RESOURCES & READINGS:
• Presentation Slides (PDF)
• Common Challenges for New Parent Couples (PDF)
• Relationship Health Behaviors (PDF)
• Checklist: Gottman’s Solvable Problems (PDF)
• Exercise: Message to Your Child (PDF)
• Recommended Reading (PDF)
• Audio File: 1.5 hours. (To download MP3 file: Right click on the link and “Save As” to your computer for PC, or Control and click for Mac. To listen now, click the link to use the player.)
DESCRIPTION: Learn how to tend your couple relationship when it matters most. Even in the healthiest relationship, the birth of a first child often involves an increase in relationship conflict and reduction in relationship satisfaction. How couples understand and handle the transition to parenting—and the common conflicts associated with it—has a great deal of influence on the quality of the home environment and the future of their relationships. This presentation highlights the common challenges faced by many couples transitioning to parenthood, the characteristics of couples who successfully handle the transition, and couples who tend to do well over time. Also profiled: Healthy Nests, a direct service research project currently being delivered at the UO HEDCO Clinic and Center for Family Therapy. Healthy Nests is a three-meeting assessment and consultation designed to assist couples with the transition to parenting. Faculty Experts: Deanna Linville, Ph.D., and Jeff Todahl, Ph.D.
