Tag: Innovation

Higher Peaks in Relationship Education

by Alan J. Hawkins

The Bottom-line First: The relationship education (RE) field has experienced a lot of successes over the past 20 years, but we can’t let this obscure our view of the higher peaks beyond. We need to raise our sites and become more innovative and strategic if we are really going to move the needle on the problems we are trying to address: family instability and social poverty. RE practitioners need to think more like public health workers. Here is a strategy for raising our sites for the next 20 years. Continue reading “Higher Peaks in Relationship Education”

Hold Me Tight Program: An Attachment Theory Approach to Strengthening Couple Relationships

by Hailey Palmer and Alan J. Hawkins

The Bottom Line (at the Top): Dr. Sue Johnson’s Hold Me Tight relationship education (RE) program is the first RE program to be based on attachment theory and the popular Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). It is an new approach to helping couples foster trust and connection. Several evaluation studies on the effectiveness of the program found that couples who engaged in Hold Me Tight generally experienced small-to-moderate improvements in relationship satisfaction, trust, and attachment security, although these positive effects may fade quickly. More rigorous studies in the future will determine the long-term effectiveness of the program. Continue reading “Hold Me Tight Program: An Attachment Theory Approach to Strengthening Couple Relationships”

Good News about Innovative Delivery of Brief RE Programs

by Alan J. Hawkins

The Bottom Line: If relationship education (RE) programs are to help make a dent in the problem of family instability, they will need to reach more in-need participants. Making programs more accessible and less intensive should help with that. Two recent studies – one testing the effectiveness of online RE programs and a second study testing a brief intervention delivered at home – show that innovative programs can be effective for lower income couples. Continue reading “Good News about Innovative Delivery of Brief RE Programs”

Can Relationship Checkups Work?

By Jennifer Griffith

The Bottom-line First: Checkups are a good way to identify health issues before they become bigger problems. Could relationship checkups work the same way as a dental checkup? A recent study found that brief relationship checkups with feedback to couples can strengthen their relationships, even when the feedback is given impersonally by a computer-generated report. Read more. Continue reading “Can Relationship Checkups Work?”