Family priorities often must come second to military orders. When one spouse returns from deployment and begins the homecoming process, the couple may feel as if they are on an emotional rollercoaster. They may experience intense anticipation, anxiety, restlessness, impatience, and excitement. It is also typical to feel resentment, disappointment, frustration, and grief over losses of freedom or independence. It may take the couple several months to find a healthy balance in their relationship again after the deployment. Furthermore, it is common for military couples to deal with Post-…
Retreats allow couples to spend time together and have fun away from the structure and constraints of formal military life. Such retreats allow the couple to learn and practice relationship skills without distractions and in a more intimate setting. Additionally, retreats often provide coaching specific to the needs of each couple, which can be very beneficial to military couples experiencing unique challenges. This Tip Sheet will provide civilian community-based organizations some suggestions about providing MRE retreats to military couples. (Author abstract)
It may seem a difficult task to engage men in marriage and relationship education (MRE) classes. While women may be more willing to talk freely about their relationships in any setting, men may need a little more coaxing. In couple-based services, there are ways to facilitate an open discussion that will help men reveal their thoughts and even their feelings toward children, relationships and marriage. This Tip Sheet provides a few helpful suggestions to engage men in discussions and activities in MRE classes. (Author abstract modified)
With over 100,000 military members currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, many military couples continue to face the prospect of additional deployments. Keeping your marriage strong while you are apart takes dedication, patience, trust and commitment. The following tips can help you work towards building and strengthening your own healthy marriage. (Author abstract)
Training Materials, Book
The Money Habitudes Professionals Guide is designed for those working with Money Habitudes cards and covering money-related issues. Easy to understand and broadly applicable, the guide helps counselors, educators, therapists, financial practitioners and coaches when working with individuals, couples or groups. It provides plans for short icebreakers and longer standalone activities (15 minutes to 2 hours) as well as suggestions for using Money Habitudes cards with other programs: pre-marital, marriage enrichment, couples counseling, communication, conflict management, and life skills, as well…
Training Materials, Book
The Money Habitudes Teen Guide is designed for those using Money Habitudes for Teens and covering money-related issues. The cards help teens discover the hidden messages that motivate the way they make money decisions. The guide provides educators, youth leaders and counselors five lesson plans which can each be used as five stand-alone lesson plans or combined for a more in-depth program of five classes or a half-day program. They can be used in-conjunction with programs in financial literacy, life skills, psychology or business to help teens develop a healthier relationship with money.…
Training Materials, Other
The Money Habitudes Workshop/Training DVD is designed to be used with Money Habitudes cards. It may be used to educate those using the cards, as a tool to help train-the-trainer, or as an interactive component in workshops or meetings. The DVD is also a useful way for individuals and couples to learn about their own Money Habitudes and understand how they can support or sabotage achieving their life and financial goals. The 26-minute DVD is divided into four sections: Introduction and overview to how we develop our habits and attitudes about money (12 minutes); How to use the cards (4 minutes…
Training Materials, Book
The Money Habitudes workbook is designed to be used with Money Habitudes cards and the Money Habitudes Training DVD. Its exercises help people discover how habits and attitudes about money support or sabotage their life, relationship, career and financial goals. The guide can be used in the context of a group training or can be used by individuals and couples working on their own. The workbook walks people through the steps to sort and interpret the Money Habitudes cards; provides space to record results and interpretations; includes tables relating Habitudes to typical financial and life…
This tip sheet provides specific guidelines for healthcare providers to start and facilitate conversations with parents and children on core relationship skills such as communication, conflict resolution, parenting, and financial literacy. (Author abstract)
This tip sheet summarizes what is known about the couple relationships of service members after deployment and recommends ways in which safety-net service providers can offer support to them in maintaining successful couple relationships. (Author abstract)
