Contact: Debra Thompson 
Director, RMH Corporate Communications 
540-564-5886


RMH Behavioral Health will offer Smarter Marriages, Helping Relationships Thrive, a weekend seminar for couples, on Oct. 28-29 in conference room 2 at RMH.

Based on the research from the internationally-recognized Prevention Relationship Enhancement Program (P.R.E.P ™), Smarter Marriages provides a unique opportunity for couples to learn and apply more than 25 years of marital research about what makes marriage thrive.

“Many couples have found the retreat-style format to be the perfect way to engage each other and to re-energize their relationship,” says seminar instructor Randy Hook, MSW, LCSW, director of counseling services for Bridgewater College.

Smarter Marriages teaches couples how to:

• Recognize and make the best out of common difficult stages; 
• Avoid destructive communication; 
• Effectively and smoothly get to the root of hidden issues; 
• Talk so that both persons feel heard and understood; 
• Enhance fun, friendship, intimacy and sensuality; and 
• Prioritize and invest in the relationship so that it lasts.

Seminar hours are 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Parking is available in Lot A, and conference room 2 is on the lower level. No overnight accommodations are available. Lunch will be provided on Saturday. Participants are asked to attend both days.

The cost is $140 per couple ($150 after Oct. 14). To register, call RMH Healthsource at 433.4580 (800.433.4580).

About the instructor

Randy Hook has worked as an individual, marriage, and family therapist in the local community for many years. Prior to his position at Bridgewater College, he served as coordinator of the Partial Hospitalization Program at RMH Behavioral Health. Additionally, he serves as an adjunct professor at James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University and Blue Ridge Community College, teaching courses in marriage, counseling and human development.