Stronger Marriage Webinars
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Webinars
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"When Trust Breaks: Healing From Porn Use, Infidelity, and Emotional Wounds
Josh Otani, LMFT
When trust fractures in a relationship—whether through pornography use, infidelity, emotional affairs, or secrecy—the impact can feel overwhelming for both partners. In this webinar, licensed marriage and family therapist Josh Otani, LMFT shares both clinical insight and personal experience navigating betrayal trauma, shame cycles, emotional overwhelm, and the long process of rebuilding connection and trust.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how pornography use and infidelity often function as coping strategies rather than root causes, the emotional and neurobiological impact on betrayed partners, and how evidence-based, attachment-focused approaches such as EFT, IFS, and EMDR support individual and relational healing. This presentation is designed for practitioners, students, and individuals seeking a compassionate, systemic, and clinically grounded perspective on betrayal and recovery.
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Understanding Codependency: What It Is, How It Shows Up, and How We Heal
Payton Holt, LMFT
Join us for an honest conversation about codependency—what it really is, how it shows up in everyday life, and why so many of us struggle with it without realizing it. We’ll look at common signs, how these patterns affect our relationships, and practical steps you can start taking to heal and reconnect with yourself and those you love most.
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From Partners to Parents: Key Issues for Couples in the Transition to Parenthood
Sean Brotherson, PhD
Couples need to deal effectively with stresses that occur in the transition to parenthood. Key concerns that parents may encounter in the transition to parenthood include: 1) Division of labor in housework and child care; 2) Money worries; 3) Relationship difficulties; 4) Career and work issues; and 5) Social activities. This seminar will explore a variety of useful coping strategies and resources that can help couples who face these stresses that come with a new child.
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Breaking Free from Roommate Syndrome: How to Rekindle Your Marriage
Dr. Cole Ratcliffe
Many couples find themselves in what’s often called “roommate syndrome.” The commitment is still there, but the relationship feels stale. In this webinar, we’ll discuss why this happens, what it looks like, and how to move past it. Using the Marriage Pyramid as a framework, we’ll explore ways to bring new life back into your marriage.
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Why We Connect and Why We Clash: Five Science-Based Keys to Healthy Relationships
Dr. Jason Whiting
Relationships can bring joy, growth, and connection, but also frustration, conflict, and even harm. In this presentation, Dr. Jason Whiting, professor and marriage and family therapist, shares his research on the key patterns that make relationships healthy or unhealthy. Using examples and practical insights, Dr. Whiting highlights five crucial healthy interactions: honesty, accountability, respect, fairness, and commitment. He shares how couples can identify and improve these build stronger connections.
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Relationship Ambivalence - The Cost and A Cure
Dr. Merideth Thompson
Relationship ambivalence - or being "one foot in and one foot out" of a romantic relationship is exhausting and leads to poor health outcomes for both partners, regardless of which partner feels ambivalent. We'll dive into the research on the impact of ambivalence and how a partner or a couple can cure their ambivalence by getting clarity about where their relationship is strong and high functioning and where it could use some help. Emphasis is placed on where and how individuals have control or influence and where they may not.
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How We Connect: The Role of Attachment in Serious Dating Relationships
Dr. Ryan Seedall
In this webinar, Dr. Seedall will address the role of attachment in close relationships. He will apply this especially to issues of support, conflict, and commitment in serious dating relationships.
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Relational Communication, It's a Two Way Street.
Timothy Garner, LMFT
This presentation guides clinicians through four different techniques to offer for couples who struggle with communication. These techniques are basic but set a foundation for a stronger connection. This presentation is also for non-clinicians who want to learn more about how to communicate and connect with those around them. These techniques can be for couples or any relationship.
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Power Plays: Unpacking Control, Autonomy, and Intimacy in Romantic Relationships
Dr. Bonnie Young
Power in relationships isn’t just about who makes the decisions — it’s about how partners influence each other, negotiate needs, and maintain emotional safety. This webinar draws from research on how couples experience and manage power, highlighting patterns that affect intimacy, conflict, and connection. We’ll explore how gender, personality, and relational roles shape power dynamics, and how these dynamics can either foster closeness or create distance. Whether you're a clinician or simply curious about improving your relationship, you'll leave with practical tools to recognize power patterns and promote healthier, more balanced partnerships.
