I'm Single and I Don't Want to Be.

A workshop designed to explore the systemic forces that impede finding, connecting, and maintaining intimate partnerships. Also includes material from the "Couples Workshop" by providing tools for improving communication and understanding between partners.

Typically held at the HSI offices in Portland, OR
Offered periodically and by request.

Love and the Art of Fair Fighting

A Workshop for Couples and Those Who Want to Understand What Makes Love Work in Relationships

Research shows that despite daunting divorce statistics, Americans are still getting married. Married or not, we want our relationships to work - to be a rich and satisfying journey through life with a beloved partner. So often, however, our best intentions are thwarted and we end up in conflict with the person we love best. How can we navigate the complex path to rewarding and lasting relationships?

In this workshop we will explore two of the main factors that damage relationships. On Saturday, we will explore how outside forces from our family of origin or from previous relationships can pull one or both partners out of their relationship. Through the magic of family Constellations, we will learn how to bring our relationships into a new, more honest and more stable balance. On Friday evening and Sunday, we will delve into the realm of conflict - what causes conflict at its roots and how to manage conflict so that it becomes a source of intimacy instead of despair. Based on the research of Michael Grinder, Dr. John Gottmann and others, we will use experiential exercises to teach you new tools for understanding and loving your life partner. Come with an open heart and a sense of fun.

What will you get from this workshop?

• A clear understanding of the hidden dynamics that hinder the flow of love in your relationship, and how to shift them so love can flourish.
• How to recognize the “rules of engagement” under which you and your partner operate, and how to get more satisfying results.
• Why our attempts to solve the problem only make it worse and what to do about it.
• Practical communication skills you can use to restore communication channels in your relationships.
• How to balance the difficult demands placed on blended families.
• How having “blood in your eye” affects your hearing, and how to really listen to your partner.
• Observers will gain a better understanding of what happened in past relationships and what you can do differently.

Who should attend?

• Couples at any phase in their relationship from “love at first sight” to “on the rocks but not overboard.”
• Singles who want a better understanding of what makes love work in relationships.

Who is the Presenter?

• Jane Peterson is a family constellations facilitator, N.L.P. counselor and Clinical Hypnotherapist with a special love for couples’ issues. Jane and her husband, Don, have been married 21 years.

Offered periodically and by invitation.

Jane Peterson is the founder and director of The Human Systems Institute and has studied Family Constellations with Bert Hellinger, the originator of Family Constellations, and other experienced facilitators. She is an NLP Master Practioner and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and has studied Process Work with Arny Mindell. Jane brings sensitivity and compassion into creating a safe and healing circle for this work. She also has a private practice in Portland, Oregon USA. Jane has been married 22 years to her husband, Don Chitwood.