Keys to successful relationships.

Increase your understanding of the role communication plays in creating, maintaining or destroying relationships, and develop your ability to assist others to improve their communication in relationships.

"Relationships start. Relationships develop. Relationships continue, but some relationships breakdown. To gain a greater understanding, this course will provide you with detailed insight into the processes involved in the development and sometimes, the breakdown, of relationships and how we can support the people involved." Tracey Jones, B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies)

There are 6 lessons in this course:

1. Communication in emerging relationships
2. Self-awareness in emerging relationship
3. Communication patterns in relationships
4. Influences on relating behaviour
5. Communication techniques and skills
6. Maintaining relationships

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Explore the establishment of positive communication in emergent relationships and the various factors that influence relational processes;
• Examine perceptions of ourselves and how this affects our communication and influences our communication goals;
• To identify and examine patterns of communication in close relationships and consider the functions of thoughts, feelings and actions and how they inform our communication responses;
• Recognise the role of third party influences when communicating in relationships and the changing needs in a persons lifetime that affect their communication;
• Listen with improved empathy and respond accordingly;
• To understand constructive and destructive methods of maintaining relationships.

• Determine ways in which we consciously communicate in a relationship, and ways in which we unconsciously communicate.
• Determine different negative messages that can damage relationships, and different positive messages that can nurture them.
• Determine attitudes or expectations (thoughts and beliefs) that can result in destructive communication, and describe one likely negative outcome for each.
• Identify common needs that we want to satisfy through our relationships.
• Identify cultural or social influences that affect individual and family attitudes to happiness, self-expression, and relationships.
• Explain psychological theories and terms such as attribution theory, implicit personality theory, Gestalt impression formation, inference processes, stereotyping.
• List benefits and disadvantages of 'self-disclosure' and 'self-disguise or concealment' (lying).
• Define effective communication.
• Discuss the role that judgment plays in preventing a person from understanding and/or respecting another person's point of view and feelings.
• Discuss strategies for replacing negative communication patterns in relationships for positive patterns.