Education
Introduction
Our Relationships Program (formerly called the Empowerment Program) mission is to provide information from a science-based standpoint that empowers people across the lifespan to reflect on themselves as a whole person. Specifically with InnerVisions being an unplanned pregnancy and STD clinic, our Relationships Program creates the opportunity to have an upstream approach at combating the social crisis of unplanned pregnancies and STDs.
We use content from REAL Essentials™ to promote our mission. This can cover a wide range of topics, from bullying, personality styles, and internet safety to more mature topics like boundary setting, dating, and physical intimacy. Content also emphasizes looking at the whole person; socially, financially, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Each scope and sequence is thoughtfully tailored to meet the needs of each grade level by utilizing interactive activities that provide students with the knowledge to achieve optimal health. Learners are then equipped with the necessary skills to build positive and respectful relationships. Science shows that behavior changes after 6-8 hours of class content, so we recommend at least 6 weeks of meeting for 1 hour once a week.
Relationships Program Nursing Educator
Brianne Tigges, RN, BSN
IVHC Staff Nurse
“How do you feel loved?”
In a lesson presented to young adults and staff at InnerVisions Healthcare, participants took a quiz on their affirmation styles (or love languages) followed by a visual showing how others can see when someone is filled with love! One participant with their primary love language being words of affirmation put on the red “Love Tank” t-shirt, while the rest of the participants wrote words of affirmation on balloons. Some of them said “I love your smile” whereas participants that knew the woman wearing the shirt wrote more intimate statements such as “You’re a great listener and have a lot of wisdom, I love being friends with you”. Learning how one receives love and how to offer that to others helps to support healthy relationships.
“A Distorted View”
A lesson presented to 8th grade students about the harmful effects and dangers of pornography. This comical illustration demonstrates the analogy of reality becoming distorted. This powerful analogy allows for a transition to begin a discussion about pornography and how it distorts our views on sex which can have lasting effects on current and future relationships.
Links & Resources
The Center for Relationship Education
The Center for Relationship Education is committed to bringing foundational relationship skills to people of all ages and walks of life, in order to create understanding and effective communication in schools, workplaces, and at home.
Testimonials
High School
“I learned how to prepare myself with creating strong and healthy relationships.”
“I liked the examples and how she compared it to make it relatable. I learned how to build healthy and fulfilling relationships.”
Middle School
“When learning about relationships, it helped me to improve my relationship with others and myself. It was nice to learn what I could be doing wrong. (She) also helped me to learn pros and cons for having sex and why I should save myself for marriage.”
“One thing I would tell a family member is that I thought some topics would be really weird to listen to but it wasn’t like that when (she) was talking to us. This will impact me on my future because this has taught me how to plan for my future.”
“It will help me look for the right things in relationships and to have a good one.”
“My faith and my knowledge were strongly impacted. This will impact my future job and how I treat others.”
“I would say that this experience was education while still maintaining the boundaries of those in the classroom (no one was forced to participate if they felt uncomfortable.) I will keep what I learned in mind for the future.”