Bi-Weekly Individual and Couples Group
Join Julie Menanno, the author of Secure Love and the creator of The Secure Relationship, in her bi-weekly couples group on Wednesdays at 6 PM Mountain Time. This couples group is designed for couples and individuals eager to explore key topics like attachment theory, emotional dynamics, and effective communication. Each session includes an insightful slideshow presentation, followed by an open discussion where participants can ask questions, share experiences, and gain practical tools to enhance their relationships.
Previous Group Meeting Topics and Recordings
In this session, Julie explores how anger and resentment can quietly block progress in relationships, even when both partners are doing their best to stay connected. She talks about how anger often goes unacknowledged, how it can become stuck in the body, and how it sometimes masks deeper emotions like grief, fear, or shame.
You’ll learn how to recognize the signs that unresolved anger is showing up in your relationship, what anger is actually trying to communicate, and how to work with it in a way that supports healing. Julie also talks about how different attachment styles tend to experience and express anger, and how couples can begin to hear and validate each other when anger comes up.
This conversation includes self-work, relationship work, and real-time questions from group members who are working through anger in their own relationships. Julie also shares more about her new self-paced course on experiential self-work.
In this session, Julie explored an emotional block - disgust. She unpacks how emotional disgust develops from early messages about which feelings are acceptable, and how it can silently undermine our ability to connect with ourselves and our partners. Whether it shows up as a shutdown response to a crying partner, a cringe at your own vulnerability, or a tendency to label certain feelings as “too much,” emotional disgust can disrupt communication, intimacy, and authenticity.
Julie shares tools for identifying this internal response, examining where it originated, and beginning the process of re-patterning. The session also includes two powerful live discussions—one on how disgust shows up in sexual intimacy after trauma, and another about supporting a partner who shuts down around emotions. If you’ve ever wondered why it’s hard to “sit with” emotions this conversation will help make sense of it.
In this session, Julie walks us straight into the heart of relationship grief—the unspoken losses that keep even the most motivated couples stuck in the same fight. She breaks down how broken trust, dashed hopes, and “lost years” silently fuel anger, anxiety, and shutdowns, then shows you how to name those hurts, feel them together, and finally lay them to rest. You’ll see live coaching moments where partners practice holding space for each other’s pain without slipping back into blame or self-defense, plus step-by-step prompts for talking through grief in real life. If you’ve ever wondered why your new skills still get hijacked by old wounds, this replay is your roadmap out of the fog and back into secure connection.
In this meeing Julie zeroed in on why couples get trapped in the same looping arguments and what it takes to break free. She starts by naming the chronic negative cycle—those predictable bursts of blaming, shutdown, and defending that leave partners feeling unheard and unsafe—and explains how, over time, the cycle corrodes trust and fuels resentment. From there she dove beneath the surface, showing how unrepaired attachment wounds and unmet needs for emotional safety keep the pattern alive. Julie models the practice of slowing it down: mapping each partner’s triggers, putting words to the raw emotions underneath the protest, and taking turns “wearing the needing hat” versus the “meeting-needs hat.” Throughout the hour she fields real-time questions, offering gentle but direct scripts for partners who resist vulnerability (“Help me understand what feels risky here…”) and practical moves for shifting from reactive to responsive—think pausing to breathe, naming the fear, and reaching instead of attacking or withdrawing. If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and want to see concrete examples of how to move from stuck to secure, cue up the replay and follow along as Julie guides the group step-by-step.
In this session, Julie unpacks “Negative Cycles”—the hidden loop that starts with a quick ouch inside one partner and tumbles into protest or shut-down before anyone realizes what’s happening. Julie maps the flow from Trigger → Primary Hurt → Protect Move on screen and shows how it can sound like raised voices, icy silence, score-keeping, or a sudden exit.
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “How are we back here again?” this replay offers the language to name your cycle, a simple turn-toward check-in to slow it down, and fresh hope for turning the pattern into a place of teamwork rather than tug-of-war.
In this session, we explore what it really means to “expect too much” in a relationship. Julie talks about how sometimes, without realizing it, we lean too heavily on our partner to manage emotions we haven’t yet learned to hold ourselves. This can show up as constant venting, needing endless reassurance, or expecting our partner to join us in unhealthy ways of coping.... like over controlling, avoiding, or shutting down.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in repeating patterns, unsure of where the line is between asking for support and over relying on your partner, this conversation will help you make sense of it.
In this session, Julie explores the often unspoken question: Am I carrying too much of the emotional weight in my relationship? She breaks down what emotional work really means—offering support, creating space for connection, showing vulnerability—and helps you identify when it starts to feel one-sided or unsustainable.
