{"id":11560,"date":"2025-02-05T16:27:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T21:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/?p=11560"},"modified":"2025-02-05T16:28:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T21:28:04","slug":"valentines-day-check-up-uri-clinic-offers-student-couples-free-relationship-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/2025\/02\/05\/valentines-day-check-up-uri-clinic-offers-student-couples-free-relationship-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentine\u2019s Day check-up: URI clinic offers student couples free relationship assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Couple and Family Therapy Clinic offers skills to help understand, improve relationships<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love is in the air as Valentine\u2019s Day approaches. While couples often share their affection, and focus on each other with small gifts or a romantic dinner out, the holiday of love is also a reminder for both partners to focus specifically on their relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, student couples at the University of Rhode Island are invited to participate in a free relationship assessment at the University\u2019s Couple and Family Therapy Clinic<\/a> just in time for Valentine\u2019s Day and all the romantic expectations it brings. The number of participants is limited, so students are urged to register immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelationship check-ups take a proactive approach to identifying strengths and addressing potential issues, helping couples build stronger, more fulfilling connections,\u201d said Associate Clinical Professor Tiffani Kisler, graduate program director for the clinic. \u201cOur program provides a safe, neutral space where partners can openly address challenges with the guidance of a trained professional. Couples therapy is valuable as it provides tools to enhance communication, resolve conflicts, deepen emotional intimacy, and clarify expectations creating a healthier relationship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the supervision of faculty members in the Department of Human Development and Family Science<\/a>, graduate students from the therapy program will conduct the relationship check-ups over the course of two or three one-hour sessions. Prior to the first session, each individual in the couple is asked to complete an online relationship evaluation called Prepare\/Enrich<\/a>, which generates a profile of the couple\u2019s strengths and areas in need of growth. The relationship and skill-building tool designed to help couples understand and improve their relationships is widely used around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduate student couples therapists will bring the couple together to review the assessment results, identifying strengths and challenges, and make a customized plan to help improve and maintain the relationship. For a small fee, couples can continue with counseling after the initial sessions, if needed, which can be important for the mental well-being of both members of a couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many societal misconceptions about relationships that may interfere with realistic expectations and understanding what is healthy. We are also seeing that many people struggle with face-to-face communication and may be avoiding topics that really are important to discuss to fully understand your partner and your compatibility,\u201d said Gina MacLure, director of the clinic. \u201cOur relationship inventory will help couples understand where they are and are not on the same page, and give them time and space as well as a skilled facilitator to discuss these findings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To participate, URI students can call 401-874-5956 to make their first confidential appointment. Sessions begin Feb. 10, and will be offered to the first 20 couples to reach out. Appointments are available during the morning, afternoon or evening hours, Monday through Friday, in Kingston or in Pawtucket. To qualify for the free assessment, at least one individual in the couple must be a URI student.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Couple and Family Therapy Clinic offers skills to help understand, improve relationships Love is in the air as Valentine\u2019s Day approaches. While couples often share their affection, and focus on each other with small gifts or a romantic dinner out, the holiday of love is also a reminder for both partners to focus specifically on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":11561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11563,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11560\/revisions\/11563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}