Connecting Families: A Relationship Enhancement Program

Review the PowerPoint slides
and Session Outline.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will:
1 Identify their personal values,
expectations and assumptions about
marriage.
1 Recognize the importance that values,
expectations and assumptions play in
building positive relationships.
1 Become comfortable working within the
group.
KEY IDEAS:
1 Adults react and make decisions based
upon their values, expectations and
assumptions.
1 Being knowledgeable and owning one’s
values, expectations and assumptions
increases one’s ability to effectively
maintain positive adult relationships.
1 One’s ability to develop satisfaction
within adult relationships is built upon
some jointly held values, expectations
and assumptions.
Connecting Families:
Understanding the
Couple Relationship
Session 1
Connecting Families Penn State Cooperative Extension
Understanding the Couple Relationship, Session 1 6 2004
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Understanding the Marriage Challenge -
Session 1
1. Group warm up: Welcome participants
and give a brief overview of the session’s
purpose and activities. Explain that this
session is designed to help individuals to
learn more about their personal beliefs,
expectations and values that they have
for marriage. It will also assist in
understanding their partner’s perception
of marriage. The activities will help the
couple to identify roadblocks that may
create issues of conflict in their
relationship.
What is Your Color?
¡ Introduce yourself and name your
favorite color.
¡ Like individual’s beliefs about
marriage no one’s color is
everyone’s favorite.
2. Using Slide 2, introduce the activity,
What is Your Color. Ask each group
member to introduce themselves using
their first name and to identify their
favorite color. List the colors on a large
sheet of paper and tabulate the number of
times each listed color was chosen.
Identify the range of colors that were
named and the color that was most
frequently named. Suggest to the group that the list of colors is like the perceptions that
different individuals have of marriage. As a group there were some colors that were
frequently listed as in our society there are expectations of marriage that many individuals
have, but there are also very personal beliefs and expectations that some individuals have.
Just like the list of colors, no one’s color or belief is held as being the one and only correct
color or belief. It is far more important to know you and your partner’s personal beliefs and
expectations for marriage than other’s. When a couple has an understanding of each
other’s beliefs, they can develop strategies to build a stronger relationship.
A Value
¡ Is extremely important to us
¡ Influences our decisions
¡ Guides our lives
¡ Is not easy to change
3. Using Slide 3, d efine what a value is. We
develop values as we grow up. They are
so much a part of us that we don’t even
think specifically about them. They are
guides that we take for granted and act
upon. It is important in a relationship to
understand what our personal values are
and what the values of our partner are.
Since conflict is a natural aspect of all relationships, when it occurs understanding each
others values helps each partner to recognize reasons for the individual’s stance and
behavior.