One important consequence of being in a healthy, loving relationship is your partner’s positively influencing your own growth. While this may seem obvious, it turns out that an emerging body of scientific investigation has attempted to understand the dynamic of “self-expansion”: in essence, how does the merging of two distinct persons in an intimate relationship promote or inhibit each partner’s unique development. In the next virtual meeting of the Relationship Group Seminar on Saturday, February 19, 2022 (11:45 AM to 1:00 PM), we will review self-expansion and how it is supported by relationships. The unconscious assessment of self-expansion potential appears to occur upon meeting a new person, contributing to the intensity of initial attraction. Being taken beyond your “comfort zone” stimulates relationships and has been linked to long-term satisfaction among couples, especially if the relationship sets the stage for novel and challenging activities that otherwise would not have been pursued. If self-expansion is continuously supported over time, each partner’s prior notions of his/her identity or self (what experts call “self-concept”) are altered; the valued characteristics of the partner become assimilated and one’s prior self is refined.

* Registration Directions: If you would like to attend the virtual meeting of the Men’s Group Seminar and/or the Relationship Group Seminar on February 19, 2022, please RSVP to me at 949-338-4388 or jt@jamestobinphd.com on or before Thursday, February 17, 2022. The fee is $25.00 and informed consent for participation in these telehealth events must be completed prior to the seminars. Please note that the Men’s Group Seminar and the Relationship Group Seminar are psychoeducational in nature, not therapeutic, and do not constitute psychotherapy or counseling.