Relational Life Therapy
Relational Life Therapy (RLT) is a highly effective non-traditional model that applies to couples work but also extends to other relationships.
This novel model adresses our societal model of patriarchy with a more inclusive way to see one another and the awareness that every individual has a pair of eyes to perceive the world differently. It promotes accountability, empathy, and compassion in the couple.
RLT also recognizes that relationships are always flowing through the phases of harmony-disharmony-repair; a flow that has now been demonstrated for most basic relationships, (e.g. baby-to-mother). This cycle suggests that disharmony is inevitable, and that repair is essential.
Furthermore, research has concluded that repair is more consequential than periods of harmony because of its capacity to build a greater sense of trust in the partnership, resilience, and hope amidst life’s challenges. RLT espouses this a great deal and encompasses many practical tools for repair, a process which is not even recognized, much less taught, in our modern day societies.
I have found the RLT model to be remarkably faster and more effective than traditional couples work. This efficiency does not mean that it fixes all couples but it does mean that it gets to the diagnosis and prognosis more speedily.
“ Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. ”