picture of muddy feet

Getting in the MUD

Growth-fostering relationships require a willingness to step into the unknown together. RCT provides tools and support to help couples lean into this messiness, understanding that vulnerability is a pathway to deeper connection.

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2 hexagon cards with one including text defining Boundaries as a place where we meet rather than a separation or barrier.

Relational Boundaries

Boundaries: A Place of Meeting, Not Separation In the framework of Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT), boundaries are reimagined. No longer something that you might "set" on someone, they become a...

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An image of two hexagon cards, one with a collage of eyes and a nose, and the other with the text of a definition of Central Relational Paradox on it.

The Central Relational Paradox

Relational-Cultural Therapy combats the central relational paradox by creating relationships where individuals can bring their full selves into connection, fostering healing through mutual empathy and authenticity.

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An image of two playing card, one with text defining Relational-Cultural Theory's concept of One True Thing

One True Thing

One True Thing offers a way to navigate challenging conversations and disagreements without sacrificing integrity, shutting down, or lashing out.

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CARE Assessment

The CARE assessment, by Dr. Amy Banks, is a practical way to apply Relational-Cultural Therapy to your life by answering 20 short questions.

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Two cards next to each other, one with a bird cradling a cracking egg, and the other with Supported Vulnerability, followed by Vulnerability increases with stress, as does the need for connection. Supported Vulnerability is the feeling that an authentic self-representation will be held with caring, compassion, and mutuality. This security heightens with dependability, respect, care, and empathic listening.

Supported Vulnerability

Supported Vulnerability is a foundational concept in RCT. It refers to the conditions that allow emotional risks within a relationship, trusting the other person to respond with empathy and acceptance.

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A card reading Mutuality is the experience of affecting one another. This requires emotional availability, an openness to influence and change. Non-mutual relationships abstruct growth of all people, but particularly the development of subordinate or marginalized groups.

Mutual Meltdowns

We are tired. We need healing. It’s likely we’ve lost people, dreams, cherished ways of being, and not been held in our grief because we were all too busy surviving. Slow down. It’s impossible to rush wellness. Lean into each other. Allow ourselves to mourn together, to mutually hold each other. Trust that allowing mutuality leads to healing. We are in collective pain, and the antidote is messy, authentic, mutuality.

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An image of our hexagon shaped cards, one with 5 jars surrounding a mixing bowl, and one with the text "Five Good Things" are benefits that comprise mutually growth-fostering relationships and include zest or delicious energy, increased empowerment, sense of worth, clarity, and a desire for more connection.

Five Good Things

A Growth Fostering Relationship is marked by the Five Good Things. Coined by Jean Baker Miller in her transformational book, Toward a New Psychology of Women. These are the qualities of a relationship that creates fulfillment and counters inauthenticity and inequity. They include:

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