The Love’s Cradle Program combines the research proven Relationship Enhancement Program by Bernard Guerney with content topics developed as part of a contract with Mathematica Policy Research for the ACF Building Strong Families Project. It is currently part of an ACF research project in San Angelo and Houston, Texas to determine the effects of relationship education on unmarried couples who have a child together. The full Love’s Cradle Program is 22 two-hour sessions. It may be presented in this format in its entirety or it may be broken up into modules.

The foundation portion of the program (20 hours) combines the ten Relationship Enhancement skills with content that focuses on issues of new parents: adjusting to parenthood, maintaining couple identity, building affection, and sharing responsibilities.

Four supplemental 6 hour topical modules mix experiential learning activities with RE couple dialogues. Topics of these modules are: Building Trust, The Meaning of Marriage, Working with Complex Family Relationships, and Making Financial Decisions Together.

The experiential content learning activities were developed under the leadership of Pamela Wilson of Washington, DC for ACF under contract with Mathematica Policy Research. Other members of the writing team were Carolyn Wiseheart of San Angelo, Texas, Akilah Thomas and Reuben Lawrence of Atlanta, Georgia, Rosalind Jackson of Houston, Texas, and Mary Ortwein of Frankfort, Kentucky.

Love’s Cradle participant materials are written on a 5th grade reading level. Learning activities are high interest, with minimal lecture. The program includes a full array of multi-ethnic videos, a powerpoint presentation, and other learning aids to make it easy to teach. All videos, teaching aids, and participant materials are available in Spanish.

The Difference RE Makes

Relationship Enhancement® Programs give couples experiences in deep intimacy–even in the heart of conflict–while teaching them tools to make problem solutions LAST. During the program couples work through core problems through extended couple dialogues. The Relationship Enhancement® Program has over 35 years of research behind it with 27 studies of effectiveness. It has been shown to be effective when there are serious problems, such as infidelity, chemical dependency, or mental illness. For a full bibliography click here.

Cultural Sensitivity

Because RE is a program of the deep heart, and people’s deep hearts all want to give and receive the same love, RE is readily adaptable within various communities and cultures. In addition, consultants from the Latino, African-American, inner city, and rural communities have assisted with the development of Love’s Cradle. Videos depict African-American, Latino, and Caucasian couples . An ongoing development and review process permits and encourages cultural adaptations for the needs of specific communities. Participant materials and videos are available in Spanish.

Program and Evaluation Support

IDEALS provides FREE email consultation to all programs who regularly purchase materials. In addition, Mary Ortwein and other experienced RE professionals provide a bi-weekly FREE telephone consultation via bridge line call. Contact Mary Ortwein at mary@skillswork.org for dates and times. Ongoing supervision, consulting, and training are available. Dr. Bernard Guerney, creator of RE and author of over 75 research articles, is available to assist with research design and evaluation.

Easy to Use Format

The Love’s Cradle Leader’s Guide is written in an “out of the box” format. It includes step-by-step and minute-by-minute directions. Sample introductions, demonstration dialogues, and discussion questions are included. An inexpensive video demonstrates each of the RE skills. Planning notes for each activity provide tips from experienced RE leaders to help prevent and troubleshoot problems which come up in groups. Extra handouts help couples know exactly what to do in their couple dialogues and help them carry the skills home. Additional videos let couples see how they can work through tough issues using RE skills.

What’s included in the program?

• A Leader’s Guide with detailed, easy-to-read instructions for volunteer or professional leaders
• Instructional videos to teach RE skills
• Dialogue videos that demonstrate how RE can solve ordinary and difficult problems
• Various other teaching aids, including charts, audio tape, Powerpoint slides, overheads, activity cards, and feelings posters
• Optional add-on sessions that help couples work through issues of trust, considering marriage, relationships with “ex’s” and other family members, adjusting to a child, and managing finances

For more detailed information about materials, click here.

Training

Training for Love’s Cradle is available in Frankfort, Kentucky and on-site. Click here for currently scheduled workshops.