“Relationships that thrive tend to communicate easily in an ongoing, flowing manner,” says Seth Eisenberg, President/CEO of the nonprofit PAIRS (“Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills”) Foundation in Hollywood, Florida.
Virginia Satir, considered the “Mother of Family Therapy” defined five freedoms vital to intimate relationships. Eisenberg says these five freedoms are an important foundation of PAIRS relationship skills classes and training programs taught throughout the country.
Chaplains Clyde Angel and Dick Millspaugh, Chiefs of Chaplain Services for the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis and the San Diego VA Healthcare System, respectively, will host nearly 50 VA professionals for four days in Indiana later this month for certification training to integrate PAIRS classes into community programs to help Veterans strengthen close relationships and more successfully reintegrate into their homes, communities and civilian jobs. The innovative program is part of a $1.4 million grant provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation Initiative. Last year, the PAIRS/VA collaboration was recognized with the 2012 Spirit of Planetree award.
Five Freedoms
1. TO SEE AND HEAR
What is here,
Instead of what should be,
Was, or will be.
2. TO SAY
What one feels and thinks
Instead of what one should.
3. TO FEEL
What one feels,
Instead of what one ought.
4. TO ASK
For what one wants,
Instead of always waiting
For permission.
5. TO TAKE RISKS
In one’s own behalf,
Instead of choosing to be
Only “secure”
And not rocking the boat.