Have you ever felt frustrated or confused about who your partner becomes in a conflict? Have you ever felt upset or ashamed about who you become in a conflict? I know I have felt both those things. There are parts of me who wished my partner wasn’t so defensive. And parts of me who wished I had not either yelled at, or ignored, my partner (I’ve done both and everything in between). These ways of communication have never brought us closer. Rather, they tend to leave us both feeling more upset. I suspect we have all been there.
But I am here to tell you, we are not the person we become in conflict. That person is just a part of us trying to help in that moment. But the parts of us that yell or shut down don’t usually get us what we really want — to be heard and understood.
I’m here to tell you, there is a better way.
And it’s a set of skills anyone can learn. Based on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) models for relational change, this workshop is helpful for anyone who wants to learn to speak and listen in ways that can reduce conflict and foster safer more loving connection!