RLT Training and Certifications

Comprehensive trainings to strengthen your work with couples—for established therapists, coaches, and practitioners.

RLT Certification

Our most esteemed and extensive training.

Become an RLT certified therapist, secure a listing on our website, and benefit from our strong referral network. If you want to master the RLT approach, dive deep into the methodology, and cement your confidence with intensive practical experience, the RLT certification is for you.

Benefit from 70 hours of live, virtual training with our expert faculty in addition to 30 hours of video training direct from RLT creator Terry Real.

Learn more

Special Topic Courses

Deepen your understanding and work in specialist areas.

We have an extensive range of short online courses to help professionals deepen their work with couples—from grandiose women to multi-generational trauma.

All special topic courses are open to all therapy practitioners, whether or not you are familiar with the Relational Life Therapy model.

Learn more

Real Life: Continuous Education

Monthly sessions with Terry to continue evolving your skills.

Real Life is an online professional development community for couples therapists and practitioners to explore the RLT model more deeply, create connections, and build confidence.

We come together twice a month for 60-minute interactive calls to share case studies, ask questions, and learn from Terry Real and each other.

FAQs

Explore the most-asked questions about the RLT certification and trainings—from how to get listed on the website to how long it takes to complete.

Learn more

What is Relational Life Therapy?

Discover the integrative approach to couples therapy created by distinguished therapist Terry Real that equips people with the lifelong skills to forge more authentic, honest, and intimate connections.

As human beings, we crave connection, community, and closeness. Yet, we’ve never lived in a world that’s been more disconnected or individualistic.

We’re in the midst of a disconnection epidemic: we yearn for meaningful relationships, but we don’t have the skills to realize them. At no time in history has it been more apparent that intimacy is life’s holy grail.

As therapists, we can help people forge the intimate connections they so deeply desire. We can bring deep relief, healing, and change to relationships that are “on the brink,” catapulting couples to new levels of closeness.

When you train in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), you’ll learn the cutting-edge tools to transform relationships, help individuals heal from long-held trauma, and equip them with the skills to live relational, fulfilling lives—accountability, vulnerability, empathy.

And you know what else? These skills can profoundly affect your own relationships, allowing you to enjoy deeper, richer interactions with your partner, family, and friends.

RLT is a powerful method that, once mastered, can transform your life both professionally and personally.

Shall we begin?

Cutting-edge tools to transform relationships

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Transforming the Face
of Couples Therapy

Learn the lifelong skills to cultivate more authentic, honest, and intimate connections with Relational Life Therapy.

What Is Relational Life Therapy?

There’s a new way we can relate

couple, love, together-498484.jpg

Many people want to have great relationships, but society hasn’t taught them how. In a world that’s more disconnected than ever, we desperately need to shift into a relational, connection-building culture—and that starts in the therapy room. 

Changing how we see ourselves in relation to our partner. It involves changing some fundamental aspects of our identity, even changing how we think of ourselves to begin with, but doing this is vital to creating meaningful connections with others. 

Building deeper, more intimate connections with ourselves and others is at the heart of Relational Life Therapy. Created by renowned couples therapist Terry Real, this unique, integrative therapy can profoundly and permanently transform individuals by helping them forge fiercely intimate connections in their relationships. RLT educates as much as it heals to equip people with the lifelong tools to live fully-connected, fearlessly authentic lives.

RLT breaks many of the rules of traditional therapy to go deep quickly and help clients make rapid and significant changes. RLT therapists are real, open, and honest. We set the bar high for our clients. We expect rapid, dramatic change, and to a remarkable degree, we get it.

How RLT Works

Catapulting couples to new levels of closeness, trust, and solidarity

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.

Interested To Know More About the Power of RLT?

Sign up to receive a complimentary brochure

RLT Is Perfect For:

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.

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

“Before RLT I felt like something was missing as a therapist.

The things I was taught in school were not practical and I felt stuck in my practice. I’m so grateful for the experiences I have had with the RLT training. I now see relationships in a way that finally makes sense to me and I have more confidence working with couples because I have something that is realistic and I believe works and more importantly my clients are able to grasp and practice.”

-James C.

“Before RLT I felt like something was missing as a therapist.

The things I was taught in school were not practical and I felt stuck in my practice. I’m so grateful for the experiences I have had with the RLT training. I now see relationships in a way that finally makes sense to me and I have more confidence working with couples because I have something that is realistic and I believe works and more importantly my clients are able to grasp and practice.”
-James C.

“Before RLT I felt like something was missing as a therapist.

The things I was taught in school were not practical and I felt stuck in my practice. I’m so grateful for the experiences I have had with the RLT training. I now see relationships in a way that finally makes sense to me and I have more confidence working with couples because I have something that is realistic and I believe works and more importantly my clients are able to grasp and practice.”

-James C.

