An Opportunity to run Group Mentoring for the Relational Life Institute

We are looking for fully certified RLT therapists to contract with the Relational Life Institute to host a series of SGMs (Small Group Mentoring) in 2024. 

Details About The Opportunity

We are looking for RLT professionals that want to facilitate 4-10 SGMs in 2024. This opportunity includes training on how to run SGMs, faculty support, as well as $2000 payment per SGM you run.

Small Group Mentoring (SGM) is part of the RLT certification process. 5-6 students meet with 1 facilitator (you) over the course of 6 months to hone their RLT skills and prepare for their case review, which is the final step in the RLT certification process. The facilitator and students meet for 90 minutes every 2 weeks (occasionally skipping due to holidays/facilitator vacation).

SGMs include sharing recorded work, case consultation, additional skill practice, and personal work (e.g. talking about how we use ,or don’t use at times, RLT in our own relationships and our own inner struggles in the therapist/coach chair). 

You will be trained and prepared to run SGMs in February and March 2024, so that you can start running SGMs from April. 

Requirements

  • Fully certified RLT therapists that went through a 6 month SGM as part of your certification
  • 2 years+ of experience working with couples
  • Fully Licensed Mental Health Professional 
  • Ideally, you have experience in supervision and/or teaching.

What Training You Will Receive

  • You will be joining someone from the RLI faculty during their SGMs (February and March) to observe, learn and take first steps co-teaching.
  • You will receive a manual for how to run SGMs.
  • You will be mentored by someone from the RLI faculty for the duration of your contract.
  • Join your Faculty Mentor in 2-3 office hours to practice fielding questions about the model, etc.
  • Shadow your Faculty Mentor during 1-2 case reviews to deepen your understanding of that process so that you can better prepare your SGM students for their own case review.

The total time of training will be between 10 and 15 hours.

The Application Process

1: Apply by January 5th 2024.

Click here to apply

2: Interview with faculty members by January 15th.

This will be a 60 minute interview between you and 2 RLI faculty members. In the interview you will be given a recording of an RLT session and asked to provide feedback LIVE during the interview. We will also ask you some common student questions about the RLT method and its application.

Our goal is to simulate pieces of an SGM and understand how familiar you are with RLT, as well as see how and what type of feedback you provide.

3: Final Decision by January 25th.

We will let you know by January 25th whether you have been accepted for the role.

4: Meet your RLI faculty mentor by January 31st.

You will meet with your mentor from the RLI faculty and plan out the training and observations between you 2 for February and March.

Additional Questions You May Have

Is this a one-time or on-going opportunity?

At present we are looking for qualified candidates to help with our needs during the transition to an expanded form of certification. Assuming this initial contract goes satisfactory for both sides, you will be the first in-line for future opportunities to be a trainer with the RLI.

Will I need to pay or be paid for the training?

The training amounts to about 10 hours and does not cost anything, nor offer remuneration beyond the opportunity for employment.

Does this role come with an official title?

This role does not come with an official title. If you want to share this work on your website, CV or similar – we will come together and decide on a clear title during your training period. It will likely be something like: RLT Mentor or Trainer.

What Is Relational Life Therapy?

Using a range of powerful diagnostic and transformative tools, RLT helps people to first reconnect to themselves—their feelings, needs, and desires—to build a stronger, more intimate connection with their partner.

Step 1: Waking Up

RLT therapists use loving confrontation to wake clients up to their negative behaviors in a direct but compassionate way. We show clients the difficult truths about how they are harming their relationships in a way that builds trust rather than resistance.

Step 2: Healing & Transformation

Swiftly get to the root of negative behaviors, understand them, and overcome them. Unique to RLT, deep trauma and inner child work is done in the presence of the partner. This allows individuals to go deeper and couples to grow closer.

Step 3: Relational Skills For Life

RLT equips people with the powerful tools they need to continue building authentic, healthy relationships long after their time in therapy is over—the key to creating change that lasts.

Therapists & Coaches Looking to Expand Their Offering

Learn how to work effectively with couples and utilize your clients’ relationships as a crucible for individual transformation.

Therapists & Coaches Looking to Expand Their Offering

Learn how to work effectively with couples and utilize your clients’ relationships as a crucible for individual transformation.

Therapists & Coaches Looking to Expand Their Offering

Learn how to work effectively with couples and utilize your clients’ relationships as a crucible for individual transformation.

What Our Graduates
Have To Say

Scroll to Top

CE REQUIREMENTS:

The Relational Life Institute is pleased to offer:

Healing in Connection: 

The Power of Relational Presence in Trauma Recovery

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 Webinar facilitated by Desirae Ysasi, LPC-S; RLT Director of Training

Continuing Education credits offered: 1.5 credit hours

Course Description:

This free training introduces clinicians to the Relational Life Therapy (RLT) approach to trauma healing within couples therapy. Participants will learn how trauma-driven behaviors emerge in intimate relationships and how to identify and address these patterns in practice.

The session will demonstrate how conducting inner child work in the presence of a partner allows clients to have corrective emotional experiences, rewire trauma-rooted beliefs, and strengthens their relationships. Through lecture, clinical examples, and Q&A, participants will gain actionable insights on how to integrate relational presence and co-regulation into their clinical work.

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

 

  • Describe how trauma impacts the nervous system and relational behaviors, and explain how RLT frames these adaptations as “Adaptive Child” strategies.
  • Identify three ways that relational connection and co-regulation contribute to healing trauma.
  • Apply core RLT principles – truth-telling, compassionate confrontation, and skill-building – to facilitate relational healing in couples therapy. 

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:   This is a free webinar!

Course Date & Hours:   Monday, September 22, 2025 2:30 – 4:00pm ET

TO REGISTER:  https://relationallife.com/trauma-recovery

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration up until September 22, 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:

Desirae Ysasi, LPC-S is a Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor with nearly two decades of experience, specializing in relationship counseling. Serving the San Antonio community since 2006, she works exclusively with couples in romantic relationships, folks in non-traditional romantic relationship structures (ethical nonmonogamy), and adults seeking to improve family dynamics. Desirae became a Certified Relational Life Therapist in 2018 trained directly by Terry Real, the founder of Relational Life Therapy (RLT). She joined the faculty of the Relational Life Institute in 2022 and now serves as Director of Training & Certification, overseeing the global certification program. She has been the owner of Ysasi Counseling since 2014 and in the fall of 2024, Desirae opened Relational Life Texas, a virtual therapy group practice focused on RLT, providing relationship therapy across Texas.

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

www.relationallife.com

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