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 […]
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. […]
Icebreakers – Synergy Picture
Group Size: 1 to 50+ Time Needed: 10 to 15 minutes Goal: To illustrate the concept of synergy, that through working together we can achieve greater things when working alone Audience: Couples, Parents, Teens, Children, Singles Special Considerations: Participants who feel uncomfortable drawing can pass on this activity; not everyone needs to be involved. Resources […]
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 […]
Helping Couples Address Financial Issues
According to researchers, money is one of the top five sources of conflict for couples. The others are time, sex, child rearing and in-laws. The charge of Marriage/Relationship Education (MRE) practitioners is to teach couples how to manage conflict of any nature. With the right skills, no matter what the conflict is, the couple should […]
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 […]