Connection and Communication Skills for Couples - One Day Workshop

You are in a committed relationship and love your partner. You want to build a foundation for a lasting relationship.

Is this you?

You are in a committed relationship and love your partner.* You want to build a foundation for a lasting relationship. Perhaps things are going well and you want that to continue. Or, perhaps you feel frustrated about getting caught in the same arguments again and again and find yourself in blame and criticism. Either way, you are ready and willing to engage in experiential exercises with your partner to learn new skills that will support both a secure emotional bond and the ability to honor authenticity and autonomy.

How it works

You might have tried all sorts of ways to improve your relationship: spending more quality time, spending time apart, reading self-help books, or counseling, and still return to the same conflicts, patterns of communication, or stuck places. You are not alone. Relating in a clear and self-responsible way requires many complex and subtle skills, very few of which have likely been modeled for you growing up. You need a comprehensive way forward that is concrete enough to make use of and subtle enough to adapt to your relationship.

Mindful Compassionate Dialogue (MCD) brings a comprehensive set of skills as well as a subtle understanding of relationship dynamics. MCD brings together concepts and skills from Hakomi (body-centred therapy), Nonviolent Communication, and Mindfulness. The goal of MCD is to empower you to create the change you want in your relationships. It naturally supports you in creating a secure bond, while at the same time promotes healthy differentiation.

MCD helps you cultivate self-compassion and a confident relationship to needs. You can learn to stay grounded through reactivity and set clear boundaries. When you and your partner make use of the guidance and structure of MCD, you will gain confidence in an understanding and set of skills that enable you to resolve conflict and build a loving and strong relationship.

What to expect

In this one-day workshop, you will be introduced to the consciousness, framework, and tools of MCD. We will focus on presenting specific concepts and skills that you will have the opportunity to practice and integrate with your partner in structured exercises. You will also receive a detailed handout that will help you continue to practice at home.

We will start with a couple of exercises in small groups to build rapport and safety in the whole group. For these small group exercises you can use examples from any part of your life and do not have to share something from your relationship. Other than these exercises, you will be working with your partner. These exercises are highly structured to help you learn skills, address relationship issues, and remain nonreactive.

Topics for this course include:

• Appreciation: Learn how this tool of clear communication about what works teaches you how to become more responsible and aware of your own needs as well as how to care for your partner.
• Empathy: Learn to listen deeply while remaining self-connected.
• Honest Expression: Learn to express feeling and needs and take responsibility for your needs by making requests that open up a grounded and compassionate dialogue
• Recognizing and Managing Reactivity: Gain a basic understanding of how and why reactivity comes up and how you can regulate and return to center.
• Dialogue: Learn a basic dialogue structure that can help you navigate challenging topics.

*Non-dyad and queer relationships are welcome.

Details:

• Trainers: Elia Paz and Ceferino Cenizo
• When: 10:30am - 5:30pm, Saturday 4th October 2025
• Where: The Commons, Surfers Corner, Beach Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
• Contribution: R3500 per couple (early bird - ends 26 September). Thereafter, R4200 per couple
• If finances are the only obstacle to attendance, please email us at [email protected]
• Workshop includes a detailed handout with all the theory and exercises that will help you continue your learning and practice at home.
• Please bring your own lunch. Alternatively, you could order something from nearby restaurants. Coffees and teas will be available.

Your Facilitators:

Elia Paz

My name is Elia Paz. I founded Wise Heart with a mission to help make a shift in consciousness about how we relate to life. I dream of a world in which we value and trust the quality of connection with ourselves and others as the primary way to build and maintain a thriving life for all. I dream of a world in which becoming a master of relationship is a central value in our global culture.

Wise Heart seeks to join with others who support this shift in consciousness that will help us create a sustainable and thriving life for all.

You can learn more about Elia here: https://wiseheartcommunity.org/about

Ceferino Cenizo

I am passionate about cultivating resilient and thriving relationships, networks and communities as a means for personal and collective transformation.

If we are to create and transition to a regenerative world and reality, our relationships need to not only reflect that but serve as catalyst and containers through which lasting change and transformation can occur.

As a coach, facilitator and mediator, I partner with individuals, partnerships and teams on their path towards new ways of relating, collaborating and being.

You can learn more about Ceferino here: https://www.ceferinocenizo.com/about-me/