Marriage Classes Forming Now:

Learn how to transform fights with each other into a fight FOR your marriage

Every marriage is bound to have a share of disagreement and fighting. But when disagreement and fighting start to tear your marriage apart . . . it's time to transform your fights with each other into a fight FOR your marriage. Catholic Social Service is hosting a Marriage for Keeps class to help couples do just that. Keep reading for a few tips on how to fight FOR your marriage.

The Marriage for Keeps class hosted by Catholic Social Service uses material that was co-authored by Scott Stanley, a professor and Co-Director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver, who specializes in commitment theory, communication conflict, and risk factors for divorce. He is also the co-author of the new revised deluxe edition of the best-selling classic Fighting for Your Marriage which is available for purchase in the marriage section of our online bookstore. In a recent interview with John Roberts, CNN Anchor of American Morning, Stanley explains that fighting fairly can actually strengthen a marriage. The challenge is learning how to put the brakes on and 'cool it,' before the fight becomes nasty and destructive.

Stanley's recent studies show that couples who handle conflict poorly are set up for marital failure, while couples who have an ability to maintain positive communication from the earliest years of their marriage are more likely to remain happy. The "speaker-listener" technique is one way to handle marital disagreements in a positive manner. But as Meredith Vieira observes in her interview with Gail Saltz on the Today Show, the speaker-listener technique may feel anything but natural at first!

Both stories in the video above show that it takes time and practice to develop the positive communication skills and habits that can override and put the brakes on an escalating and destructive marital fight. Catholic Social Service is hosting a Marriage for Keeps class to help couples learn and practice the positive communication skills that can strengthen their marriage:

The English Class begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 20th and continues through Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at the Dodge City Community College Student Union Board Room in Dodge City, KS. Subsequent classes will be held on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. throughout August and September.

The Spanish Class begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at West Coast Martial Arts (1905 W Wyatt Earp) in Dodge City. Subsequent classes will be held on Saturdays at 3 p.m. throughout August and September.

Any couple who is 18 years or older, newly wed or wed for years, with children or without, married or presenting themselves as married, and willing to participate in the program together, is eligible to attend. The class environment provides a safe opportunity for couples to learn and practice positive communication skills and habits. The duration of the class helps to ensure that the skills and habits practiced by the couple each week will be strong enough to put the brakes on escalating and destructive disagreements and fights in the future. In addition to having an opportunity to spend time together, couples can look forward to free classes, free meals, having fun, and receiving $100 gift cards!

The real rewards of a Marriage for Keeps class, however, extend far beyond the immediate class. Evidence shows that a healthy marriage is the strongest foundation for raising healthy successful children, having good parenting skills and better physical health, reducing poverty, increasing job stability and financial security, and having more satisfaction and contentment in life.

Now is the perfect time to take the first step: Spend time together. Enrich your relationship. Learn effective communication skills. Transform your marital fights with each other into a fight FOR your marriage.  Call 620-272-0010 to get more information, and to sign up for a Marriage for Keeps class that just might change your life.