Leaving Well: A Six Week Workshop

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Week 1 will introduce the lifecycle of a relationship through the metaphor of the 4 seasons, reviewing the characteristic signs and patterns of each season. Participants will be asked to reflect on the seasons in their relationship and ways to prepare for the changes and storms ahead.

Week 2 will explore the concept of weather and storm patterns in relationships and participants will review some of the current and past patterns in their relationship. Common ways people resist change and 'fight with the weather' will be reviewed, and more adaptive responses presented.

Week 3 will help participants learn how to manage and overcome doubts, fears, and worries to find and cultivate more certainty, confidence, and conviction. Skills to work through difficult and conflicting thoughts and feelings will also be reviewed, along with ways to resist acting on impulses.

Week 4 will help people tell the 'story' of their relationship, including reviewing the best of times, worst of times, and finding a storyline big and flexible enough to tell the whole story. Participants will also learn about some of the most common traps to avoid like blame, anger, and victim/rescuer narratives.

Week 5 will help participants identify a preferred and 'chosen' ending to their relationship, identify a code of conduct to help them towards the goal of 'leaving well'. Different variations and examples of endings will be presented with tips from conscious uncoupling protocols. 

Week 6 will focus on helping people begin imagining themselves and their lives on the other side of the relationship. The focus will be on reclaiming parts of themselves, cultivating separateness in healthy ways, and building a life, routine, and circle of support apart from the relationship.