Embodied Couples - Energetic Awakenings

Exceptional Relationships

Embodied Couples Work

No one probably ever told you how incredibly challenging commitment can be. If you struggle in any aspect of your relationship,(sexuality, emotional intimacy, stress around money, kids, work responsibilities) you may end up feeling lost, unhappy, uncertain of commitment, like you are falling out of love, or any of a host of other struggles.

If this sounds like you, this does not mean your relationship is defective or dysfunctional, but that you simply haven’t developed the skills that commitment requires. Most of us never learned how to express ourselves in ways that encourage connection and real intimacy. Embodied couples work helps us to learn to connect in a different and healthier way by recognizing unhealthy patterns, negative narratives, and fears.

What is an Exceptional Relationship?

Long term commitment is for many the greatest undertaking ever encountered. As two people join together, their relationship can become truly exceptional when there is a foundation of security and adventure, individuality and intimacy, harmony and conflict, the cozy and the erotic, the powerful and the most vulnerable.

Elements of an exceptional relationship include:

Partners feel safe in each others presence
Partners can share their inner selves with one another
There is a high degree of trust
There is laughter and lightness
There is conflict but quick repair and learning
Partners can take self responsibility
A willingness to learn from what goes wrong
A desire to see each other flourish
Partners can admit to human realities like jealousy, competitiveness and insecurity
Partners find a way to balance independence and connections

Your Mentors

David & Bentley deBardelaben – Phillips

David is the Founder and President of Energetic Awakenings in Cleveland, OH. He is a leader in mind, body, spirit healing. David works with clients to identify roots causes that prevent them from being their full self and helps them to take actions to achieve personal transformation. His main goal is to help each client Live Life Fully! In his private practice, David works with individuals, couples, and groups. He is also a workshop leader and group facilitator for many organizations dealing with challenging topics such as racism, conflict, & LGBTQ cultural competency. David holds his Master of Education from Cleveland State University with a focus on Adult Learning & Development. He is a Certified Core Energetics Practitioner, Certified Imago Relationship Facilitator, Certified Exceptional Relationship Mentor, Reiki Master, and Certified Coach.

Bentley (they, them, their) is an inspirational and dynamic speaker, coach, and mentor. They are an accomplished writer, voice over actor, and facilitator who continues to lead diverse groups and individuals seeking to cultivate a healthy and balanced mind, spirit, and body through various educational modules. They believe that all have suffered trauma which, left unaddressed, creates an unbalancing in one or all of those areas and can prevent one from becoming one’s best self in order to fulfill one’s purpose. Bentley is an ordained minister, pastoral counselor, and certified exceptional relationship mentor. They hold a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary.

Methodology

Institute for Exceptional Relationships

The Exceptional Relationship Institute was founded by Brian and Marcia Gleason. Their methodology is an an experience-based methodology for working with committed relationships which allows couples to honor each partner’s capacity to discover their greatest gifts and deepest truths. This method synthesizes modern developmental theories with the wisdom of Core Energetics, a somatic psychotherapy, and reveals how “embodying” is fundamental to helping couples break their patterns which create disconnection in the relationship.

Key to this method is the expression of life force as embodied in the full range of human emotions. Exceptional Relationships introduces a variety of new possibilities for supporting couples to move from blame, to take risks with each other, to rediscover eros, to unearth their power and passion, and to ride the waves of authenticity.

Imago Relationships

The ultimate goal of Imago is to help couples achieve a deeper level of connection, intimacy, and understanding. By addressing childhood wounds and fostering effective communication, couples can create a more loving and conscious partnership. Imago can be beneficial for couples seeking to improve their relationship dynamics and resolve ongoing conflicts.

The therapeutic process involves several key components including dialogue, childhood wounds, conscious relationship, and behavior change. The central premise of Imago is that we are drawn to partners who mirror the positive and negative traits of our early caregivers. These traits, when triggered, can lead to conflicts and emotional wounds in our current relationships. Imago aims to help couples understand and heal these wounds to create more fulfilling and conscious connections.

The Gottman Institute

The Gottman Method is an approach to couples work that includes an assessment of the relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House theory. The Gottman Method was developed by Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman in the 1980s.

It is an evidence-based form of couples therapy that strives to assist couples in achieving a deeper sense of understanding, awareness, empathy, and connectedness within their relationships that ultimately leads to heightened intimacy and interpersonal growth. By combining therapeutic interventions with couples exercises, this type of work helps couples identify and address the natural defenses that hinder effective communication and bonding. Couples who enter into the Gottman Method Couples approach often begin with an assessment process that then informs the therapeutic framework and intervention.