshop
We will present findings from love and attachment research in order to help you make sense of the cycles of disconnection in which couples often find themselves stuck. We will show video of couples who represent the most common patterns of conflict. At regular intervals, we will ask you to privately engage in structured conversations with your partner regarding your particular cycle. Workshop leaders as well as other trained facilitators will circulate and be available to be consulted throughout the guided practice. Some couples prefer to work alone; others prefer to consult with the facilitators in some or all of their conversations. We will then reform into the larger group to discuss our experiences. No one is required to share any personal experiences with the group.
What we as the workshop leaders have loved about this program is its focus on health, resilience and growth. It compassionately views many of our struggles as couples as a protest against loss of connection, the frustration of feeling we can’t reach our partner, the pain of loneliness. It does not seek out “who’s to blame,” but instead “how do we restore the bond?” It has been our privilege to witness as couples courageously work to reach out to each other.