RLT Level 1 Live, October 2026
Diagnose a Couple So Clearly They Feel Seen, Hopeful, and Ready to Do the Work
Learn Terry Real’s practical framework for working with challenging couples—including those on the brink of separation—with eight diagnostic lenses, real session demonstrations, and live integration with RLT faculty.
5 classes · Fridays
October 16–November 13, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
October 16–November 13, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Lifetime Course Access | 10 CEs Included
FEATURED IN
For therapists and coaches who want to help couples move beyond the same painful patterns
One partner attacks. The other shuts down. Both arrive with a convincing account of what the other person is doing wrong.
You slow the conversation, create safety, teach a useful skill, yet still feel the deeper pattern slipping past you.
- Mediating the fight of the week while the same pattern keeps returning.
- Holding two competing stories without a clear view of what connects them.
- Working harder than the couple to keep the session moving.
Whether you’re beginning couples work or have years of experience, a clearer map can help you understand what to track and where to begin.
5,000+
Practitioners trained in RLT Level 1
40+ years
Of Terry Real’s clinical experience
10 CEs
Included with full live attendance
Turn a clearer understanding into a conversation that moves the work forward
RLT Level 1 gives you eight diagnostic lenses for seeing each partner and the relationship they create together. You learn to organize what you’re noticing, reflect it back with care, and help the couple recognize their part in changing the pattern.
See what keeps them stuck
Look beyond the latest argument to the protective strategies, power dynamics, and history shaping the relationship.
Help both partners recognize the pattern
Learn to tell the truth in a way that helps clients feel seen and invites responsibility without collapsing them into shame.
Build a shared direction for the work
Use that understanding to gather motivation for change and begin forming a clear therapeutic agreement.
Your eight diagnostic lenses
1. Presenting problems
2. Preconditions
3. Stance–Stance–Dance
4. Losing Strategies
5. Relationship Grid
6. Family roles
7. Blatant / Latent
8. Socio-cultural context
The focus of Level 1 is this first phase of RLT: gathering information, making sense of it, and helping clients wake up to the pattern.
“I named what I was observing the way Terry models it, and my clients sighed in relief — they felt truly heard and seen.”
“The atmosphere in the room relaxed, my own anxiety eased, and both partners felt more comfortable with me and with each other.”
Karen Ellis Croley
Registered Psychotherapist, Tranquil Shores Counselling & Psychotherapy
Registered Psychotherapist, Tranquil Shores Counselling & Psychotherapy
Learn from Terry. Work through your questions live with Bonny.
Each Friday combines Terry Real’s core teaching with live integration and Q&A led by Bonny Slim. See the model in action, explore the thinking behind it, and work through the places where applying it feels less clear.
Terry Real
Core teaching and demonstrations
The creator of Relational Life Therapy brings more than four decades of clinical work to the training. His instruction and real-session examples make the diagnostic process visible.
Bonny Slim, LMFT
Live integration and Q&A
A therapist for more than three decades and a senior RLT faculty member, Bonny helps you unpack the teaching, ask questions, and connect the lenses to your own practice.
Five Fridays, October 16–November 13, 2026 · 12–2 pm ET
Replays within 48 hours of each class. Lifetime access to your course and replays.
Replays within 48 hours of each class. Lifetime access to your course and replays.
This is professional training for therapists and coaches. You can begin integrating the learning into your practice; completing Level 1 does not confer RLT certification.
Esther Perel
Psychotherapist and bestselling author
“When I need advice, I call Terry Real. His decades of clinical experience, research, and wisdom are invaluable to my patients, colleagues, and friends.”
Mel Robbins
Bestselling author and podcast host
“One of the most sought after couples therapists in the world.”
On Terry Real, The Mel Robbins Podcast
Your five classes
A guided progression from understanding the RLT model to building a working map of the couple. Open each class for more detail.
CLASS 1
The Three Phases of RLT and How They Work
October 16, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
See how the three phases fit together and what it means to work with the couple as a relational system.
We’ll explore
- The arc from waking up to the pattern through repair and relational skills.
- The practitioner’s active role in the work.
- How to view the couple as a system, rather than two parallel individuals.
CLASS 2
Build a Clearer Diagnostic Picture
October 23, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Get beneath the presenting problem and begin organizing what you see from the start.
We’ll explore
- Each partner’s presenting problem and why both perspectives matter.
- Preconditions that need attention before intimacy work begins.
- Information gathering that helps establish a direction for the work.
CLASS 3
Losing Strategies and Family Roles
October 30, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Connect reactive strategies with early family roles and understand how they shape the couple’s repeating dance.
We’ll explore
- The five Losing Strategies that undermine connection.
- Adaptive Child protective behaviors and how to name them without shame.
- How childhood roles continue into each partner’s adult relationships.
CLASS 4
Relationship Grid and Blatant/Latent Dynamics
November 6, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Use self-esteem, boundaries, and power to bring the couple’s deeper relational structure into focus.
We’ll explore
- The four Relationship Grid positions.
- How each partner’s relational position informs your approach.
- The Blatant/Latent dynamic and what each partner needs to do differently.
CLASS 5
Social Context, Leverage, and Reconnection
November 13, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Bring the full diagnostic picture together and begin turning understanding into motivation for change.
