Description
315: Grace Together and Loyal Love: Treatment Models to Heal Conflict and Create Intimacy in Marriage
Jim Sells, Ph.D.
Regent University
1000 Regent University Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23464
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
Regent University
1000 Regent University Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23464
Summary
Counselors, paraprofessionals, and pastors find that counseling couples in conflict are the more difficult hours of their week. Helping conflicted couples can easily provoke frustration characterized by “one step forward, two steps back.” Confusion and blame occur when conflicted couples do not improve. This workshop will show how counselors can help couples redirect emotional intensity, anger, despair, and hopelessness into constructive experiences. The first focus is helping couples form a common vision to collaborate and co-create their marriages. The second focus is learning to reframe defensive/offensive actions that stalemate couples. The third focus is implementing relational grace to work through impasses by identifying their interests in keeping with their common visions. The fourth focus is to build biblical, relational habits as identified in Colossians 3, which serves as the basis for a long-term gracious and loving marriage. The session will demonstrate how to use this content in counseling, workshops, retreats, and small group church communities.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
• List the biological effects of defensive responses on marital conflict reactivity, the biblical theology of grace from a Christian perspective—and its effects as the essential “transitional” variable from conflict to restoration
• Apply the concept of grace as a behavioral intervention, teachable, and applied in relational contexts within the counseling session for a licensed mental health professional
• Recognize and rehearse the interventions in an applied workshop for individual counseling, large group engagement, and small group community
