Through its Center for Couples, the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement (NIRE) offers a wide variety of services for couples desiring to enrich their relationships. Whether your goal is to learn how to cooperatively resolve issues in order to restore intimacy and relationship satisfaction, or simply to make a good relationship even better, NIRE has a variety of services to assist you.

NIRE utilizes the research-based and proven effective Relationship Enhancement^® approach to marriage counseling and couple counseling. Counseling is generally short-term in nature and focuses not only on helping couples resolve current relationship issues, but also empowers couples by teaching them communication skills, conflict resolution skills, and relationship skills which can be used by couples to work cooperatively to resolve future problems and to proactively work on restoring and increasing intimacy and satisfaction in their relationships.

NIRE utilizes state-of-the-art marriage preparation and remarriage preparation inventories, as well as a couple interview process designed to help couples who are in the process of preparing themselves for marriage or remarriageidentify important relationship issues and individual differences which should be explored prior to marriage. Once couples have obtained this important information about each other, they can then participate in either premarital/remarital counseling or other programs offered by NIRE to learn important communication and relationship skills for cooperatively exploring and reaching agreements in these relationship areas, as well as for resolving other future issues which arise throughout their married life together.

NIRE also offers premarital and remarital counseling for couples desiring to work individually with a counselor to learn practical attitudes, skills, and strategies for improving communication and cooperatively exploring and resolving relationship issues. The content of the premarital and remarital counseling is generally similar to that of the Couples' Relationship Enhancement^® Weekend, but with the advantage that sessions can be individually planned to meet the specific needs of a couple and that the couple has the benefit of the constant and exclusive attention of a counselor.

NIRE offers its couple counseling in an intensive multi-hour format for couples who are in crisis and need to resolve serious issues quickly, as well as in cases where couples are traveling from a great distance or in which they cannot attend counseling sessions on a regular basis. Scheduling of "marathon" Relationship Enhancement^® couple counseling sessions is flexible and weekend scheduling is frequently possible.

The Couples' Relationship Enhancement^® Weekend is an effective psychoeducational program for couples which teaches practical attitudes, skills, and strategies for improving communication, cooperatively resolving relationship issues, and proactively working to bring about and maintain increased intimacy and relationship satisfaction. This two-day program consists of lectures, demonstrations of relationship skills by program leaders, and the opportunity for participants to practice skills privately with supervision. Although taught in a group format, there is no requirement for couples to share any information with other couples, and all skill practice is conducted in private.

This psychoeducational program has been widely used for the purpose of marriage and remarriage preparation for over 25 years. This program also can be of considerable assistance in helping couples with significant relationship problems quickly improve their communication and learn effective ways of cooperatively resolving issues which are causing conflict in their relationship. Many couples choose to receive additional couples counseling following the completion of the weekend; however, the length of counseling is usually significantly reduced by prior participation in this structured psychoeducational program.

NIRE also offers marriage enrichment counseling for couples desiring to work individually with a counselor to learn practical attitudes, skills, and strategies for improving communication, cooperatively resolving relationship issues and working to build intimacy and relationship satisfaction. The content of the marriage enrichment counseling is generally similar to that of the Couples' Relationship Enhancement^® Weekend, but with the advantage that sessions can be individually planned to meet the specific needs of a couple and that the couple has the benefit of the constant and exclusive attention of a counselor.

NIRE has developed Phone Coach, a homestudy program for couples who are unable to participate in the Couples' Relationship Enhancement^® Weekend or premarital/remarital counseling sessions. Please call NIRE for information about this program.

For more information about counseling services or psychoeducational programs offered by NIRE please call us at (301) 986-1479.