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Necessary Suffering: How Conflict Drives Development
Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife
During this webinar, Dr. Finlayson-Fife will discuss how the conflicts we face in marriage can pressure our personal and spiritual growth. She will explore how marriage invites honest self-awareness and how that can increase our capacity to love. She will teach why revealing differences—rather than avoiding them—is essential to both personal development and deeper connection.
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Reflections of the Nation’s Former Marriage Czar
Dr. Wade Horn
Dr. Horn will reflect upon his 30 plus years advocating for and supporting healthy marriages, including his time as the Assistant Secretary of the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where he conceived of and implemented the first-ever federal grant programs promoting responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages. In addition to lessons learned, Dr. Horn will discuss the current state of marriage in American and what can be done to promote a culture that values and supports healthy marriages.
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Does Youth Relationship Education Make Cents?
Aaron Larson
In an increasingly complex world, shaped by both physical and digital interactions, youth face intricate challenges navigating their relationships – with friends, family, and romantic partners. This webinar explores the crucial role of Youth Relationship Education (YRE) can play at helping them successfully navigate at home, work and in their romantic relationships. It will dive into what's truly possible when young people are equipped with essential relational skills, unpack the innovative programs and initiatives already making waves, and critically examine the latest research. The presentation will answer burning questions: Are youth even interested in learning about healthy relationships? Does it really make a difference in their lives? And what are some possible solutions and funding sources to address the need.
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Two Important (Yet Often Overlooked) Pieces to the Puzzle of a Strong Marriage
Dr. Allen Barton
What does it take to have the marriage you always dreamed of? Decades of research and practice have sought to answer this question by identifying what makes for strong, lasting marriages. In this webinar, Dr. Allen Barton highlights two important elements of a strong marriage, two elements that often get overlooked by marital researchers and spouses themselves.
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From Partners to Parents: How the Postpartum Brain Shapes Love & Communication
Shara Jackson Harper
This session will dive into the neuroscience of the “pregnant and postpartum brain,” explaining why many couples struggle with increased tension, miscommunication, and emotional shifts during this time.
You’ll learn:
✔️ How hormonal and brain changes affect mood, memory, and emotional regulation
✔️ Why pregnancy and postpartum can make conflict harder to navigate—and how to manage it
✔️ Tools for strengthening connection and communication in this transformative season
✔️ Practical strategies for therapists supporting perinatal clients and couplesWhether you’re a mental health professional or a couple preparing for or navigating parenthood, this webinar will equip you with insights and tools to foster resilience, understanding, and connection.
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Marital First Responders: Equipping People to Support Friends Who Confide in Them About Relationship Problems
Bill Doherty, Ph.D.
We know that people having marital concerns turn first to friends and family rather than to professionals or programs. Marital First Responders is a research-based workshop for “natural confidants,” people who others talk to support and perspective when experiencing marital problems. The day long workshop trains these lay people on how to be helpful and how to avoid doing harm by taking sides. Studies have shown that participants come away with more knowledge about marital relationships and common problems, and with skills for being listening, being supportive, sharing perspectives, maintaining good boundaries, and referring for professional help when needed.
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The Division of Household Labor and Couples' Relationship Satisfaction
Dr. Daniel I. Carlson
Discussion of what shapes the division of labor in families and how the division of labor in families matters for couples' relationship satisfaction.
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Supporting Parents of Autistic Children: An Affirming, Family Systems-Based Approach
Damon Bryan, LMFT
This webinar is meant to discuss common needs and challenges many families face when raising and supporting autistic children in an inherently neurotypical world. Parents will learn ways in which they can manage their needs while also supporting their children. Professionals will learn straight-forward approaches and practices they can provide to help support the parents and families with whom they work. We will also explore the role of larger systems in the experiences of autistic individuals and their families.
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The Sexual Mindfulness Project
Dr. Chelom Leavitt
We’ll discuss how slowing down and being more intentional in a sexual relationship helps create connection and meaning. We’ll talk about how this validated intervention can help couples with common issues in their sex lives and how this class can open up comfortable conversations about how to be more emotionally and physically intimate.
