Therapy for couples who don’t want to settle

Risa delivered on everything she promised. I have clarity and tools to improve my marriage and I am so grateful.

“My wife and I both found RLI’s workshop to be exceptional and well worth the time and effort. I would recommend it highly, particularly to couples having communication problems. RLI’s approach is unique, but common sense, so it is easy to understand and, hopefully, to apply.”

Risa has been positive, professional and knowledgeable about every issue that I have brought to our sessions. Her approach to our work together has been realistic, kind and compassionate. She communicates in a warm and direct manner, asking the right questions and providing valuable insight at just the right times. She is a gifted and genuinely caring professional, and I feel lucky to have her on my side. I have learned so much and have benefited tremendously from our time together.

“Even though I’ve been in therapy, I realized there is so much to each piece that having support and practicing with others gave me more confidence. Now I can speak up for myself more instead of saying everything is fine when it’s not.”

“I learned that keeping silent was colluding with the dysfunction around me. Risa gave me permission to speak up in my personal life. It was empowering. What I have inside is of value and deserves to be shared and heard. I don’t have to worry about what others think. I’ve always measured what others think before saying anything and silenced myself, how ridiculous! At work I could speak up but not at home. I walked away identifying what held me back, the way I handle conflict was destructive and that’s all I ever knew how to do, so I avoided it and then it boiled over. It was easy for me to talk about what I DON’T want, but after this class I know what I do want and have skills to do it differently.”

Risa helped my husband and I get to the point where we realized that we either need to stop talking about our marriage and actually fix it, or end things. We hit rock bottom at one point, but somehow we pulled each other out of the weeds. Slowly, we started liking one another again, and fell back in love. We ended up moving to a wonderful new house and recently had a baby and he is the love of our lives. So, I guess this is an overdue thank you. You are an incredible therapist, and I will never forget the snowy afternoon that I called and you asked if I just wanted to talk for five minutes. I can’t express how much that meant.

“I was made to feel comfortable right from the start, which made it much easier for a guy like me to talk about our problems. Working with Risa opened our lines of communication, and we no longer got overly emotional when we talked about difficult subjects. We learned to manage our time better and now have more time to care for our relationship.”

“For therapists doing couples work, the Bootcamp is a great chance to see a compilation/distillation of RLT skills in action, plus a great way to do your own relational work. That last part was valuable beyond measure and has shaped my work as a therapist and partner in powerful ways.”

After 10 sessions with Risa, I no longer felt as frustrated. I came to appreciate who my husband is and how he is different from me. We learned to respect one another’s ideas and opinions and I was reminded of all the positive reasons I married him. I no longer think about divorce and am much happier overall. And our sex life improved dramatically! Therapy with Risa really helped save my marriage.

“Terry Real’s Bootcamp was life-changing for me and my husband. We’ve been together 30+ years so it’d be fair to wonder what would we possibly have to work on. My love-avoidant, grandiose man said this shifted our relationship to a deeper, more loving level; his love-dependent, grandiose wife agrees. The Bootcamp weekend opened up new ways to talk, to see ourselves and to love each other.”

“I recommend working with Risa to all of my friends. If you are ready to be held accountable and hear it like it is, she is the BEST.”

“I have found that most couples really want a relationship that works for both people and they have no idea how to make that happen. Once they learn that implementing a set of learned skills can achieve their goal, the majority of couples are willing to do things differently. They become empowered to change!”

Risa’s care for us was palpable, and I felt really heard and understood.

“I used to feel like there was no hope and that nothing would change. I’m more at peace because I know there are ways to make changes that come from within me!”

We’ve worked with Risa for 13 sessions now and if we hadn’t gone to counseling with her, we’d be living separate lives. I don’t think about divorce anymore. I’m wearing my wedding ring again, too! I’m so glad my husband didn’t give up on us and that we have worked with Risa.

The examples Risa gave, the handouts, and the visuals, and the role plays were all super helpful.

I was made to feel comfortable right from the start which made it much easier for a guy like me to talk about our problems. Therapy opened our lines of communication and we no longer got overly emotional when we talked about difficult subjects. We learned to manage our time better and now have more time to take care of our relationship.

Risa was calm, respectful, honest and kind. My only wish is to have more time with her.

“The couple’s work that you do is so valuable — we are relating now in a wholly new and expansive way. It’s what each of us knew we were missing but could not have found on our own. Thank you so much!”

“This was exactly what I needed, I just didn’t know it! I knew I had conflict with my husband and by the second class I realized this was going to be different than I thought. It opened things up for me in a way I never would have guessed. This is just the beginning of my journey!”

“… I no longer felt as frustrated. I came to appreciate who my husband is and how he is different from me. We learned to respect one another’s ideas and opinions and I was reminded of all the positive reasons I married him. I no longer think about divorce and am much happier overall. And our sex life improved dramatically! Working with Risa really helped save my marriage.”

This was a fantastic 2 days. You shed light on our relationship and my part in it in ways I’d never looked at them before.

“Sharing experiences and hearing others ask questions who have the same struggles as I do was extremely helpful. I became more confident and felt more secure in starting to speak up for myself with my husband.”