Special Help for ACF Marriage Grants

Mastering the Mysteries of Love Relationship Enhancement®, Love’s Cradle Relationship Enhancement®, and Relationship Enhancement® for Refugees and Immigrants are all three acceptable programs for current ACF grants for Couples and Families (FRAMEWorks).  All are contemporary formats for Bernard Guerney’s Relationship Enhancement® model.  Dr. Guerney and his colleagues developed the program over fifty years.  It is evidence based across culture, language, and socio-economic status.

The updated presentations of Mastering the Mysteries of Love RE, Love’s Cradle RE, and Relationship Enhancement for Refugees and Immigrants have been recently substantiated as evidence-based by publications of research from previous ACF projects.  Published sources of this research are contained in the just released MAST report, “An Overview of Marriage Strengthening and Relationship Education Curricula.”  This report includes reference to 16 published research articles which document these newer formats of Guerney’s Relationship Enhancement® model maintain gains in relationship strength, ability to discuss and solve problems,  and empathy skills first shown in research studies years ago. The efficacy of RE holds.

The core Relationship Enhancement® (RE) program is 16 hours.  The 16 hours may be presented in one-hour, two-hour, or four-hour blocks.  Supplemental information may be added Ten skills are taught:  Showing Understanding (empathy) Skill, Expression Skill, Discussion Skill, Problem Solving Skill, Self-Change and Helping Others Change Skills, Self-Coaching and Conflict Management Skills, Generalization Skill, and Maintenance Skill.  Mastering the Mysteries of Love (MML) has an optional Forgiveness Skill.

Instruction combines Experiential Education activities with formal Skills Training and participant practice.  The result is a fast-paced curriculum which holds participant interest, provides useful skills, and gives participants the option of solving current problems while enhancing communication and relationship habits.

A three-day training for facilitators in required.  It is recommended this training be done in person at your site.  However, because of the continued COVID-19 crisis, it is possible to do the training via Zoom.  Details are below.

Love’s Cradle Relationship Enhancement® was developed for ACF’s Building Strong Families Project.  Young couples with young children are its target audience.  Originally developed for use with unmarried couples who have a child together, the core 16-hour curriculum can be supplemented with selections from four optional units on Marriage, Building Trust, Financial Decision Making, and Complex Family Relationships (dealing with ex’s and stepfamily dynamics).  Instructional materials are available in Spanish and English.

Mastering the Mysteries of Love Relationship Enhancement® (MML) is a curriculum for married or unmarried couples in a committed relationship.  In addition to the core RE skills, Forgiveness as a skill can be included as an optional lesson.  Both instructional videos and demonstration dialogue scripts are available.  Participant materials for MML are available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese.  A variation is available in Mandarin. Leader’s Guide is available in English and Spanish. A slight variation of MML, Ready for Love Relationship Enhancement®, includes the same skills and concepts, but the program activities are applicable for participants who attend alone—either as the one participant in a committed relationship or as a single person.

Relationship Enhancement for Refugees and Immigrants was developed through two grant cycles in conjunction with the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.  Its materials, presentation format, and activities are matched to the needs and interests of refugees and immigrants.  Materials are available in eleven languages.