Staying in Love: The Art of Fierce Intimacy
Learn to assert your needs, comfortably navigate conflict, and get more of what you want in your relationships in this 6-module course from leading couples therapist, Terry Real.
“Intimacy isn’t something you have, it’s something you do. It’s a minute-by-minute practice of connecting to others through empathy, vulnerability, and accountability.”– Terry Real
Welcome to the passionate, deeply connected relationship you deserve
Nothing is more important in our lives than our relationships. A great relationship boosts your immune system, opens your heart, and keeps you vital and creative.
We yearn for connection, yet most of us struggle to enjoy the beautiful, lifelong romances we dream of.The truth is, we live in a society that's never taught us how to be in a relationship, and we simply don't have the skills to sustain lifelong connections.
We tend to be passive passengers in our relationships. Issues and tensions get swept under the carpet. You tell yourself you're being accepting, but the truth is you are retreating. The difference between real acceptance and just backing away from an issue, or away from the whole relationship, is resentment.
And when resentment builds, the first casualty is passion.
It's a game-changing revolution when you realize that you don't need to be passive and that you have something to say about what you get.
As a couples therapist for nearly 40 years, I've taught thousands of couples an entirely new approach to relationships. It's what I call Fierce Intimacy: taking each other on with respect and compassion.
And it's those skills you'll learn in this course, including:
- Standing up for yourself with love and cherish your partner in the same breath
- Speaking your truth in a way that optimizes your chance of being heard
- How to come into repair when the wheels fall off
- Cherishing one another, appreciating the strengths you have and building on them
These skills work, whatever your age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. They work whether your partner is using the same skills or not. And I know you can do it because I can do it: These are the skills my wife and I use in our relationship every single day—and I've seen even the most fractured couples learn to do it too.
Whether you're in a relationship, single, or a relationship professional looking to better serve your clients, the tools contained within this course will help you forge the fiercely intimate connections you deserve.
Love,
What’s holding you back from a better relationship?
To improve our relationships, we must first identify where we are holding ourselves back, our dysfunctional behavior.
There are three pillars of chronic dysfunctional behavior, which I learned from my mentor, Pia Mellody, while working on my own relationship.
Think about your response in moments of confrontation. Which of the below most resonates with you?
Denial: “I didn’t do it”
Minimalization: “I did it, but it’s not that bad.”
Rationalization: “I did it, but you have to understand.”
If we want to move past our dysfunctional behavior, we must step into responsibility instead of getting defensive, which requires some mastery of relational skills…
Essential Relationship Skills to Maximize Happiness
Here are some of the relational skills you’ll learn to reinvigorate your relationship…
- How to be cherishing of your relationship and stand up for yourself at the same time
- How to get more of what you want
- How to speak when the wheels fall off and you need to come back into repair
- How to listen non-defensively so your partner feels truly heard
- How to respond with compassion and generosity rather than selfishness and defensiveness
- How to digest disappointment in your relationship (knowing how to use the gift of discord)
- What to do when your partner’s being a jerk and you’re not
- How to tend to the hurt, helpless, angry child parts within you, the residue of trauma
- What to do when you’re triggered, or when your partner is triggered, or when you’re both triggered at the same time
- And more…