IDEALS of Kentucky is a non-profit whose mission is to: “teach people methods of communicating with others, of dealing with emotions, and of solving problems.” Our goal is to educate hearts and transform relationships. IDEALS as an organization was founded in Pennsylvania in 1972 and continues to this day with a new center in Frankfort and Lexington, Kentucky and the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement (NIRE) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Most of our work at the moment centers around the MML series of materials and our Circles of Care Project. The MML materials include Mastering the Mysteries of Love RE (for Couples); Love’s Cradle RE, (for Unmarried Couples with a Child); Ready for Love RE (for Singles and Individuals), and Mastering the Magic of Love RE (a handout based program for low education couples).

The Circles of Care Project works with Healthy Marriage Initiatives, Agencies, Grant Programs, Therapists, Universities, and Committed Individuals to create interlocking circles to support couples and families. It includes Training for Program Leaders and Therapists, Assistance for Communities without access to grant or foundation funding for relationship skills training, Technical Assistance, Support, and Supervision for RE Therapists and MML Program Leaders, and Work with cultural groups to adapt MML materials to meet specific cultural needs.

IDEALS and NIRE have trained thousands of people through the years in Relationship Enhancement® programs and therapies, Child-centered Play, Filial Family Therapy, and the Parenting Skills Program. For more information on these programs, check out the NIRE web site at www.nire.org.

IDEALS of Kentucky began in October, 2002 and opened for business in January, 2003. We have therapy offices in Frankfort and Lexington, Kentucky staffed by licensed marriage and family therapists and marriage and family therapy associates. We also do professional training in Kentucky and across the country and publish the MML Series of RE materials.

If you have specific questions about IDEALS of Kentucky, email us at mary@skillswork.org.

About Mary Ortwein

Mary Ortwein, MS, LMFT, is Executive Director of IDEALS of Kentucky and co-author with Dr. Bernard Guerney of the MML Series of RE materials, including Mastering the Mysteries of Love, Love’s Cradle, Ready for Love, and Mastering the Magic of Play. A licensed marriage and family therapist, she is also a mother of two grown sons, their wives, and one grandchild. Mary has a BA from Transylvania University in elementary education and a MS from the University of Kentucky in Family Studies. She is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and a Marriage and Family Therapy supervisor in training. Before coming to IDEALS of Kentucky, Mary taught elementary school seven years, was a full-time wife and mother when her children were small, directed several federal pregnancy, homeless, and VISTA programs, founded SIMON House, was Family Ministry Coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, and worked as an in-home therapist, a case manager, and supervisor of mentor and in-home programs for the IMPACT and IMPACT Plus programs in Lexington, Kentucky. [In other words, Mary’s been around a long time!]
For additional information on publications or other matters, query at mary@skillswork.org

About Jessica Ortwein

Jessica Ortwein answers the phone, mails the orders, and keeps things together at IDEALS. Her official title is Distribution Director. Besides the work she does here she is a full-time wife and mother. Jessica and Chris have been married three years. Their son Clayton is their laughter and joy. Jessica enjoys helping, and she helps a lot at IDEALS. Her goal is to make things simple and efficient! She brings a commitment and caring to her work which are priceless.

About Bernard and Louise Guerney

Bernard Guerney, Jr., Ph.D., founder of IDEALS and the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement®, is internationally recognized as one of the most prominent and innovative practitioners of marital and family therapy. His methods have been developed and refined in over thirty five years of practicing, teaching and supervising individual, marital, group, and family therapy. His presentations and workshops have elicited high praise and great enthusiasm on four continents. For their work in developing Relationship Enhancement® therapy and enrichment methods, Dr. Guerney and his wife, Dr. Louise Guerney, have won several national awards. He is a fellow in five APA divisions, a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Behavioral Medicine, and Marital/Family Therapy, a certified group therapist, and an AAMFT-Approved Supervisor. Currently Dr. Guerney is Director of NIRE, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, and Professor Emeritus of Family Studies and of Counseling Psychology at Pennsylvania State University, where he founded and directed its Individual and Family Consultation Center for 25 years. Alone or with others he has produced over 80 articles and chapters, four books, and numerous manuals, training tapes, and films in the areas of individual, marital, group, and family therapy. He has served on the editorial board of many marital and family therapy journals. He was one Salvador Minuchin’s co-authors of the family therapy classic Families of the Slums. Dr. Guerney’s own book, Relationship Enhancement: Skill Training Programs for Therapy, Problem Prevention, and Enrichment has been called, by Dr. Douglas Sprenkle, “a seminal and potentially revolutionary work … perhaps the best … integration of theory, research, and practice in the family intervention field.”

Louise Guerney, Ph.D., Director of Play and Filial Family Training at The National Institute of Relationship Enhancement® , is internationally recognized as one of the most prominent and innovative practitioners of child-centered play therapy. A licensed Clinical Psychologist, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and a founding Board Member of the Association for Play Therapy, Dr. Guerney is known, together with her husband, Dr. Bernard Guerney, Jr., as the creator of Filial Family Therapy, a unique family therapy model that teaches parents how to become the primary therapeutic agents for their children through the medium of play therapy. As a Professor (now Emerita) of Human Development and Counseling Psychology at Penn State University, as a workshop instructor in scores of workshops conducted on four continents, and now as Director of Play Therapy and Filial Therapy Training at NIRE, Dr. Guerney has trained and supervised many hundreds of professionals. Independently and collaboratively, she has produced scores of articles and chapters on child and family therapy, two books, and training videotapes for therapists. Active in the professional community, she is one of the creators of PhoneFriend, a nationwide network of “warmlines” serving latchkey children, and has served on the Board of APA’s Division of Children, Youth and Family Services. She has developed a number of parent skills-training programs, including The Foster Parent Training Program in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. She serves on the Editorial Boards of several child- and family-oriented therapy journals, including The International Journal of Play Therapy. Dr. Guerney has won several national awards from state and national organizations for her contributions to child/family enrichment and therapy, including the 1988 Marriage and Family Therapy Award for Contributions to the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy, awarded by the Family Therapy Section of the National Conference of Family Relations, and together with her husband, the 1983 Mace Medal for Contributions to Marital Enrichment, awarded by the Association for Couple and Marital Enrichment.

About Nancy Homb

Nancy Homb, MS, Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, fell in love with human behavior 20 years ago as she studied literature at the University of Houston. This love led to a minor in Psychology. After receiving her teacher certification, she taught in Cy-Fair Independent School District for eleven years. Nancy loved her work teaching high school kids Psychology and Sociology, but always wanted to pursue an advanced degree in a field that would lead to helping people work through the tough stuff in life. That desire led her to the University of Kentucky’s Marriage and Family Therapy program. Her passions are human growth and healthy relationships. At IDEALS, she works with families, couples, adolescents, and individuals to promote healthy living and to encourage people toward having the kinds of relationships they desire.

About Rachel Day

Rachel A. Day graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of the Cumberlands in 1998. She then completed her master’s degree in Counseling, specializing in marriage and family therapy from Bethel College in 2002. Since graduating she has obtained her Kentucky state certification as an alcohol and drug counselor and is presently pursuing her licensure as a marriage and family therapist. Rachel is originally from Ohio and currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and son.