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Ambiguous Marital Separation and How to Avoid it
Steven M. Harris, PhD, LMFT
Many people use separation as a tool for dealing with difficult and persistent marital conflict. However introducing separation into the marital equation can lead to ambiguity about the marriage and the direction it is taking. In this webinar, Dr. Steven Harris, from the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project, will discuss marital separation and give some suggestions on things to consider when considering martial separation to resolve marital conflict.
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The Misconceptions of OCD and Anxiety
Paul Peterson
This webinar explains how prevention-focused policies, collaborative partnerships, and support for all family types are shaping healthier communities. Learn how investing in early support, parenting education, and data-driven strategies helps families thrive before crises occur.
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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month: What is Utah doing to keep its children safe?
Laurieann Thorpe
Prevent Child Abuse Utah's mission is in its name. It is the only organization in Utah whose sole purpose is preventing child maltreatment. Come learn from the organization's Executive Director, Laurieann Thorpe, about what works to keep children safe. See how families are strengthened by home visiting programs, community education, the Protective Factors Framework, and HOPE.
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Unlocking Relationship Harmony: The Power of the Relationship Needs Circle
Dr. Cole Ratcliffe
Ever wondered why certain behaviors in your relationships drive you up the wall? Discover the transformative power of the Relationship Needs Circle, a framework that sheds light on the underlying needs behind common relationship behaviors. This insightful approach not only helps you understand why your partner might nag, disengage, or micromanage but also equips you with compassionate strategies to respond effectively. This framework will help you learn how to turn those annoying habits into opportunities for deeper connection and harmony in your relationships. Whether it's with your spouse, children, or friends, the Relationship Needs Circle offers a fresh perspective that can change the way you interact with those around you.
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Relationship Resilience After Betrayal Trauma
Geoff Steurer, LMFT
Betrayal trauma shatters trust and disrupts the foundation of a relationship, leaving couples uncertain about their future. In this webinar, I’ll share what it takes to not only survive but to rebuild and thrive after betrayal. Drawing from over 25 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist, I’ll walk you through the long-term recovery process, addressing the essential elements of healing for both partners and the relationship itself. We’ll discuss the three parallel recoveries—the betrayed partner’s journey, the recovering partner’s transformation, and the couple’s relational healing—offering clear, actionable steps to rebuild safety, trust, and connection. Whether you’re in the middle of the crisis or navigating the long-term work of recovery, this webinar will provide practical tools, real-life insights, and hope for a stronger, more resilient relationship.
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The Hero Husband Handbook: How to be the Man Your Marriage Needs
Leslie Doares
The benefits of marriage for emotional, physical, mental and financial health have been well documented. The goal of increasing marriage is admirable, but insufficient. The better goal is to increase both the quantity and the quality of marriages. And we can’t do that if we ignore 50% of the population. Supporting men in being the best husbands they can be is essential to this effort. Tapping into the hero archetype is a positive way to bring men to the table and inspire them to help their marriages thrive.
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Creating More Fulfilling Relationships by Clarifying Your Personal Values
Tyler Andrus, LCSW
All relationships (dating, marriage, platonic, professional etc.) start with hopes and dreams of fulfillment, but many get mired or end with more frustration than satisfaction. Behind those frustrations lie unfulfilled personal values. By reflecting on the past and looking with hope toward a more fulfilling future, we can each identify and clarify a set of key personal values, that when adhered to, tip the scales toward fulfillment and satisfaction rather than frustration. We can each find the love and belonging we crave.
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Using the Love Languages Successfully in Marriage
Amberly Lambertsen, CFLE
While the love languages aren’t a guide to solving every problem in your marriage, they are a great way to show you care about each other and communicate needs.
In this webinar, we'll discuss:
*How to learn about and communicate your love languages effectively
*What to do and what not to do once you know each other's love languages
*The one thing I tell every couple they need to remember when using the love languages
*Five tips to help you achieve greater success with the love languages in your marriage
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Road to Happiness and Meaning
Dr. David Schramm
In this webinar, Dr. Dave Schramm will share principles from his new curriculum, Road to Happiness and Meaning. This includes principles related to searching inward, turning outward, looking upward, and pressing forward. He will also share where you can register for the FREE class and share details about other free resources that the Utah Marriage Commission offers.