Learn the Practical, Sophisticated Skills to Transform Relationships and Individuals Profoundly and Permanently

Master RLT for…

Your Career

Your Relationship

CE REQUIREMENTS:

The Relational Life Therapy Level 1 Training

Homestudy Course Continuing Ed Details

Facilitated by Terry Real, LICSW

This home study course is approved for continuing education hours as described below.

NBCC (National Board of Certified Counsellors)

7.5 CE hours for Beginner Mental Health Professionals

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

Target Audience

Social Workers, MFTs, Counselors, Substance Abuse Counselors, Nurses, and LMHCs, LMFTs, Educators, Coaches, Chemical Dependency Counselors 

Course Content Level

The course content is appropriate for beginner level clinicians.

Course Description

Terry Real presents RLI’s introductory training course, Relational Life Therapy Level 1.

Over five recorded classes you’ll be introduced to the powerful principals behind Relational Life Therapy (RLT) as taught by Terry Real. RLT Level 1 is designed to give you an in-depth introduction to the theory and practice of the RLT model.  

During this course, students will discover the differences between RLT and traditional psychodynamic therapy. Also considered are the stances of “one-down shame” and “one-up grandiosity” in couples; according to RLT, true intimacy can only happen when partners are “same-as” with each other. RLT is about action and lasting results, helping people to make major changes to the negative parts of their character, and the critical role and stance of the therapist is described. Presented also are the concepts of Relational Mindfulness, Joining Through The Truth, and psychological patriarchy.

RLT Level 1 is the first step toward RLT certification and will prepare you for the Level 2 & 3 trainings to deepen your understanding of Relational Life Therapy.

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

  1. Compare the RLT phases and how RLT differs from traditional therapy. 
  2. Describe the role and approach of the practitioner in RLT.
  3. Diagnose the RLT view of power imbalances in couples, of psychological patriarchy, and how these are addressed through therapy.
  4. Summarize Relational Mindfulness and the “fight, flight, fix” responses. 
  5. Describe the role and approach of the therapist in RLT.
  6. Explain the two types of leverage.
  7. Discuss the concept of appropriate discrepancy and how it works with neuroplasticity.
  8. List the 8 diagnostic lenses in RLT.
  9. Interpret how preconditions are addressed in RLT.
  10. Compare the two types of boundaries.
  11. Demonstrate strategies for empowering latent clients. 

Throughout the course, you’ll gain deeper competency in and be able to: 

  • Illustrate that true intimacy can only happen when partners are “same-as” – neither one-up nor one-down.
  • Discuss how RLT practitioners will confront and teach their clients how to live relationally.
  • Hypothesize how RLT practitioners use judicious self-disclosure, sharing stories of they use these same skills in their own relationships.

Continuing Ed Credits Available: 7.5 NBCC credit hours ($40 additional fee)

CE Certificate Requirements: 

  • Satisfactory Course Completion
  • Pay $40 fee
  • Participants must have paid for this course, completed a course Evaluation, and passed the test (80% or higher grade) showing the material has been learned in order to receive a certificate.
  • No partial credit is available.
  • Failure to complete and submit these materials will result in forfeiture of CE credit for the entire course. No exceptions can be made. Partial credit is not available. 
  • Instructions are included in your RLT Course Library for Homestudy Level 1 at https://learn.relationallife.com/
  • If you have questions please contact support@terryreal.com for guidance.

It is the participant’s responsibility to check if their Board, state, organization is approved for these Continuing Ed credit hours. There is no partial credit. No refunds will be given on CE purchases for failure to check state approval.

Cost

This course is $397.00 for a single payment or three payments of $137.00

Commercial Support Disclaimer

There is no conflict of interest for this program.

Cancellation Policy

You may request a refund up to 2 days after purchase.

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

Accommodations

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

Instructor’s Bios: 

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.”

BONUS Material Instructors (CE hours not included in bonus content)

Dr. Gabor Maté:

Dr. Gabor Maté is a physician who specialized in family practice, palliative care, and addiction medicine. A renowned speaker, physician, and bestselling author, Dr. Gabor Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, childhood trauma, stress, and mind/body connection. He is called a “people whisperer” for his gift of seeing deep inside anyone. His life’s work is dedicated to liberating people from their childhood trauma so that they can make a choice of how to live in the present moment.

Carol Gilligan, Ph.D., of New York, NY has been recognized by many institutions and organizations for her efforts in the area of women’s advancement and moral psychology. She studied literature at Swarthmore College as an undergrad, and she graduated from Radcliffe in 1960 with a master’s in psychology. She continued to Harvard, where she received her Ph.D. in psychology in 1964. Three years later, Gilligan took a teaching position at Harvard where she worked alongside Erik Erikson and Lawrence Kohlberg. While Gilligan worked as a research assistant along Kohlberg, known for his theory of moral development, she began focusing on the moral dilemmas and development of young girls. In addition to the Grawemeyer Award for Education, Gilligan has also received the Heinz Award for Human Condition and was named one of the most influential people of the year by TIME Magazine in 1996. She has also published works of fiction and developed a full-length play based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter.

Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.

