By SHANE WRIGHT
A marriage enrichment workshop aimed at putting romance back into marriage begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Wymount multipurpose room.
Women’s Services and Resources is sponsoring the free workshop which meets Wednesday evenings from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., until Nov. 19.
The workshop will be presented by two marriage and family therapy graduate students, Sheila Mitchell and Amy Andrus Parks.
“After you’ve been married a while, the excitement, romance and passion for meeting each other’s needs tends to wear off. We want to revitalize the marriage and we’ll offer ideas on how to help,” Mitchell said.
Topics that will be discussed at the workshop are: communication and problem solving, gender roles, parenting issues, in-laws and traditions, financial planning and intimacy.
The workshop is designed for couples who have a healthy relationship, Mitchell said.
“The workshop is for the couple who is overall having a successful marriage relationship. (It will) improve on certain skills and (is for those who) feel like they want to enhance their marriage even more. This workshop is not for couples who are having serious difficulties,” Mitchell said.
The workshops aim is to enhance the relationship of the couple.
“It’s a workshop that people have an interest in and I think couples, even those who feel they are doing well, want to try new ways to enhance their relationship,” Mitchell said.
The stresses of marriage can be hard on newly married couples in college, said Jean Taylor Scott, Women’s Services and Resources coordinator.
“The hardships of going to college and working a part-time job, often put added stress on young married couples,” Scott said.
This workshop is back by popular request.
“We ran this workshop last year and it was quite successful. As a matter of fact, we extended it from a five week to an eight-week experience,” Scott said.
The workshop can help any couple, said Joy Nordfelt, a receptionist at the Career and Counseling Center. She has been married for five months.
“You can be can be married for a few weeks or 10 years, I think it’s a goal you make before you’re married to keep the spark alive in your marriage. Just because you’re married, it doesn’t mean you stop working on your relationship as friends,” Nordfelt said.
Kathrine Zeedik, an office specialist in the Career and Counseling Center, said coordinating schedules is worth the effort to spend time together.
“I know couples whose schedules conflict and they aren’t able to spend much time together. I think it should be a priority to spend and make quality time together,” Zeedik said.
