For Couples Who Have Completed COUPLE COMMUNICATION I . . .

COUPLE COMMUNICATION II applies the maps and skills introduced in COUPLE COMMUNICATION I in advanced ways:

Session I - The Relationship Map helps you better understand, appreciate, and take charge of the way you relate.

Session II - Collaborative Communication shows you how to build the 11 talking and listening skills into a "collaborative operating system" for ensuring satisfying decision making within your relationship.

Session III - Managing My Anger expands your understanding of how you express anger in unhealthy ways, and assists you in using your awareness to express your anger constructively.

Session IV - Responding to My Partner's Anger guides you in de-escalating tension and responding effectively to your partner's anger.

Session V - Phases of Relationship enables partners to assess and understand the seasons of their relationship and align their values, goals, and actions to thrive together.

Content of the Program

The Relationship Map	As you and your partner understand a map of your relationship, you can set direction for and take better charge of how you relate. You will: Identify what goes into a relationship dance - time together, apart and changing, in both positive or negative emotional climates. Discover your current relationship map (dance). Choose steps to create a more desirable relationship dance.
Collaborative Communication	Your important discussions - making decisions, solving problems, setting priorities - can build your relationship rather than bring conflict to it. You will: Recognize three forces at work in your interactions. Learn how you alone can make a major positive or negative difference in discussions between you and your partner. Identify leading or following skills and choice points in an interaction. Apply skills to communicate collaboratively as a couple.
Managing My Anger	As you make constructive changes in how you handle the emotion of anger, you will enjoy a healthier, happier life. You will: Identify the components of anger - its focus, catalyst, and expression in unhealthy or healthy ways. Learn three major steps to deal with a specific experience of anger. Create an individual strategy for managing your anger. Discover how to use a "Time Out" effectively for taking longer-term constructive action.
Responding to My Partners Anger	While you cannot control your partner's angry emotion, you can manage your own response to it, which contributes to the overall climate you both experience. You will: Learn how your responses to your partner help escalate, maintain, or de-escalate the anger. Identify your interactional choices during the situation. Take three steps for connecting positively with your partner when he or she is angry. Create an individual strategy for responding effectively to your partner's anger.
Phases of Relationship	In the course of a relationship, changes occur, and you can be pro-active about how you relate during these various seasons. You will: Identify four typical phases, including the characteristics and positive and negative elements of each phase. Clarify your values and desires for self, partner, and your relationship. Choose actions to align your values and desires as a couple.

Learning Formats

You and your partner may choose one of two learning formats:

• In a group with an instructor and 6 to 12 other couples
  (five 2-hour sessions, over 5 weeks, 5 months, or a weekend retreat)
• By yourselves as a couple with an instructor (eight 50-minute sessions)

Learning Methods

In the COUPLE COMMUNICATION II Program, you will:

• Hear brief explanations of the concepts, skills, and processes.
• See demonstrations of the communication skills and processes.
• Reflect on and then discuss your own experiences in exercises.
• Practice skills and processes with real issues of your own choice (appropriate for the setting) using skills mats, tools to speed learning and extend skill use after the class.
• Receive coaching and feedback on your use of skills.
• Apply your learning in real situations between class sessions.

The program activities are designed so you: 

• Choose together privately, as a couple, the issues you discuss and practice.

Program Materials

Couples use a COUPLE COMMUNICATION II Couple Packet to assist in developing and retaining new processes. The CCII Couple Packet contains:

• 2 Thriving Together Workbooks (softcover, 8 x 10 inches, 192 pages, 2000), includes text, guidelines, assessments and exercise worksheets
• 2 Awareness Wheel Pads - for expanding awareness
• 2 Skills Lapmats - for skill application and reinforcement
  
  

CC II Couple Packet, $37.00 plus shipping

You can order materials using our online order form, or contact us at:

You may also order a Couple Packet through your instructor.

Learn from a Certified COUPLE COMMUNICATION Instructor

Learn from an instructor who has completed a thorough certification process. Find an instructor near you....

 
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