Christine Petrik, LCSW
Relationship Workshops & Other Events
We’re passionate about what we do: helping people raise their relationships to their highest potential, so they can live more fulfilling lives. We do this by offering a variety of Relationship workshops.
Workshops are wonderful opportunities for couples and individuals to do some very deep, meaningful work in a short period of time. Although our workshops are NOT THERAPY they can be extremely cathartic.
It is not only essential for us to provide participants with sound scientific theories and proven structured tools we must also provide a respectful safe space for everyone to feel supported as they do their work. We teach and guide participants to create and maintain a supportive environment for themselves and each other.
Workshops for Couples
Getting the Love You Want
Created by Harville Hendrix, PhD & Helen La Kelly Hunt, PhD, and based on their bestselling book by the same name, this popular workshop held in over 30 countries, has helped thousands of couples around the world. Through a series of demonstrations, lectures, and structured writing/communication exercises you share with your partner, you’ll explore some of your emotional relationship history and learn how your past influences both the reason you chose your partner, and the ways you struggle. You and your partner journey down this road together, exploring your path with each other, privately. This is NOT group therapy. Sharing of personal information within the larger group is not required.
Most couples don’t know what to do when the blush of romantic love wears off and they find themselves in a painful power struggle, wondering what happened and what to do about it. This workshop not only answers the questions you may have but more importantly gives you the insight and tools you need to restore the love, commitment, and passion needed to re-create the relationship of your dreams.
Next Workshop Date - In-person Tarrytown NY (venue location and times to follow)
October 19-20, 2024
January 25-26, 2025
Cost $1295 per couple
The Gift of Difference
Conventional wisdom says, “find someone with the same interests, someone who sees things the way you do – someone like you!” While it is helpful to have some similar interests, always seeing things the same way or having the same personality isn’t a winning recipe for a successful committed relationship.
In the natural world where there is difference, there is friction, tension, heat, and often noise. In the young stage of romance, we’re thrilled to experience, what we call, ‘sexy’ friction. It’s intoxicating. But as the newness and adrenaline of early love wear off, friction that fueled passion can turn into friction that fuels fighting. We refer to this perceived problem as ‘negative’ friction. We mistake difference for incompatibility.
It’s scary to discover the person you’ve fallen in love with, building a life with, is actually very different than you. But it’s a necessary thing to go through when it comes to creating a fulfilling, lasting, relationship. Our presence and curiosity of our differences with each other can bring about profound shifts in closeness and intimacy. Embracing our differences can open us up to deeper appreciation of each other, a renewed sense of aliveness.
Through a series of dynamic experiential exercise, you and your partner journey down the road of YOUR differences, exploring your work privately with each other. This is NOT group therapy. Sharing of personal information within the larger group is not required.
What can you do when the early excitement of ‘sexy’ friction wears off? When you’ve discovered your partner isn’t JUST like you? This workshop illuminates an understanding as to why you’re together with the person you’re with, including the ‘negative’ friction and power struggles you experience together. Leaning into difference is a natural way of evolving. Most importantly, this weekend provides you with the tools to build the muscles you need in restoring the good passion and loving safety you truly desire. You’ll see your relationship in an entirely new and exciting way – a gift.
Achieve and receive the gift of difference, now.
Workshop returning 2024
Workshops for Individuals
Keeping the Love You Find
The popular workshop for Individuals is based on the bestselling book created by Harville Hendrix, PhD & Helen La Kelly Hunt, PhD. In this weekend long workshop you will take a safe, compassionate, yet deep dive into discovering what is it like to be in a relationship with YOU. To have successful relationships, we ALL need to understand what it might be like for others to be our partner, parent, friend ... This workshop is also designed to teach you healthy ways to share with loved ones and potential partners those things you didn’t know to express before. Finally, we help you develop skills needed to maintain those more conscious loving relationships.
Through a series of demonstrations, lectures, and structured writing/communication exercises you’ll share with some of you fellow participants some of the themes and patterns you’re uncovering behind your emotional relationship history. As a group you’ll learn how your past influences both the reason you chose specific romantic partners, and the ways you struggled in those relationships. And you’ll support each other as you build your own individual plan on how to move forward.
Each of us is responsible for our healing and growth. Whether single, divorced, widowed or in a committed relationship - come spend a rewarding weekend in a safe, supportive environment exploring YOU in relationship!
Releasing Barriers to Love
An advanced workshop for Individuals, in or out of a committed partnership. We often spend a lot of time going after what it is we think we want, but not enough time or action goes into letting go of the personal barriers (we’ve created) that prevent us from attaining a loving relationship. Receiving love can be frightening. Using experiential exercises and advanced mirroring dialogues, you will compassionately revisit your part in what didn’t work, but also your part in what does work. By exploring the missteps in past relationships, you can confidently recommit to how YOU want to show up now. Most importantly, you’ll come up with a self-created, concrete, behavioral plan you can immediately use that allows you to continue releasing all the barriers you’ve created to true happiness in relationship.
Workshop returning 2024
Past Events
We are available to speak at your event. For details, please contact us today.
Rocky Mountain Couples Retreat
at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, AB Canada
https://www.rockymountaincouplesretreat.com/
March 10 - 12th 2023
“The Gift of Difference”
Couples Coaching Couples
Annual Conference Keynote https://www.couplescoachingcouples.org/
Princeton, New Jersey
