RLI-logo-round

How To Show Yourself Unconditional Love

Learn how to hold yourself warmly despite your imperfections and reconnect to your inherent worth in the free 90-minute training.

LIVE with Terry Real on Wednesday October 18, 12–1:30pm ET

 Free Online Training

Submit your details to secure your spot in the free training: How To Stop Judging and Start Loving: Fundamental Lessons in Self-Esteem 

LIVE on Wednesday October 18, 12–1:30pm ET

[utm_source_i] [/utm_source_i]
[utm_medium_i][/utm_medium_i]
[utm_campaign_i][/utm_campaign_i]
[handl_url_i][/handl_url_i]

By adding your email you agree to receiving marketing messages. You can unsubscribe at any time.

“Your essential worth is neither greater nor lesser than that of any other human being. It can’t be. Self-esteem is about being, not doing. You have worth simply because you’re alive.”

Join the Free Training to…

  • Learn what healthy self-esteem really is (and what it isn’t).
  • Understand the biology of self-attack: our brain’s negative bias.
  • Explore the story of narcissists: inside-out self-esteem vs outside-in self-esteem.
  • Discover 3 forms of outside-in self-esteem that our culture runs on.
  • Learn how to replace harsh inner talk with accountability and compassion.
  • Understand this: Your inner critic is a child. Treat it with empathy and firmness.
  • Gain practical tools to immediately start cultivating healthy self-esteem and reconnect with your inherent self-worth.

PLUS there’ll be time for Q&A the end to ask Terry your questions directly.

Register For Free
  • (Don’t worry if you can’t attend live, please still register as we’ll send out a replay.)

There is No Redeeming Value in Harshness

There is nothing harshness does that loving firmness doesn’t do better. Yet many of us launch into unforgiving self-attack when we make a mistake or don’t live up to our own expectations.

When has that ever helped anyone? 

So why do we do it? And how can we stop it? That’s what you’ll learn in this free training…

Too often, we look to others to determine our worth…

When they approve of us, we feel good, and when they’re upset with us, we feel worthless. 

Or sometimes we base our value on our performance at work, our possessions, or accomplishments… 

None of that is real self-esteem. 

The truth is that we are all born with essential worth. We can’t add to or subtract from it: no amount of accolades you gain (or lose) changes that. Instead of looking for external approval or possessions, we need to switch the focus to our internal experience.

We must learn to love ourselves even in the face of our imperfections

That’s real self-esteem, and it’s a rare and cultivated skill that not many possess…

But the good news is that, with practice, you can change your relationship with yourself in much the same way you can change your relationships with others.

You just need the right teacher…Join leading therapist and bestselling author Terry Real for this FREE 90-minute training to get started on your path to cultivating healthier self-esteem that comes from the inside-out.

Register for Free
  • (Don’t worry if you can’t attend live, please still register as we’ll send out a replay.)

This Training Is for You If…

You’re struggling with feelings of low self-worth, perhaps feeling like you’re not as deserving of happiness, love, or success as others.

You fear making mistakes and speak harshly to yourself when you slip up.

You find yourself thinking critically about others and want to work towards a more encouraging mindset.

You’re a therapist or other mental health professional looking to better understand techniques for building healthy self-esteem in your clients.

Who Is Terry Real?

Terry Real, creator of Relational Life Therapy

Terry Real is an internationally recognized family therapist, bestselling author, and sought-after speaker.

A former senior faculty member of the Family Institute of Cambridge in Massachusetts and a retired Clinical Fellow of the Meadows Institute in Arizona, Terry is renowned for his ability to save couples on the brink of divorce using the progressive approach he created, Relational Life Therapy. RLT equips people with the powerful relational skills they need to cultivate meaningful connections—to themselves, each other, and the planet as a whole.

His original insights on couples therapy, relationships, and men’s issues have been featured in outlets from Oprah and Vogue to The Today Show and CNN. His latest book is the New York Times bestseller, US: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship.

Register for Free
  • (Don’t worry if you can’t attend live, please still register as we’ll send out a replay.)

What People say:

“When I need advice, I call Terry Real. His decades of clinical experience, research, and wisdom are invaluable to my patients, colleagues, and friends.”

— Esther Perel, New York Times bestselling author and podcast host of Where Should We Begin

“Real’s approach teaches us how to step outside of the culture of individualism and embrace our interconnectedness. We can use it to heal a single relationship and to shift our collective culture.”

– Gwyneth Paltrow, founder and CEO of goop

“Terry Real’s work is nothing short of miraculous… His work has quite simply changed my life. Read this book. It could well change yours.”

