For Therapists

Colleague, welcome to The Relationship Institute (TRI)!

A major emphasis of TRI and our website is to share our Long-Term Love Relationship (LTLR) conceptual framework and insights with you, our fellow couples therapists. So we’ve designed this site to be therapist friendly, introducing you to our therapy approach and providing materials you can use in your office with your clients. We hope you find these concepts and tools as helpful to you in helping your couples as we do.

Some of the materials that we’ve provided –look in the “Resources” section– for your use here on our TRI website include:

1. Information about our developmental approach to couples therapy, including our concepts such as the Three Intimacies, the Three Deal Breakers and the three types of infidelity.
2. Both experiential and didactic handouts that you can print and use with your clients, including the main Self Intimacy and Conflict Intimacy building tools we use with clients.
3. Articles we have published about our approach and its applications.
4. A bibliography of suggested readings for therapists and to recommend to clients, especially those dealing with infidelity.

Please use the “Ask” page on the site to give us feedback, send us questions regarding therapy issues or about training opportunities and referrals.

Below are links to a number of our handouts and articles that you as a therapist may find particularly useful in your work:

Resources for Therapists

• TRI Orientation

“Key Concepts for Change in Couples Therapy”
“LTLR Developmental Therapy: Overview & Goals”
“It’s Not About Me”
“The Three Dealbreakers”
“The Three Intimacies”
“The Therapists Handout Checklist”

• Skill Building Exercises for Clients

“Emotional Self Awareness (ESA)”: builds Self Intimacy
“Intimacy through Tension Exercise”: builds Conflict Intimacy
“I-to-I Maturity Goals”: continues to strengthen Conflict Intimacy
“Responding versus Reacting to Your Partner”

• Infidelity Information

“Rebuilding Trust and Rekindling Your Relationship”
“Betrayal and Trust Building Behaviors”
“The Three Types of Infidelity”

• General Relationship Education

“Red Flags in Relationships”
“Destructive and Growth Producing Behaviors”
“Responding versus Reacting to Your Partner”

• Client Homework Handouts

“Emotional Self Awareness (ESA) Exercise”
“My Vision for My Relationship”
“How to Avoid Differentiation”
“A Checklist for Relationship Health”
“Betrayal and Trust Building Behaviors”

• Therapy Session Handouts

1. Prior to initial intake session: 

“Couples Intake Questionnaire”

2. After initial intake session: 

“Key Concepts for Change in Couples Therapy”
“It’s Not About Me”
“The Emotional Self Awareness (ESA) Exercise”

3. At the first session when the couple has been introduced to
    and used the Intimacy through Tension (I-to-I) format they each
    leave with the following handouts:

“The Intimacy through Tension Exercise”
“My Vision for My Relationship”

4. At the second or third therapy session the couple is presented
    with the Developmental I-to-I handout and leave the session with:

“The I-to-I Maturity Goals”
“How to Avoid Differentiation”

Selected Articles

“Self Intimacy”
“Couples Therapy for Grown-Ups”
“The Three Types of Infidelity”