Building a Lasting Connection® A Workshop for Early Relationships and Committed Couples
Make sure your happily ever after never ends. Build your marriage on a solid, research-based foundation. Experience the process, practice the skills, learn the principles, and apply the tools you need to truly do happily ever after, forever.
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Live
Valentine's Day Special
Introduction to Building a Lasting Connection®
Monday, February 14th, 2022
12:00-1:00 pm MT
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Cost
FREE
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Location
Online
Lasting Love for a Lifetime Helping Couples Build and Keep a Strong Foundation
Did you know there was such a thing as better than being happily married? Well, there is. It's being happily married forever!
Maybe you're madly in love right now (we hope so!) and it's hard to imagine needing to have the skills to weather the "storms of life" yet. But they will come, and you'll need something more than the fleeting (yes they're fleeting) feelings of a new relationship to sustain you. Maybe you are at that point already - realizing those feelings are fleeting, I mean. For example, do you and your partner know how to navigate things like:
-mismatched sexual libidos?
-old hurts that haven't been resolved yet?
-when/if to have kids and how many?
-handling the in-laws?
-dividing up household chores?
-making education and career choices?
-stressful money decisions?
-unexpected physical or mental illness?
-buying or remodeling a house?
-big body changes like pregnancy and weight gain?
Trust me, you'll need to! Perhaps you've already been thinking about these things, perhaps you're already in the middle of them. How do you work through them? Do you sometimes watch the marriages around you for tips? Have you wondered why some go stagnant, some end in bitter divorce, and others run so long that husband and wife turn into adorable, mushy old people still totally in love? Has anyone ever explained to you exactly what the differences are between the two outcomes? Well, we've done the work for you. We've figured out how to teach you everything you need to build the amazing marriage of a cheesy hallmark movie, great sex and all.
Our program brings together research and experiences curated by relationship experts to provide you with personalized, fun and hands-on learning experiences.
Simply put, Building A Lasting Connection® is here to help you do happily ever after, forever.
What will you learn?
How to secure your loving bond, so it’s strong, safe and grows throughout your life.
The secrets of communication that creates connection. It’s not about talking and listening as much as it is knowing how to share and what to listen for.
How to deal with differences. Having differences of opinion and points of view is normal and healthy but all too often leads to unresolved hurts that results in conflict. You will learn how to use sensitive topics to bring you closer together, and tune in to each other heart to heart.
The essentials of touch and intimacy. Both affectionate touch and intimate touch are supportive aspects of your romantic relationship. You will learn how to know each other intimately, emotionally and sexually so your contact can be a comfort and journey of discovery.
How to develop goals, traditions and rituals so your marriage supports who you each are as well as your shared and individual dreams.
Who is this Workshop For?
Pre-Marital couples
Newlywed couples
Committed couples who want to strengthen and beautify their relationship
Couples interested in growing their relationship within the context of research-based methods
Couples beginning to fray in the storms of life
This Workshop is Not Appropriate for:
Couples with recent infidelity trauma
Couples in dire distress
Couples where one or both partners have significant unregulated/untreated mental health distress or addiction
Couples who are no longer committed to the relationship
What to Expect When Attending this Workshop
This "retreat" is for couples looking for the education, tools, and resources they need to make sure their relationship endures the test of time. It is positive, practical, and powerfully founded on proven methods and true principles. We help you clarify the essential components of close relationships and strengthen your authentic connection.
This workshop will include:
Ten hours of live group instruction, either in-person or via zoom from an experienced relationship educator
Presentations and demonstrations of the principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, designed by Sue Johnson ®
Exercises to help you have real and important conversations with your partner that enhance your awareness of each other's emotional experience and create intimate connection
Experiential practice with the Building a Lasting Connection® floor mat system and coaching, observation, and discussion
Digital Building a Lasting Connection ® workbooks with information and homework exercises to take with you and practice throughout your marriage
Frequently Asked Questions About the Build A Lasting Connection® Marriage Workshop
Not sure whether this is right for you? Have more questions about what to expect? Read our FAQs and reach out to us if you have additional questions.
Absolutely! Building a Lasting Connection® is VERY helpful to couples already in counseling, whether it is EFT couples counseling or not. The work you will do in a BLC® workshop will certainly enhance and move you along in your couples counseling. Other couples find it helpful and want to go to therapy after attending a Building a Lasting Connection© retreat. We can help you with a referral.
The program is psycho-educational and no one is required, nor encouraged to share private information about themselves. The sharing is encouraged to be real and authentic but appropriate for the setting and not extremely detailed. It's not group therapy. Detailed information may be shared during the couple exercises (alone with your partner). It's not a "kumbaya" experience, it's meant to help you grow closer with your partner, not with the group! The powerful part of this workshop is to learn a concept, then work on it with your partner, then come back and discuss the experience with the facilitators and the group!
When couples talk to each other during the exercises, they will be placed in their own private breakout room. There will also be breakout sessions where two couples take turns practicing the connection system. If the couple gets stuck and wants help, they can raise their hand through zoom and the facilitator will come and help the couple move through the exercise. Many have remarked that this is the most helpful part of the entire program. This is the experiential part! Get live support, practice on your own, and then come back together to talk about what worked and what didn't!
If your partner is at least WILLING to come, we will do the rest! There is often a hesitancy or a fear for one or both partners coming into the workshop. Most often, once the couple gets there and begins to participate and see others participating, the fears dissipate and they will really enjoy and engage in the retreat. That being said, you can absolutely attend this workshop on your own. This information is valuable for any relationship and regardless or your marital status. Send Megan a message at admin@carolannconrad.net to discuss more of the details of your situation.
We try to balance content, practice, examples, humor, and discussion to keep it lively and engaging. No boring lectures! You'll alternate between instruction, active practice with your partner, and then group feedback and discussions about the practice.
You and your partner, ideally, will login to one device and be in person with each other while accessing the group online. The facilitator will share a zoom link with participants upon registration. We highly recommend couples treat this the same as an in-person retreat. Make arrangements for the kids, pets, and other potential interruptions to be taken care of, clear a space with intention in your home, and make sure you have solid Wi-Fi!
The instructor is comfortable with hybrid learning formats, so there will be in-person and online couples attending simultaneously for some course offerings, as noted in the location information for each workshop.
You can purchase your own floor mat for an additional cost or you can use the 8X11 printed version of the Connection System and "walk" it through with your fingers. Or you can make your own from an old sheet (I won't tell).
Meet your Certified Building a Lasting Connection® Facilitator
Megan Landen is a certified Building a Lasting Connection® facilitator and marriage mentor. Trained personally by the developers of the course, Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Jorgensen, she is passionate about building strong marriages and relationships. Megan was introduced to the Emotionally Focused Therapy modality for couples early in her own marriage and found the theory of adult attachment to be transformational. She and her husband have weathered many of life's storms and are living proof that the principles behind the Building a Lasting Connection® model truly work. You can be happily married forever, come what may, and no matter the foundation you inherited.
Megan is ecstatic to offer this course and mentoring to other couples just starting out or looking to take their marital satisfaction to new levels. Megan has chosen to be married to her husband, Joe, for more almost 20 years. Together they have five children and are continually expanding on their foundation together.
Tell Me More Who Developed the Build A Lasting Connection® Marriage Workshop?
Dr. Debi Gilmore and Dr. Rebecca Jorgensen are the developers of Building a Lasting Connection®. Your facilitator, Megan Landen, has been personally trained and certified to implement their program. Rest assured that sound practices and qualified experts have crafted this experience for you.