The irony of today’s dating is, despite more options at the swipe of a finger, finding a good relationship feels further out of reach. Dating often leaves us with more questions than answers.
It doesn’t seem like it should be so hard to connect with another person in a world that seems to feel smaller and smaller. Does it feel like everyone you know has cracked the dating code while you’re alone on the outside looking in?
In addition to these questions, we’re bombarded with discouraging dating messages –
Online dating is only about fueling a hook-up culture
Dating is a construct that is no longer supported by our society
You have to let go of old-fashioned ideas about dating and romance if you don’t want to end up alone.
Whether it seems like you’ve been on a million first dates or like you haven’t had a date in a million years, dating challenges can breed a special kind of misery. Successfully navigating the dating world isn’t easy, but there are some skills that make it easier to survive the experience with your self-esteem and personal identity intact.
We know that many of you feel isolated and lonely and desire a healthy romantic relationship in your life. We know that dating in today’s rapidly changing social context can be challenging, overwhelming, hopeless, and frustrating. Do you feel like there is a secret formula you are missing out on?
At GROW, we believe that it’s possible to pursue and find a fulfilling romantic relationship. We want to help individuals understand the core components of healthy relationships, the way their individual traits are reflected in their relationships, and the techniques for applying core components and individual traits to the modern dating world.
We know that when you find yourself going on many first dates or moving from relationship to relationship, it can feel like you are missing a secret piece that will make the puzzle complete. Our approach is based on our belief that the foundation for healthy relationships is healthy individuals. With that in mind, we begin by helping you assess your individual strengths and weakness in areas most important to relational health. We look at past relational challenges and patterns as well as future hopes and dreams to create a specific plan to help find the relationship you want to have. Using that assessment, we work with you to set relational goals, refine interpersonal skills, and focus on the most beneficial areas of individual development. Additionally, we help you with the practical application of your relational priorities to real world dating situations.
We work on skills that are key components for healthy relationships such as communication styles, vulnerability, trust, boundaries, self-esteem, purpose of dating, attachment styles, self-awareness, and personal expectations. Using the results from the relationship assessment, we customize the time spent on each of these topics to reflect the individual client.
In addition to addressing the topics from a broader relational perspective, we also discuss the practical challenges of applying our dating values to our cultural context. For instance, even though our priorities remain constant, our approach may need to adapt according to the context; online dating might warrant different boundaries, necessitate a different set of social skills and approach to communication.
We offer several options to help best meet your needs. In each option, you will meet with a counselor who will walk you through the skills needed to date wholeheartedly.
Weekly – Typically 6, 50-minute sessions.
Workshop – Typically 4 weeks, 100-minute sessions.
If you are interested in learning more about either option, please fill out the short form below and we will get back to you with more information!