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Courage to Love: Your Guide to Creating a Conscious Marriage
Emilee Krupa
In this webinar we will dive into:
Understanding Conscious Relationship Foundations
What does it mean to have a conscious relationship?
Learn the 8 core tools for conscious love
Conscious Conflict Skills
Feeling safe, seen, and understood by your partner
Reducing negativity and learning to lead with kindness
Becoming attuned to your partner's emotional needs and desires
Learning your partner’s story and their inner world
Intimacy Practices
Finding your routines and rituals to help you thrive in your partnership
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Building A Lasting Connection® Program: A Relationship Program for Couples
Dr. Debi Gilmore
What makes this program different?
Based on Attachment Theory and Experiential Learning, this system teaches couples how to communicate on a much deeper level using the Connection System® Mat.
The webinar will introduce everyone to the step-by-step process, learning the nuances of active listening, clarity in sharing, and emotion processing.
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The Great Paradox: Understanding Counterintuitive Relationship Patterns and Emotions
Clarissa Mace, LMFT
Every marriage has patterns that emerge in communication and conflict. By understanding the counter intuitive nature of certain behaviors and emotions, you'll be able to navigate conflict in a more productive way and be able to connect with your partner on a deeper level.
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Increasing Fulfillment in Marriage
Nevin Alderman
Learn how to revitalize fulfillment and strengthen connection! In this webinar you will learn the vital role of active enrichment. You will learn to identify the phase of fulfillment your relationship is in, and how to keep fulfillment active in your relationship. You will also learn about the concept of reciprocal fulfillment- what it looks like, and how to create it. Finally, you will learn about the relational bank account and how you can avoid bankruptcy in your relationship! Learn how to love stronger, connect deeper, and live happier in your relationship!
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Fostering Strong LGBTQ+ Relationships
Andres Brown, LMFT
LGBTQ+ relationships are remarkable in their resilience and strengths in the face of persistent challenges to their health and well-being. Given the historical and ongoing societal disparities impacting LGBTQ+ individuals and relationships, a one-size-fits-all approach to communication, connection, and repair overlooks the distinct challenges and strengths within queer communities. It is therefore essential for therapists and the broader community to deepen their understanding of how to support LGBTQ+ relationships in forming and sustaining meaningful connections.This presentation offers an overview of diverse strategies tailored to assist LGBTQ+ relationships in navigating their unique stressors. Grounded in a resilience and strengths-based framework. we will delve into methods aimed at understanding and fostering thriving for LGBTQ+ relationships.
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The Complex Issues of Women's Sexual Desire
Amanda Louder
Women’s sexual desire is a complex issue that many couples struggle with. By understanding the complex nature of women’s sexual desire, couples can learn how to navigate challenges with desire discrepancies and work together to create an atmosphere where desire can flourish and intimacy abounds.
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The Lost Art of Listening
Heather Holmgren
This webinar explores effective listening, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution techniques to help couples strengthen their relationships. Heather's insights are rooted in her extensive experience and personal journey, making this a valuable resource for couples of all backgrounds.
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Queer Relationships
Dr. Lacey Bagley
Dr. Laci Bagley, a mental health therapist and advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals and relationships, shares insights on legal, social, and mental health challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community. She explores the importance of mental health support, family acceptance, and community resources in fostering healthy relationships and well-being. Dr. Bagley also provides strategies for overcoming stigma, discrimination, and legal barriers that impact LGBTQ+ families, while encouraging the creation of brave spaces for open, honest conversations.
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Trust, Boundaries, and Building Intimacy
Olivia Verbeck
In this webinar, Olivia Verbeek, a clinical mental health and substance use counselor, discusses her Relationship Trust Boundary Model. Olivia teaches how to establish healthy trust, boundaries, and privacy in relationships, especially within marriages. This practical approach helps couples build intimacy, avoid common pitfalls like codependency, and protect their marriages from external and internal conflicts. Learn techniques for identifying trustworthy behaviors, balancing emotional and physical boundaries, and addressing broken trust.