World Class Marriage

Patty Howell, Ed.M., A.G.C., is a nationally-recognized Marriage and Relationship Educator who serves as Vice President of Operations and Media Relations for the California Healthy Marriages Coalition, a pioneering non-profit that works throughout California to increase awareness about Marriage and Relationship Education. A popular public speaker, Patty is the author of the highly-esteemed "Healthy Marriages" series of booklets, along with many other writings. She was the founding president of Pacific Rim Park, a nonprofit organization that fosters international cooperation and goodwill. Ralph Jones has been a prominent trainer of programs in the Person-Centered Approach for over 30 years. Working with Dr. Thomas Gordon, he oversaw the expansion of Gordon Training programs into a worldwide phenomenon. Ralph has taught hundreds of communication workshops for professionals and lay people around the world and is responsible for the creation of training materials now used on four continents. He currently works with the California Healthy Marriages Coalition.

1 Acknowledgments 2 Definition of a World Class Marriage 3 Introduction 4 The Nature of Marriage 5 The Structure of a World Class Marriage 6 Diagram of the Structure 7 Part One: The Sixteen Pillars of a World Class Marriage 8 1. Setting Goals 9 2. Avoiding Blame 10 3. Understanding the Nature of Behavior 11 4. Using Power Listening 12 5. Giving up "Tit for Tat" 13 6. Assuming Self-Responsibility 14 7. Avoiding Cool Talk 15 8. Changing Behaviors, Not Your Partner 16 9. Knowing When to Surrender 17 10. Giving Caring the Way It Matters 18 11. Handling Hot Topics 19 12. Resolving Conflicts and Disagreements 20 13. Giving Apology and Forgiveness 21 14. Growing Yourself 22 15. Forging a Bond 23 16. Nurturing the Honeymoon 24 Part Two: Applying the Pillars 25 Living Together 26 Gay/Lesbian Relationships 27 Kids and the Relationship 28 Getting Men to Communicate 29 Being Yourself in the Relationship 30 Concluding Thoughts 31 Endnotes 32 Bibliography 33 Workshops 34 About the Authors 35 International Editions