We’ll explore
- How social identity and power shape the relational system.
- Gathering leverage while staying connected.
- Joining Through the Truth and forming a clear therapeutic agreement.
What RLT practitioners are taking into their sessions
“RLT provides some ways of perceiving stuck dysfunctional patterns and to communicate them to clients in a useful, precise and accessible way.”
Bruce Nayowith
Level 1 participant
“It’s already helping me use better language around the feedback loops that keep couples stuck in negative patterns.”
Barry Meltzer
Level 1 participant
“I’ve been practicing for 15 years and found it so affirming to hear power differentials addressed in a way that calls both parties in, rather than casting one out.”
Cheli Lange
Level 1 participant
“The personal stories and examples of client interactions solidify the foundational practices and have already assisted me in helping my clients.”
Susan Milner
Level 1 participant
WATCH BRENDA’S EXPERIENCE
“I have a roadmap.”
Brenda describes making sense of a relationship, reflecting it back to the couple, and offering hope.
Brenda Forster
Clinical Counsellor · RLT practitioner
Five bonuses to help you see the work from more angles
INCLUDED WITH YOUR TRAINING
A 75-minute couples therapy demonstration with Terry Real
Observe a recording of Terry working with a real couple: gathering information, reading the system, and beginning to name the dynamic. Follow the clinical thinking as the session unfolds.
Three RLT faculty role-play demonstrations
See how experienced practitioners track interactions and ask questions that reveal what is happening beneath the surface fight.
Trauma, Truth and Healing with Gabor Maté
A 60-minute conversation exploring trauma, emotional repression, and relational repair.
On the Roots of RLT with Carol Gilligan
Explore the relational ethics, gender questions, and ideas that helped shape the model.
The RLT Q&A Vault
Return to questions from past Level 1 trainings about mismatched stories, resistance, and the realities of practice.
Join RLT Level 1
Five Fridays, October 16–November 13, 2026 | 12–2 pm ET
Your enrollment includes
- Terry Real’s five core teaching modules.
- Five live integration and Q&A sessions with Bonny Slim.
- Replays within 48 hours and lifetime course access.
- All five special bonuses.
- 10 CEs with full attendance at all five live classes.
ONE-TIME PAYMENT
$395
or 3 × $145
3 monthly payments · $435 total
Lifetime access to your training and replays.
Experience the first class with a 100% money-back guarantee
If the training isn’t right for you, email support@terryreal.com by October 18, 2026 at 2 pm ET, within 48 hours after the first live class, for a full refund.
A practical foundation, with room to keep learning
Level 1 stands on its own as a training you can begin applying in practice. If you choose to continue toward full RLT certification, your Level 1 tuition will be credited toward the certification program.
Level 1 is the first step in the pathway. It is not a certification credential.
10 Continuing Education Credits Included
Attend all five live classes in full to qualify for the 10 included CE credits.
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.
International Coaching Federation (ICF) has approved this program for 7 Core Competency hours and 3 Resource Development hours.
Please note: Resource Development includes training formerly called Personal Development, Business Development, or Other Skills and Tools.
Please note: Resource Development includes training formerly called Personal Development, Business Development, or Other Skills and Tools.
Frequently asked questions
When are the live classes?
Five consecutive Fridays: October 16, 23, 30, November 6, and November 13, 2026. Each session runs from 12–2 pm ET.
Will Terry Real be live on the calls?
Terry’s core teaching is recorded and streamed as part of each class. Bonny Slim leads the live integration and Q&A, giving you real-time support with the material.
What if I miss a class?
Replays are added to your learning portal within 48 hours of each class and remain available through lifetime course access. Replay viewing does not qualify for the 10 included CE credits.
How do I qualify for the 10 CEs?
Attend all five two-hour classes live and in full. Use the email address connected to your enrollment when joining Zoom. Assessment and certificate instructions are sent after the course ends. View CE provider details.
Is this suitable if I’m new to RLT or primarily work with individuals?
Level 1 is the starting point for learning RLT. The teaching focuses on couples and relational patterns. It is designed for therapists and coaches who want to develop that part of their professional practice.
Will this complement my existing couples-therapy training?
The eight lenses give you a structured way to conceptualize the couple, identify protective patterns and power dynamics, and see where the work is blocked. You can bring that understanding into your practice alongside your existing training.
Does completing Level 1 make me RLT certified?
No. You can begin integrating what you learn into your professional practice, but Level 1 does not confer RLT certification. Further training and the full certification pathway are available if you choose to continue.
Can I join after the first class?
Enrollment remains open until October 30, 2026 at 2 pm ET. You’ll receive access to released replays and can join the remaining live classes. Missing a live class means you will not qualify for the included CEs. The refund deadline remains October 18, 2026 at 2 pm ET.
What is the refund policy?
Email support@terryreal.com by October 18, 2026 at 2 pm ET, within 48 hours after the first live class, for a full refund.
Help couples recognize the pattern and find a shared direction for change
Begin with RLT Level 1. Learn the diagnostic lenses, see them in action, and work through your questions with live faculty support.
October 16–November 13, 2026 | Fridays, 12–2 pm ET
Lifetime Course Access | 10 CEs Included
Lifetime Course Access | 10 CEs Included
