Why REAL Essentials
REAL Essentials is the country’s leading relationship education curriculum. It is specifically designed to equip people with skills for building, maintaining, and repairing thriving connections. Lesson content empowers individuals with practical, science-based strategies proven to increase relationship satisfaction among friends, family, co-workers, and romantic partners. For the past 18 months, this curriculum has been presented to emergency responders with a special emphasis on the occupational impacts on relationships both at home and on the job.
Activities prepare participants to better understand and address:
- His/her individual identity and how to recognize and respect differences in others
- Skills for setting appropriate boundaries and strategies for sticking to them
- Understanding the impact stress has on relationships and effectively managing it
- Casting future vision when vocational roles change or retirement begins
- Effective communication techniques for navigating conflict in any setting
- Nurturing and supporting family relationships within the high risk/high stress emergency response occupations
- The physiological impacts of the job and how they can impact our relationships
- How the traits and skills for which we are praised at work can oftentimes be a detriment at home