Give yourself + your sweetie the gift of conflict resilience.

The Sweetheart Special is a coaching package developed for romantic partners. Whether you’ve been together for some time, are deepening a newer connection, or negotiating a change - life and love are full of moments of tension. Rather than letting pain build up between you, use your conflicts as lessons for how you want to authentically connect with one another.

Working with a professional mediator and nonviolent communication expert, we’ll set our focus on your biggest relationship tension. Olga will work with you to uncover each partner’s unmet needs, assess what communication practices are triggering pain, and brainstorm new ways of meeting each other in the relationship.

This opportunity is for you if:
- You want to deepen and improve the communication with your partner(s).
- You’re ready to speak honestly and vulnerably about what’s not working for you right now.
- Are willing and able to hear your partner’s vulnerable truth, even if it is a little scary.
- Are wanting help to strengthen your relationship.
Included in this package are 5 sessions totaling in 6 hours of facilitated time together. We will meet in the following sequential order:
- one joint session (1.5 hours long) to orient to the process, set goals for our time together, and identify what’s working in the relationship
- two individual sessions (45 minutes each) with each partner to understand the nuance of your individual needs
- a second join session (1 hour long) to review the results of the assessment and choose the topic of focus for the mediation
- a final joint session (2 hours long) to work through a conflict and brainstorm new ways to meet each other in the relationship
Expect a compassionate, confidential, and judgement-free space to process and transform your relationship. This process draws from the teachings of nonviolent communication and Gottman Methodology.
This offering is for any type of romantic relationship between consenting adults.
Monogamous, polyamorous, straight, queer - all are welcome! Prices are set for two participants in the sessions.
If you are multiple partners (3+), please reach out to hello@olgalm.com to discuss the group rate.
This offering is not for individuals. For individual coaching go to: https://www.olgalm.com/coaching

Session Outlines

Joint-Session 1: Introduction

We’ll begin with a welcome and grounding into the space together. We’ll review the different steps of this process and give each member of the couple a chance to ask questions.

The first step together is an appreciative inquiry: what’s already working about your relationship? What makes you each feel seen and loved and heard? Knowing what’s working is important because it gives us an idea of the habits you don’t want to lose.

Once we know what’s working, we’ll begin exploring what’s keeping you stuck. You’ll be asked to spend 10 minutes discussing a current conflict you’re experiencing without interruption from the facilitator. If consented to, this 10-minute conflict discussion will be recorded, so that we may review it together in the next joint-session. This 10-minute discussion will give a baseline of how you currently work through conflict.

We’ll end the session by reviewing the Gottman Institute Assessment, which is a written quiz you’ll be asked to complete on your own time before the next joint-session.

Individual-Sessions: Identifying Your Needs

The individual sessions are an opportunity for each person in the relationship to be heard individually about your needs. Although the details of these sessions are not kept confidential from the other partner (couples coaching can’t be done effectively with secrets), it is a place to process challenging feelings and better understand your own experience.

We’ll discuss a little of your family history, including how your family of origin handled conflict, and whether those resolution practices are still the ones you follow today. We’ll also discuss your hopes and dreams for the relationship, what you would change and why - if you had a magic wand.

We’ll end our time together by answering any questions you have about the rest of the process.

Joint-Session 2: Reviewing the Present Moment

The second joint session is a review of what we’ve learned so far about the strengths and areas of improvement in the relationship. We’ll look at the results of the written Gottman Assessment each partner completes after session 1. We’ll also review the recording of the conflict discussion (if a recording was consented to) and decide what the area of focus will be for the final mediated joint session.

Joint-Session 3: Mediating for the Future

The final session is the mediated conversation. Each partner will begin by sharing their feelings and unmet needs relating to the topic of focus. Olga will help each partner hear the needs of the other and practice empathy. We’ll work on listening through judgments and accusations for the true message underneath: the unmet need.

Once each partner verifies that the other understands their feelings and needs, we’ll begin brainstorming new solutions that can honor all the identified needs.

Ready to say yes to deeper connection?

we're ready!

Meet your facilitator: Olga Liapis-Muzzy

Hello! I’m a Washington, DC based mediator, facilitator, and coach working for personal and social transformation.

Life has taught me that love, in and of itself, is not enough to sustain a healthy romantic connection. If you’re regularly hurting each other in your interactions, the relationship will buckle under the pressure of ongoing pain.

As a mediator I love working with romantic partners who want to stay together but need a little extra help in figuring out how to avoid and recover from emotional pain that’s come up because of conflict.

As a practitioner, I work to maintain a trauma-informed and anti-racist practice, the central motto of which is: correction is a gift.

Investment

Inclusive pricing allows you to register at the tier that best fits your economic reality. Please honor your needs while respecting the work of this offering by registering at the highest level that you are able.

Your purchase today will cover the cost of the initial 1.5-hour joint session. By purchasing a package today, you agree to pay the stated hourly rate at the time of scheduling each subsequent session. You are not required to complete the full program and can drop out at any time. Click on each package to see the full terms and conditions.