Ultimate R&R comes to Grafenwoehr

Photo By Pfc. Chenelle Brady | Dr. John Van Epp, guest speaker for the Ultimate Resiliency and Relationship Program, talks to attendees about the importance of the program for military members and their families, April 28- May 1, at the Tower View Conference Center. The resiliency program was hands on and required participants to interact with each other.  

GRAFENWOEHR, GERMANY

04.30.2015

Story by Pfc. Chenelle Brady 

Virgin Islands National Guard, 51st Public Affairs Detachment

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany-- The 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command Chaplain's Office held the Ultimate Resiliency and Relationship course, April 30, at the Tower View Conference Center here.

Attending the Ultimate R&R course were military instructors, military personnel, and local participants, along with individuals involved in programs such as Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) and Suicide Prevention.

How to manage yourself, your relationship with others, your circumstances and your spirituality are the four major domains of life that were highlighted throughout the course.

Started in 2010, the program hopes to help military members deal with transitions in life through the aspects of self awareness and mindfulness to improve themselves and their surroundings.

"If we want to be serious about helping people be less at risk or have a protective factor, we have to give them more than just behavioral beliefs. We have to get to the core of what they really believe inside," said Dr. John Van Epp, P.H.D., author and director of the Ultimate R&R program.

The Relationship Attachment Model, taught during the course, is a relationship tool that was developed by Van Epps to help others find balance where they are in their relationships and with themselves.

Know, trust, rely, commit, and touch are the five areas used to identify the amount of interaction within the relationship, and the main steps in the RAM course.

"When my wife and I had our first child it affected our relationship on who got the time, the attention, the touch, and the feelings, and I had to reevaluate what was important for me, my wife and my child to receive," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Terry Simmons, JMTC Chaplain.

"Me and my wife had to give ourselves permission to not receive everything that we would like to receive in the relationship, so that the child got what they needed in the relationship," said Simmons, as he explained how the RAM course was beneficial to him. "Sometimes you have to be aware of your relationship in order to meet the goals that your family needs."

Ultimate R&R improves skills related to responsible awareness, a positive framing of circumstances and experience, and attitudes for an effective relationship. It teaches others how to react and cope through different significant events and do more than just bounce back.

"This Program is important because we do need to be more aware of ourselves in a time when we get so busy in our work that we forget about ourselves and our families," said Simmons.

• Date Taken: 04.30.2015
• Date Posted: 05.27.2015 08:45
• Story ID: 164611
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, DE