Course for Engaged Couples

Lesson 1 • Defining a Healthy Relationship

Examines core attributes of thriving partnerships: mutual respect, trust, and equity. Establishes the baseline vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Your Relationship History

Explores how family-of-origin patterns and past relationships shape current behavior. Helps couples identify inherited assumptions before they cause conflict.

Lesson 3 • Relationship Expectations and Assumptions

Uncovers unspoken expectations about roles, responsibilities, and lifestyle. Explicit discussion prevents future resentment rooted in unmet assumptions.

Lesson 1 • Communication Styles and Differences

Maps four primary communication styles and their interaction patterns. Couples identify their own styles and adapt to bridge gaps with their partner.

Lesson 2 • Active Listening Fundamentals

Teaches the mechanics of full-attention listening: reflection, paraphrasing, and validation. Directly counters the reactive listening habits most couples bring to conflict.

Lesson 3 • Difficult Conversations and Timing

Provides a framework for initiating sensitive topics at the right moment and in the right setting. Reduces the frequency of conversations that escalate unnecessarily.

Lesson 4 • Expressing Needs Clearly and Kindly

Introduces assertive expression using observation, feeling, need, and request structures. Replaces blame-based language with direct, respectful communication.

Lesson 1 • De-escalation Strategies

Teaches time-out protocols, self-soothing, and physiological calming techniques. These skills interrupt destructive cycles before they cause irreparable harm.

Lesson 2 • Repair Attempts and Forgiveness

Covers the science and practice of relationship repair after conflict. Forgiveness is framed as a process, not an event, with concrete steps for both partners.

Lesson 3 • Productive Disagreement Techniques

Introduces structured dialogue methods that keep conflict focused on issues, not character. Couples practice separating positions from underlying interests.

Lesson 4 • Understanding Conflict Dynamics

Explains the physiological and psychological escalation cycle during conflict. Couples recognize their personal triggers and early warning signs before escalation peaks.

Lesson 1 • Love Languages and Emotional Needs

Introduces the five primary ways people give and receive love. Couples map their own preferences and learn to express love in their partner's language.

Lesson 2 • The Role of Vulnerability in Intimacy

Examines how controlled vulnerability creates trust and deepens connection. Couples practice graduated self-disclosure in a structured, safe environment.

Lesson 3 • Maintaining Friendship and Fondness

Applies research on friendship as the foundation of romantic love. Couples inventory shared interests, admiration, and positive sentiment toward each other.

Lesson 4 • Building Rituals of Connection

Guides couples in designing daily and weekly rituals that sustain emotional closeness. Rituals are shown to buffer relationships against stress and disconnection.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Desire and Arousal

Explains responsive versus spontaneous desire models and their impact on couple dynamics. Normalizes differences in libido and arousal patterns between partners.

Lesson 2 • Talking About Physical Intimacy

Reduces shame and awkwardness around sexual communication using structured conversation tools. Establishes a safe vocabulary for ongoing physical intimacy discussions.

Lesson 3 • Affection, Touch, and Non-Sexual Intimacy

Highlights the importance of non-sexual physical affection in sustaining connection. Couples assess their current affection patterns and identify gaps to address.

Lesson 4 • Navigating Changes in Physical Intimacy

Prepares couples for life-stage shifts that affect physical intimacy, including stress, illness, and parenthood. Provides adaptive strategies to maintain connection through change.

Lesson 1 • Merging Finances as a Couple

Compares joint, separate, and hybrid account structures with their practical trade-offs. Couples choose a system aligned with their values and communication style.

Lesson 2 • Budgeting and Daily Money Management

Introduces couple-friendly budgeting methods and tools for tracking shared expenses. Establishes regular money meetings as a healthy financial communication habit.

Lesson 3 • Debt, Credit, and Financial Transparency

Guides full disclosure of existing debt, credit standing, and financial obligations. Couples create a debt management plan and agree on credit-use boundaries.

Lesson 4 • Money Mindsets and Financial History

Surfaces each partner's money beliefs, childhood financial experiences, and emotional relationship with money. Reveals the hidden drivers behind financial behavior and conflict.

Lesson 1 • Division of Parenting Labor

Addresses the equitable distribution of childcare, household, and emotional labor. Prevents the resentment that commonly emerges when parenting roles are assumed rather than agreed upon.

Lesson 2 • Parenting Philosophies and Styles

Compares major parenting approaches and their long-term outcomes for children. Couples identify their instinctive styles and negotiate a unified parenting philosophy.

Lesson 3 • Blended Families and Stepparenting

Addresses the unique challenges of entering marriage with children from prior relationships. Covers loyalty conflicts, stepparent authority, and co-parenting with an ex-partner.

Lesson 4 • Deciding Whether to Have Children

Facilitates honest dialogue about the desire for children, including timing and number. Addresses scenarios where partners hold different positions on parenthood.

Lesson 1 • Roles, Responsibilities, and Household Management

Negotiates the division of domestic labor, decision-making authority, and household systems. Prevents role-based resentment by making implicit expectations explicit.

Lesson 2 • Writing Your Marriage Mission Statement

Culminates the course with a collaborative marriage mission statement that captures values, purpose, and commitments. Serves as a living document couples revisit at key milestones.

Lesson 3 • Sustaining Growth After the Course

Equips couples with ongoing practices, check-in tools, and resources to maintain progress. Identifies warning signs that signal the need for professional support.

Lesson 4 • Setting Relationship Goals Together

Translates the shared vision into specific, time-bound relationship goals across key life domains. Couples practice goal-setting frameworks adapted for partnership use.