Couples Relationship Workshop 2024
Fostering Secure Attachment
through Effective Communication
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One day: Saturday, February 10, 2024
Virtual Communication Skills for Couples Workshop Read more
Tag Archive for: Communication skills
6 Do’s and Don’ts for a Happy Healthy Relationship
Learning how to foster a fulfilling relationship is important whether you are married or single. The information I am going to share can be applied to any relationship: marriage, dating, cohabitating, friendship, siblings, parent-child, or a work relationship. Read more
Intimacy and Deep Emotional Healing
Even in the best of relationships, couples sometimes struggle with emotional connection. They want to feel close, but it seems like there’s a wedge between them. Read more
23 Tips for Turning Conflict into Peace
I hope your holidays are filled with love and laughter. I bless you with inner peace that glows from your heart. Unfortunately, holidays are not merry and bright for everyone. I’ve written this article to help people who struggle at this time of the year. However, you can apply these skills 365 days a year. Read more
Why We Think We Shouldn’t Be Needy
“In insecure relationships, we disguise our vulnerabilities so our partner never really sees us.” ―Sue Johnson, Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships
Do you judge yourself for being needy? Well, I did for the longest time. Read more
Marriage Enrichment Workshop
One Thursday, January 19, 2017. 7:00pm-8:30pm
Free and open to the public. Registration required.
Do you know …
- Half of all marriages that end, do so in the first 7 years.
- Four behaviors predict divorce with 94% accuracy: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- Two behaviors predict divorce at 16 years of marriage.
- Unhappy couples have a 35% increased chance of serious illness.
- Happy couples live 4-6 years longer.
- Trying to solve conflicts when you are too stressed only makes things worse. It is kind of like talking to a drunk. You won’t get anywhere.
In this workshop, you will learn practical tools to become a master of marriage.
- Discover the 4 most deadly behaviors that kill marriages so you can stop doing them.
- Communicate, listen and empathize so you develop emotional intimacy, physical intimacy and spiritual intimacy.
Who Should Attend
- Married couples and pre-marital couples: engaged, co-habitating, dating.
- This workshop is inappropriate couples with severe relationship distress, significant emotional or physical abuse, serious emotional or mental health problems, relationships where one or both partners are actively addicted to drugs or alcohol, and relationships with serious compulsive behavior with gambling, sexual acting out (including affairs), and other disruptive behaviors. If these situations are discovered during class, a referral will be made for individual or couples psychotherapy.
This workshop does not include sharing problems publicly. Since the class involves couples doing exercises together, both partners must participate.
This workshop is based on these books:
- The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work by John Gottman, PhD. Three decades of research on what makes masters and disasters of marriage.
- Biblical Reference Guide for the Gottman Method by David Penner, PhD
- Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson, PhD. (Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy)
Want a Preview? Watch this TV interview. Search YouTube for Benita Esposito
Where: United Community Bank, Community Room. 177 Highway 515 East, Blairsville, GA 30512
When: One Thursday, January 19, 2017. 7-8:30pm. Please arrive by 6:45pm.
Format: Lecture, interactive exercises and Q&A discussion.
Tuition: Free
Registration required by 1/17/17. Space is limited to 10 couples.
Call Benita Esposito, LPC at 770-998-6642. Email: Benita@EspositoInstitute.com, or complete the Contact Form on this website.
Facilitator: Benita A. Esposito is a 
Licensed Professional Counselor with a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. She has practiced psychotherapy for three decades, helping individuals and couples in private sessions, groups and intensive retreats. She belongs to Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and lives in Young Harris, Georgia. Psychotherapy in Georgia, in-person, telephone and videoconference. Spiritual Counseling worldwide.
Marriage Essentials: Appreciation and Affection
Do you know that expressing appreciation is one of the essential ingredients of a happy marriage? That’s right. According to Dr. John Gottman’s research, we must express at least five positive interactions to neutralize the impact of one negative interaction. In really happy marriages, couples express 20 positives to every one negative. The mostly destructive interactions contain criticism, defensiveness, contempt or stonewalling. When we express ourselves in this way without effective repair attempts, Gottman predicts divorce with 94% accuracy. Read more
Marriage Story: From Cold War to Resurrection
“Our Journey Together With Benita A. Esposito”
In the following story, you’ll see how a distressed couple on the verge of divorce transformed their marriage in six months. The story is told by the wife. If you want to skip the details, scroll to the end to read about the breakthroughs and what worked in therapy.
The Wife’s Side of the Story
We started our journey with Benita just over eight months ago. Our 15-year-old marriage was hanging on by a shredded string. Read more
Marriage Counseling, Increasing Marital Intimacy: Carol’s Story.
Carol’s heart was racing. She thought it could be a heart attack so she went to the emergency room. An MRI revealed no heart dysfunction so her doctor diagnosed it as a panic attack. She came to therapy because she wanted to discover the underlying cause so she could heal the condition without drugs.
Session 1. Carol opened our first session by explaining her recent medical emergency and then announced, “Let me tell you what I think is really causing this. It’s my relationship with my husband!”
12 Keys to Conflict Management
My first mentor told me, “Conflict is a necessary part of intimacy.” 
I didn’t want to hear that. I hated conflict, but his words rang true. I knew I wasn’t good at conflict management, and because of that, many of my relationships did not thrive. That was 30 years ago and since then, I have spent zillions of hours learning how to handle conflict productively. Read more
