Marriage and Relationship Education and Couples and Marriage Therapy: What’s the Difference?
Some people—including professionals, public officials and the media—use these terms interchangeably. The public’s confusion is understandable when professionals themselves often use the terms so loosely.1 Some people are genuinely not aware of any differences. Others argue that any differences that may have once existed are increasingly becoming blurred and hence don’t really matter.
Military Service and Marriage: A Review of Research
Why is it important to understand the challenges to a healthy marriage that people in the military face? Some compelling reasons come readily to mind. First of all, married military personnel represent a sizable population, and that, in itself, merits attention. Nearly one-half of the nation's military personnel are married, amounting to almost 700,000 individuals. […]
Domestic Violence and Pregnancy
Marriage/relationship education (MRE) programs are uniquely positioned to identify risk for abuse and to promote healthy and safe relationships. Domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive and costly problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 4.8 million episodes of IPV occur every year in the United States […]
Marriage Trends and Relationship Issues Among US Immigrants: A Fact Sheet
For many years, immigrants have come to the United States for economic opportunities, religious and political freedom, and to make better lives for themselves and their families. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division reported that the United States has the largest number of international migrants of any country in the […]
Marriage Trends in Eastern Culture: A Fact Sheet
The following Fact Sheet highlights statistics on marriage, divorce and non-marital childbearing in Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea (a.k.a., South Korea) — a collection of countries representing some of the breadth of Asia. There are six major Asian groups and they include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Asian Indian, and Cambodian/Hmong/Laotian. There are […]
Military Women and Marriage
Similar to many civilian professions, the number of women in the United States Armed Services has increased substantially over the past 30 years. However, the Armed Services continue to be a male-dominated environment. Approximately 14.3% of the active duty component and 17.8% of all service members are female. At most recent count, there are 203,375 […]
Experiential Learning – Spelling Test
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 5 minutes (discussion times vary) Goal: To create an experience of unrealistic expectations Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Singles Special Considerations: Not appropriate for children as they may not get the “role” you are playing. This exercise may bring up some challenging issues for some participants around self-esteem. Resources Needed: Small […]
Experiential Learning – Spoons
Group Size: Any Time Needed: 15 to 20 minutes Goal: To uncover hidden issues and understand challenging behaviors Audience: Teens, Parents, Children, Couples Special Considerations: You will need to be very clear on instructions in order for this activity to work. With two facilitators, one should arrange the spoons and represent the number while the […]
Experiential Learning – Stop and Smell the Flowers
Group Size: 1 to 50+ Time Needed: 20 minutes Goal: To see if what participants say their values are match up with how they actually spend their time Audience: Couples, Parents, Singles, Teens Special Considerations: This can be an emotional experience if people discover that their lives are out of balance. This can be a […]