THRIVING MARRIAGES PROGRAM
by John & Claire Yzaguirre, Ph.D., MFT
This is a Christian marriage formation program that responds to today’s critical need to strengthen and save marriages and to offer ongoing marriage education at the local church level as recommended in the Marriage Initiative proposed by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. It was created by John & Claire Yzaguirre, Ph.D., MFT, a Catholic couple with over 25 years of professional experience in marriage therapy. It offers the unique value of integrating the best psychological research with a contemporary Christian spirituality of unity. The Thriving Marriages Program includes three general educational units:
THE GIFT OF UNITY IN YOUR MARRIAGE
The first educational unit teaches a Trinitarian model of unity that encompasses the following skills: empathy (intelligent love), autonomy (stress management, time management, the gift of a healthy self), and mutuality (meaningful communication, effective conflict-resolution, restoring unity).
STRENGTHENING YOUR MARITAL RESILIENCE AND INTIMACY
The second unit focuses on becoming emotionally and spiritually resilient and on practicing daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rituals of intimacy. The skills presented include: eliminating resentment, managing anxiety, overcoming helplessness, and becoming joy experts.
OVERCOMING MARITAL CRISES
The third unit shows how to activate the healing process of forgiveness and reconciliation necessary whenever there was a loss of unity in the marriage. The skills learned include: restoring the view of each other’s dignity, replacing toxic thoughts, canceling the emotional debt, integrating mercy and justice, promoting healing and renewal.
Each educational unit can be offered in a church hall as a 3-hour weekend mini-retreat to better accommodate couples’ busy schedules. Each presentation will include couple exercises, time for questions and answers, and the option for follow-up in small support groups. All presentations are available in English and Spanish.
About John & Claire Yzaguirre, Ph.D., MFT
We are a cross-cultural Catholic couple specializing in marriage therapy. Claire was born in California whereas John is a native from Barcelona, (Spain), living in the U.S. for over 30 years. We combine our psychological training with graduate education in Sacred Scriptures, Biblical studies, Christian spirituality and many years in lay ministry. In addition to our extensive ecumenical experience, we have worked closely with the departments of family life, religious education, and evangelization of several dioceses and denominations in the U.S.
To schedule the Thriving Marriages Program at your local church, please call (949) 851-1572 or write to claire@thrivingfamilies.com.