Abstract
Higher quality relationships enhance our emotional well-being, physical health, and life-span. This study describes a four-session intervention for increasing closeness in romantic and non-romantic dyads. Three key relational constructs – awareness, courage and love (ACL) – were targeted in a randomized control trial comparing ACL (n = 36) with an active comparison condition (n = 34). ACL was a structured protocol involving four one-hour weekly sessions between a trained coach and both members of a relational dyad. Overall, results were mixed. While there were few significant results for the full sample, for those with high fear of intimacy, the ACL intervention decreased fear of intimacy and improved social connectedness and intimacy between members of dyads compared to the control group post-intervention and at one-month follow-up. These results are encouraging for a potentially significant subset of the general public with high fear of intimacy who can be helped to access the mental and physical health benefits of relationships.
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