A Rare Chance To Transform Your Relationship With Some of the World’s Best Couples Therapists at No Cost

Submit your application to experience complimentary intensive couples therapy to repair and strengthen your relationship, guided by our most esteemed RLT therapists or Terry Real. 

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Learn a What Is Relational Life Therapy?

Relational Life Therapy (RLT) is a direct form of couples therapy that profoundly transforms relationships—and the people within them. Created by Terry Real, known as “the turnaround guy,” RLT is renowned for its extraordinary ability to save couples on the brink of divorce. 

RLT doesn’t just help you communicate better; it helps you understand why you and your partner react the way you do, where those reactions stem from, and how to move beyond them.

Why Relational Life Therapy Is Different—and More Effective

Unlike traditional couples therapy, RLT does not remain neutral and recognizes not all problems are 50/50. RLT-trained therapists take a bold, compassionate stance that often means holding one partner accountable while empowering the other to reclaim their voice. 

This isn’t about blaming or finger-pointing; it’s about restoring balance so each partner learns to express their needs in ways that bring them closer together rather than driving them apart. 

Through RLT, we help couples move beyond the battle of who’s right and wrong and into a true partnership, learning to think as a team for deep, lasting change.

How Does This Couples Therapy Session Work?

If you and your partner are struggling to communicate, find closeness, or see a way forward, this is your opportunity to experience RLT’s transformative work from the comfort of your home—free of charge. 

Why Is It Free? 

We’re offering you this complimentary virtual session as part of our mission to help couples transform their relationships while training the next generation of RLT practitioners.

RLT relies on real-life demonstrations to ensure therapists are fully prepared to guide couples through meaningful change.

As such, there are two things to be aware of:

1. Therapists will observe your session

Your session will be observed by mental health professionals. To ensure your privacy, they will observe via a separate Zoom room and you will not see them. Please note, these professionals are there purely to observe our therapists’ work and are bound by strict ethical and confidentiality guidelines.

2. Sessions will be recorded for training purposes

We will record your session, and it will only be available to the mental health professionals who join the training. Through this unique format, you can benefit from this world-class transformational couples experience at no cost, knowing your courage is helping others learn this life-changing method.

What’s The Application Process?

We understand that opening up to couples therapy can feel like a big step, and we want you to feel fully informed and supported. Here’s how the process works:

1. Submit Your Application

Complete the application form, which includes a few questions to help us understand your relationship status and why you’re seeking couples therapy.

Rest assured, your information will only be seen by Terry Real or the senior faculty members from his training school who may guide your session.

2. Get a Response Within 3 Working Days

After reviewing your application, we’ll let you know if there’s an upcoming opportunity that’s suitable for your needs. 

If there’s a good fit, one of our therapists may arrange a brief call with you to answer any questions and get to know you better. 

3. Transform Your Relationship with RLT

In your online session via Zoom, you’ll engage in deep, life changing couples therapy that gets to the root of your presenting problems—reconnecting you to yourself and each other. 

Whether with Terry Real himself or one of his esteemed faculty members, this session is a rare opportunity to transform your relationship within a safe and compassionate environment.

Apply Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a cost?

While the session itself is free, we require a $300 deposit to secure your commitment and avoid unexpected cancelations. Upon completion of your couples therapy session, your deposit will be returned to you in full, making this a completely complimentary experience.

Yes, your session will be recorded and accessible only to mental health professionals joining the training. Your session will never be shared or used in any form of marketing.

Our professionals in training are bound by strict ethical and confidentiality guidelines and will not be able to download the session (only visible via our secure learning platform). 

Your session will be held online via Zoom. This allows you and your partner to participate from the comfort and privacy of your own home, without compromising the effectiveness of the therapy. We’ll send you all the necessary information to join the session securely.

Learn a Apply Now To Work With Senior RLT Therapists at No Cost

Complete the following steps to submit your application. It should take no longer than 10 minutes.

Couples Therapy Session Experience
  • Personal Information
  • Partner Details
  • Your Relationship
  • Additional Comments
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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