Attending an immersive weekend retreat was a wonderful way for us to get started with Couple Enrichment. Years later, we are still doing dialogue on a regular basis!"
Erin (she/her) and Laura (she/her)
We’ve attended more than a dozen CE workshops. We keep going back to renew our commitment to each other and experience a rebonding between ourselves and witness the bonding of others.
Judith (she/her) and Jonathan (he/him)
The discipline of couple dialogue has created a safe container in our relationship, has established a place of trust where we now go automatically for communication that holds us to integrity and good will. This process has been invaluable sustenance for our growth as a couple.
Mark (he/him) and Daphne (she/her)
We are so grateful for both the sense of being held in a loving community and the tangible communication tools we've gained from Friend's Couple's Enrichment. I love using the format of couple dialogue to ask a tender question or share a delight. Even if we don't have a hard topic to discuss, I always feel closer to Laurel after a dialogue.
Anna (she/her)
Have you wondered what helps couples . . .
Stay connected and loving over time?
Listen with love and develop deep understanding for their partner?
Give and receive support for their relationship amongst their peers?
If so, consider attending a Friends Couple Enrichment event.
Couples face new challenges and changing circumstances throughout their lives. Taken for granted, any relationship can lose its spark, even though a couple’s commitment to each other is solid.
A Friends Couple Enrichment program is a relaxed, enjoyable experience that gives a couple the opportunity to celebrate their relationship’s joys and strengths, deepen their appreciation of each other, and develop skills to work on rough or neglected areas to deepen and improve their relationship. This is not therapy; it is a way to make good relationships even better. Think of it as continuing education for your relationship!
FCE was founded over 50 years ago by Quakers (The Religious Society of Friends), but our programs are open to any committed couple, regardless of age, faith, marital status, gender orientation, or length of time as a couple. At the core of an FCE program is a process we call Couple Dialogue. During Couple Dialogue, partners take turns listening deeply to each other and reflecting what they have heard. This practice lifts up the traditional Quaker testimonies of integrity, peace, equality and community. While all of these are important, our commitment to community is what makes us unique.
Our programs differ from other couple enrichment offerings because we invite couples to listen to each other and explore their relationship while witnessed by a community of peers. This breaks the taboo against sharing the ups and downs in our relationship and frees us all to recognize our common challenges. We learn how others develop strong relationships, explore different ways of responding, and feel a little less alone in the world. Often, the community built in a weekend retreat is so precious that couples will commit to meeting in an ongoing group to continue to offer each other support. Other couples commit to coming to an FCE program every few years to reinvigorate their relationship and create new communities of like-minded people.
In all of our programs, the privacy of individuals and couples is respected. No one is asked to share something they do not wish to discuss in front of the group. No one is expected to participate in an activity that doesn’t feel right for them. We share with each other as we are led, in a safe and supportive environment.
The cost of each event varies, depending on the location and length of time together, and whether the program is being offered online or in person. Financial aid is available for those for whom the cost is prohibitive.
View our calendar to find out what events are happening in the next few months, or sign up for our quarterly newsletter to get regular reminders of events and activities for couples.