Partnerships in practice
A course for people entering into long-term relationships
Course details
This course is designed for heterosexual or same-sex couples who are committed to voluntary or arranged marriage, civil partnership or a less formal long-term relationship.

The aim of this course is to:
- Explore the meaning of partnership, trust and commitment and consider the qualities of an ideal partnership.
- Investigate what helps and hinders effective communication in a relationship.
- Understand what it means to be healthy in mind, body and spirit and how to achieve a mutually healthy partnership .
- Consider what loving another person entails and how well they know their partner’s values, dreams and aspirations.
How does the course work

Group Training
This course consists of four modules for couples planning marriage or long-term relationships.
Delivered by one of our expert Institute of Wellbeing facilitators you will be working with a group of eight couples.

Practice
The activities encourage participants to explore what it means to enter into a healthy, loving, long-term partnership while promoting communication and a sense of shared commitment.
Participating couples take part in a series of structured discussions and tasks, using self-analysis, mutual reflection, life-planning and creative visualisation to raise their awareness of what it means to share their life with another person.

Duration
Each module requires a minimum of four hours. They can be completed at a time to suit participants over:
- two separate or consecutive days
- four half-days
- eight two-hour sessions
What you will learn
- Know yourself and your partner better
- Have a strong relationship rich in effective communication skills including how to listen, hear and empathise with your partner.
- Use positive tools to manage, address and resolve conflict in a healthy manner.
- Gain insight into the power of emotions learnt by knowing how to identify, express, manage and deal with them.
- Have a shared confidence to design individual and joint life goals both short-term and long-term.
Course outline
Module 1 - Partnership & Commitment
Couples are encouraged to explore the meaning of partnership, trust and commitment and to consider the qualities of an ideal partnership.
Module 2 - Partnership & Communication
Couples investigate what helps and hinders effective communication in a relationship and use role-play to practice the use of assertive, non-confrontational and non-verbal language
Module 3 - Partnership in Health
Couples explore what it means to be healthy in mind, body and spirit and how to achieve a mutually healthy partnership
Module 4 - Partnership in Love
Couples focus on what loving another person entails, and consider how well they know their partner’s values, dreams and aspirations.