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:

AWAITING Conference CE REQUIREMNTS

The Relational Life Institute is pleased to offer:

An Introduction to Relational Life Therapy 

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 one-day LIVE training facilitated by Desirae Ysasi, LPC-S, RLI Director of Faculty

Location: Regent’s University London, Inner Cir, London NW1 4NS, United Kingdom

Continuing Education credits offered:  5.5 credit hours.

At the completion of this course, all participants will be invited by email to purchase the 5.5 CE credits for a $40 fee. To receive a certificate, you must attend the full course. There is no partial credit, attendance will be taken.

Content: If you’re new to the Relational Life Therapy (RLT) model – or just want to revisit the foundations ahead of your training with 2-Day Training with Terry Real.  Join RLI’s Director of Training Desirae Ysasi for a pre-workshop training the day before Terry Real’s course begin.

You’ll explore the theory behind RLT, along with some of the effective tools and strategies that move couples toward meaningful change.

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

  • Recognize the 5 guiding principles of RLT in clinical practice.
  • Identify the 3 parts of the self in RLT and their roles in relationship dynamics.
  • Interpret the key differences between RLT and traditional couples’ therapy.
  • Summarize the 3 Phases of RLT and the goals and therapeutic intentions of each.

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:

Oct 27th one-day training with Desirae ONLY: £170 early bird until July 1 (then £195)

Oct 28-29th two-day training with Terry ONLY: £375 early bird until July 1 (then £425)

BOTH events (3 full days of training): £545 early bird until July 1 (then £620)

Course Dates & Hours:  Monday, October 27, 2025, from 9am to 4pm

TO REGISTER: Please visit:   https://relationallife.com/london-2025-trainings

Cancellation Policy:

We know sometimes plans can change so you’re protected by a 100% money-back guarantee until September 26, 2025. Please contact us at support@terryreal.com before September 26, 2025, and we will refund you. Any cancellations after this date will not be eligible for refunds.

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

CE REQUIREMENTS:

The Relational Life Institute is pleased to offer:

The RLT Level 1 Training Course 

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: Five LIVE Online Sessions on Zoom, facilitated by Bonny Slim, LMFT and Terry Real, LICSW

Continuing Education credits offered: 10 credit hours for 5 Classes. Full attendance required.

Requirements for CE Certificate:  At the end of this course, you’ll receive an email inviting you to request your Continuing Education certificate.
The certificate is free of charge. To qualify, you must:

  • Attend the entire course (no partial credit is available)
  • Pass an assessment quiz demonstrating your understanding of the material
  • Attendance will be recorded to verify completion.

Course Content:

Over five live classes you’ll be introduced to the powerful principals behind Relational Life Therapy (RLT). RLT Level 1 is designed to give you an in-depth introduction to the theory and practice of the RLT model.   

Discover the differences between RLT and traditional psychodynamic therapy. Also considered are the stances of “one-down shame” and “one-up grandiosity” in couples; according to RLT, true intimacy can only happen when partners are “same-as” with each other. RLT is about action and swift results, helping people to make major changes to the negative parts of their character, and the critical role and stance of the therapist is described. Presented also are the concepts of Relational Mindfulness, Joining Through the Truth, and psychological patriarchy.

RLT Level 1 is the first step toward RLT certification and will prepare you for the Level 2 & 3 trainings.

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

  1. Compare the RLT phases and how RLT differs from traditional therapy.
  2. Describe the role and approach of the therapists in RLT.
  3. Diagnose the RLT view of power imbalances in couples, of psychological patriarchy, and how these are addressed through therapy.
  4. Summarize Relational Mindfulness and the “fight, flight, fix” responses. 
  5. Illustrate the role and approach of the therapist in RLT.
  6. Describe the role and approach of the therapist in RLT.
  7. Identify different types of leverage.
  8. Discuss the concept of appropriate discrepancy and how it works with Neuroplasticity.
  9. List the Seven lenses.
  10. Interpret how preconditions are addressed in RLT.
  11. Compare the two types of boundaries.
  12. Demonstrate strategies for latent people.

 

Throughout the course, you’ll gain deeper competency in and be able to: 

  •  Illustrate that true intimacy can only happen when partners are “same as” —neither one-up nor one-down.
  • Discuss how RLT Therapists and Coaches will confront and teach their clients how to live truly relationally.
  • Hypothesize how RLT Therapists and Coaches use judicious self-disclosure, sharing stories of they use these same skills in their own 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:  $395 in full; or 3 payments of $179 each

Course Dates & Hours:    

Each class will meet from 12pm to 2pm Eastern Time on these dates:

Session 1 – January 22, 2026
Session 2 – January 29, 2026
Session 3 – February 5, 2026
Session 4 – February 12, 2026
Session 5 – February 19, 2026 

TO REGISTER: Please visit this site for registration:

https://relationallife.com/level-1-training

Cancellation Policy: You may request a refund up to 2 days after the first live session.

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

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 Bios:

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.”

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

 

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