— Bradley Cooper, actor and filmmaker

Join the FREE live training on Wednesday October 18, 12–1:30pm ET and learn how to shift from self-attack to self-compassion. 
Register for Free
  • (Don’t worry if you can’t attend live, please still register as we’ll send out a replay.)
Scroll to Top

CE REQUIREMENTS:

The Relational Life Institute is pleased to offer:

Working With Men

Relational Life Institute (RLI) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7495. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Relational Life Institute (RLI) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

ACEP No. 7495

FORMAT: A LIVE Online Course facilitated by Terry Real, LICSW; and Julie Rudiger, LCSW

Continuing Education credits offered: 12  credit hours

Course Description:

Over eight live online classes, learn the skills to engage, motivate, and create breakthrough change with resistant male clients in this live, practice-focused training led by renowned couples therapist and male-psychology expert Terry Real, alongside RLT Faculty Member Julie Rudiger, LCSW. Grounded in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), the course unpacks how patriarchal conditioning and performance-based self-worth fuel disconnection, defensiveness, and shutdown, then shows you how to build trust with even the most challenging men through clear, compassionate confrontation that preserves the therapeutic alliance. You’ll learn to create effective leverage for transformation without triggering collapse, withdrawal, or escalated resistance; tailor interventions for the three common presentations—“boys, bullies, and avoiders”; and reframe masculinity so emotional expression is aligned with strength, honor, and integrity rather than weakness. Through demonstrations and actionable tools from both instructors, you’ll guide men in trauma healing and relational skill development that supports healthier partnerships and parenting. Leave with a concrete RLT roadmap you can use immediately to help clients move from resistance to responsibility and from disconnection to genuine intimacy.

Learning Objectives: At the completion of this course, participants can expect to be able to:

  • Summarize the cultural shaping of masculinity and its consequences.
  • Recognize shame and grandiosity as dual defenses tied to male self-worth.
  • Develop skills to help men shift from defensiveness to compassion.
  • Identify how shame and performance-based esteem show up in male clients.
  • Discuss culturally sensitive ways to challenge entitlement and grandiosity.
  • Identify and work with three major types of difficult men: boys, bullies, and avoiders.
  • Describe how to use leverage as a tool to create change.
  • Identify patterns of resistance in men and learn how to engage them effectively.
  • Utilize leverage to create internal or external motivation for change.
  • Illustrate empowerment to the partner or family system to create pressure that opens the door to transformation.
  • Compare and differentiate between their wounded child, adaptive child, and functional adult selves.
  • Develop an internal caregiving relationship with their inner children rather than expecting partners to repair old wounds.
  • Demonstrate full relational responsibility as an adult, especially in high-conflict, high-defensiveness relationships.

Target Audience: Social Workers, MFTs, Counselors, Substance Abuse Counselors, Nurses, and LMHCs, LMFT’s, Educators, Coaches, Chemical Dependency Counselors 

Course Content Level: The course content is appropriate for Beginner level clinicians.

Cost:   $497 or three payments of $197 each.

Course Date & Hours:   

1pm-2:30pm Eastern Time on:

September 10, 17, 24; October 1, 8, 2025 

TO REGISTER: https://relationallife.com/working-with-men

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration up until September 16, 2025

Please contact support@terryreal.com if you wish to cancel.

If you need special accommodations or have questions, please contact us at support@terryreal.com 

Please contact our Support team if you have any questions support@terryreal.com 

Instructor’s Bio:

Terry Real, LICSW: Terry Real is the bestselling author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression, the straight-talking How Can I Get Through to You? Reconnecting Men and Women, The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Make Love Work and most recently Us: Getting Past You & Me to Build a More Loving Relationship just debuted in June 2022.  Terry founded the Relational Life Institute, offering workshops for couples, individuals, and parents as well as a professional training program for clinicians.   Terry’s work, with its rigorous commonsense approach, speaks to both men and women. A proponent of “full-throttle marriage,” Terry has been called “the most innovative voice in thinking about and treating men and their relationships in the world today.”

Julie Rudiger, LCSW has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the last 30 years. In 2002, Julie opened her private practice, where she has helped hundreds of individuals and couples over the last two decades. Her professional journey took a transformative turn in 2008 when she began training with Terry Real, the founder of Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Julie has since used RLT to guide clients in discovering self-esteem, healing early wounds, and fostering deeper, more authentic relationships. A faculty member at the Relational Life Institute since 2022, Julie now trains other therapists and leads community workshops, including Men’s Groups and Relationship Skills Bootcamps. Additionally, she is trained in EMDR, ACT, DBT, Gestalt, and the Enneagram.

CONFLICT of Interest: There is no known conflict of interest or commercial support for this event.

Grievance Procedure:

If a student believes they have been discriminated against, they can submit a written complaint that includes their name, address, phone number, location, date, and a detailed description of the issue. If a student with a disability disagrees with the accommodation provided or has any other grievances, they can schedule a meeting to discuss and attempt to find a solution together. If the student is still not satisfied with the accommodation after further discussion, they can contact the Operations Director for

the Relational Life Institute (RLI), Lisa Sullivan, via phone, email, or mail. If the grievance cannot be resolved, the complainant will be advised to contact the appropriate Ethics Committee or Licensing Board. The Operations Director will keep all grievances and their resolutions confidential in locked files.

A copy of this Grievance Procedure is available upon request.

Contact information: ACEP Administrator & Operations Director for Relational Life Institute (RLI), Lisa Sullivan follows: 291 Nahanton Street, Newton, MA 02459; 617-861-3030 lisa@relationallife.com