Learning to have a Scream-Free marriage

Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

Debbie and Travis Parent talk about the Scream-Free Marriage classes at a seminar at Mosaic Place on Saturday.

Published on February 10, 2013

Lisa Goudy

The best way to have a marriage is to be scream free.

“We all have the power to change ourselves and how we respond to the world around us and the relationships of the people around us,” said Debbie Parent, certified teacher of Scream-Free Marriages and Scream-Free Parenting courses with the organization Shepherd’s Gate Ministries. “We can make a difference in our own relationships by changing ourselves and how we respond to those around us.”

Parent and her husband of 19 years Travis became certified Scream-Free teachers in Atlanta in October. The couple organized and spoke at a Scream-Free Marriage banquet and seminar Saturday night at Mosaic Place hosted by Shepherd’s Gate Ministries. She said 40 couples came out to the event, which was an introduction to upcoming classes based on a book by marriage and family therapist Hal Runkel.

“We discovered that (Runkel’s) writing was down to earth and easy to understand and accessible,” said Parent. “We can all change ourselves. It’s a frustrating thing trying to change our spouse or our children because it’s not really possible … but it is possible to change how we respond to life and how we handle things.”

She said the primary method involved in Scream-Free Marriages is by remaining calm. As instructors, she said her and Travis provide couples with the tools to help remain calm and make good choices during conflict. She said Runkel’s suggestions in his book are simple to implement.

For more information, see Monday's edition of the Times-Herald.

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