Relational Life Therapy (RLT) is a powerful, transformative approach to couples and individual therapy developed by psychotherapist and author Terry Real. At its core, RLT helps people build relationships that are both strong and kind. It's grounded in truth, respect, empathy, and accountability.
Unlike traditional models that focus only on communication skills, RLT goes deeper. It helps you recognize the patterns and defenses that keep you stuck, the ways you may disconnect, shut down, or push away the closeness you truly want. These patterns often begin as survival strategies in childhood but can become barriers to intimacy as adults.
In RLT, the therapist doesn’t stay neutral or avoid naming difficult truths. Instead, we take the side of what’s most relational by supporting honesty, accountability, and repair for both partners. The goal isn’t blame, but clarity: helping each person recognize their part in the cycle and move toward healthier, more connected ways of relating.
Core Principles of RLT
Truth and Compassion Together
RLT blends radical honesty with deep empathy. Real change happens when we can speak the truth in love for clarity, kindness, and with respect.
Accountability and Empowerment
Each person learns to take responsibility for their part in the dynamic, not out of shame, but from a place of personal strength and integrity.
Healing Old Patterns
RLT connects the dots between your past and present, helping you understand how early experiences shape how you relate today and how to choose something different.
Real Skills for Lasting Change
Clients leave RLT sessions with practical tools for communication, boundary-setting, and emotional regulation with skills that create lasting connection long after therapy ends.
Why Clients Choose RLT
People often come to RLT when they feel stuck in the same painful cycles that lead to the same arguments, disappointments, or disconnections and are now ready for something that brings real movement.
RLT helps partners reconnect in ways that feel authentic and lasting, while also supporting individuals who want to understand themselves and their relationships more deeply.
Whether you’re seeking to rebuild trust, repair emotional wounds, or learn to show up differently, RLT offers a clear and compassionate path forward.
My Training and Approach
As a therapist trained in Relational Life Therapy, I integrate its principles into all areas of my work — with couples, individuals, and families.
My goal is to help you uncover the patterns that keep you stuck and guide you toward relationships that reflect your deepest values: honesty, love, and respect.
At Two Currents Counseling, RLT more than a model, it’s a way of being. It’s about finding steadiness amid life’s currents and learning how to stay connected, even when the water gets rough.