Couple Links
Falling in Love is Easy....Staying in Love Requires Recalibration
The Couple LINKS program applies the Relationship Attachment Model (RAM) to couples’ relationships with emphasizing and normalizing that the balance of the five relationship bonds represented in the RAM will naturally fluctuate. The key is that couples need to regularly balance their imbalances by strengthening and setting goals for each of the five relational bonds of the RAM in weekly “huddles.”
Program Versions
- Military
- Christian
- Spanish
- Mandarin
Program Sessions
1: Relentlessly Pursuing Intimacy
It is easy to lose touch with each other in marriage. This session explores the ways to keep up with deeply knowing your partner.
2: Respectfully Cultivating Trust
Negative thoughts and opinions of your partner can sabotage your feelings of closeness. This session explains how you can maintain and strengthen a positive opinion of your partner and heal any wounds to your trust.
3: Reciprocally Meeting Needs
In this session, you will lean that a mutual determination to know and fulfill your partner’s needs is the core of a happy marriage. Creative ways to accomplish this on a regular basis are explored.
4: Resiliently Charting Your Course
Belonging to each other is the heart of commitment and the soul of sexual intimacy. This session develops a resiliency model of commitement for changes and crises in light of rediscovering each other throughout the course of your marriage.
5: Romantically Renewing Your Union
Sexual intimacy is essential to the ongoing bond of closeness, attraction and vitality in marriage. Learn about romance, sexual drive and keeping lovemaking alive.
FAQ
Who is the LINKS program designed for?
The LINKS program has been used in many different settings including: churches, all branches of the military, social service agencies, and grantees in community and non-profit organizations for over twenty years. The LINKS program has also been taught in Singapore and with Spanish speaking populations. Published research and data collections from both participants and certified instructors have supported the applicability of the LINKS program with diverse populations including: Hispanics, Asians, low-income individuals, African Americans, and same-sex couples. The LINKS course is built around the Relationship Attachment Model and has been shown to increase relationship knowledge, skills, and virtues needed to sustain strong and growing committed relationships.
What is the LINKS Program?
The LINKS (Lasting Intimacy through Nurturing Knowledge & Skills) Program is a five or ten session curriculum that certified instructors facilitate. Each session is based on a two-hour teaching timeframe, but is designed to be adapted to many different timeframes and group settings (easily meets the 12-hour minimum course requirement for Federal grants).
What are the LINKS “teaching” video clips?
The LINKS 9.0 powerpoint (required certification training in the LINKS 9.0 updated version) has 3-6 minute video clips of Dr. John Van Epp and Dr. Morgan Cutlip. The certified instructors in LINKS 9.0 can show these clips to help facilitate the content of the course. This has standardized much of the content and also relieved instructors from explaining all concepts. It also breaks up the course presentation and includes some interviews with couples about topics in the course session. Certified instructors have the choice to use all, some, or none of these clips because their lesson plans also provide them with the instructions of how to present the content in the clips through their facilitation.
What are the LINKS Workbooks?
The LINKS workbooks are designed to be used either by couples who are part of a group or class being taught by a certified instructor. The workbooks contains the outlines of the five or ten sessions of the LINKS course, the graphics used in the power point, skill-building exercises, activities, and many discussion/self-reflection questions for couples to answer. Several workbook versions are offered: Adult, Christian (C-LINKS), military, Spanish, and Mandarin.
What are the C-LINKS Workbooks?
The C-LINKS workbook contains the entire LINKS workbook, but has an additional Bible study on each of the five sessions. These five Bible studies supplement the LINKS curriculum and show the harmony between the LINKS Program and Christian principles. Many certified instructors in churches use this workbook when they teach LINKS.
How do I become a certified instructor?
Certification can occur in one of two ways. First, Dr. Van Epp conducts live certification seminars that you can attend. The second way that you can become certified is by attending a virtual live training with Dr. Van Epp. Both in-person and virtual trainings will include the Instructor’s Certification Packet (ICP). This packet includes a shipment of the instructor manual and materials, access to the password-protected LINKS instructor’s section on this website where you can download power points, and resources and supplements to the LINKS curriculum.
What is included in the Instructor’s Certification Packet (ICP)?
The ICP described above is necessary for certification in the LINKS program. The ICP comes with the following materials: a large trifold RAM board with magnetic sliders that can be used when you teach the LINKS, platform with streaming video of the instructor’s training course for review, power points that can be used when you teach the program, and a manual with lesson plans and more. The included lesson plans have recommended discussion questions, skill-building exercises for couples, and activities. The ICP also provides access to the LINKS instructor’s section of our website.
Is there research on the LINKS program?
Yes, we have compiled a research booklet on the LINKS program and you can find that here. Also, feel free to visit the research portion of our website.
Applause
Click here to read what others are saying about the LINKS programc