Julie guides you through why these patterns develop, what they might be protecting, and how to begin shifting out of them. Whether you tend to over-function or struggle to engage emotionally, this conversation offers a clear, grounded path toward more balance, clarity, and connection.
In this meeting, Julie dives into the crucial role of emotional safety and communication during disagreements. She highlights how it's not the disagreement itself, but how couples handle it that truly matters. Learn how being open, curious, and validating each other's emotions can help maintain a safe space for constructive conversations.
Julie also explores how small arguments often mask deeper emotional needs, like wanting to feel heard or valued. She addresses how different attachment styles (anxious versus avoidant) can influence communication and encourages couples to better understand each other’s emotional needs.
Julie walks through a framework she uses with couples, illustrating how unresolved emotions, personal wounds, and attachment insecurities impact communication and relationship dynamics. She emphasizes the necessity of emotional awareness, healthy assertion, and processing difficult feelings rather than avoiding or acting out on them.
For those interested in learning how to navigate emotional wounds, assert boundaries, and cultivate healthier relationship dynamics, this session provides valuable insights and practical tools.
If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between secure attachment and codependency, this recording clears it up. Julie explains how codependency isn’t just about being too close—it’s about losing your sense of self in a relationship. She breaks down how both anxious and avoidant attachment styles can lead to codependent behaviors and how they impact negative cycles.
In this session, Julie broke down how to manage emotional triggers and respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively. Julie shared practical steps to slow down, tune into your body, and understand the root of your emotions. You’ll learn how to reframe situations, self-regulate, and find solutions that strengthen your relationships instead of staying stuck in negative cycles. It’s all about progress, not perfection… every small step counts.
Feedback Script
A: “I want to give you some feedback and I want it to work.”
B: “Oh, that is scary, and I want it. You usually have really good insights and I want that.
I’ll just listen without agreeing or disagreeing and just take it all in.
I might have questions to clarify.
Let’s hear your feedback.”
Then “A” shares the feedback, with kindness.
B: “Thank you — it’s a risk to bring things like this. I really value you bringing it to me.”
“B” writes the feedback down once we have come clear, to review it in a private, quiet space.
We close by expressing gratitude for getting to safely share and receive.
Needs Script
A: “I have a need and I need a listening.”
B: “Great. Thanks for telling me. It’s important for me to know this. It’s important to me your needs get met.
I’m reminding myself that my needs can get met as well as everyone else’s. Let’s hear your need.”
Then: “A” shares the need. “B” reflects.
B: “Ok, what I’m hearing is that this is the need _____, these are the factors ______, these are the perceived barriers ________.”
Once the NEED is clear, we might take a break, then come back later to discuss actions or solutions.
In this session, Julie discusses why vulnerability often feels unsafe for some individuals and how it impacts relationships. She explains that while vulnerability is essential for connection and resolving conflict, many avoid it due to shame, fear of emotional overwhelm, or a lack of skills to process and communicate feelings. Suppressing emotions may seem protective but ultimately blocks deeper connection.
This meeting was a Q&A session where participants had the opportunity to ask Julie questions about their personal relationship challenges and attachment dynamics.
In this session, Julie Menanno introduces the concept of "piling it on" in relationships, a behavior where one partner brings up multiple concerns or past grievances in response to a single issue or moment of vulnerability. This often happens when a partner (Partner A) doubts they will be truly heard, fears that change won't occur, or feels compelled to seize a rare moment of receptiveness from their partner (Partner B). Julie explains that "piling it on" frequently stems from mistrust, unresolved past experiences, or habitual communication patterns, often driven by emotional dysregulation. She discusses how this behavior can negatively impact both partners: Partner B may feel demoralized and disengaged, while Partner A struggles to trust, connect, or fully accept apologies or validations.
Julie explores strategies to address this dynamic, such as creating regular safe spaces for communication, learning to give time and space for resolution, and addressing underlying issues like past traumas or patterns of mistrust.
In this session, Julie Menanno discusses ways to improve communication in relationships to avoid negative cycles and create an "attachment-friendly" environment. She begins with a review of the "negative cycle" concept, where surface issues like money, parenting, or household chores lead to deeper, unmet attachment needs when communication becomes unsafe or defensive. This can trigger protective responses like anger or withdrawal, which escalate the cycle of disconnection.
Julie emphasizes the importance of using validating, non-shaming language to prevent this cycle and promote closeness. She introduces strategies to foster attachment safety, encouraging couples to avoid reactive patterns by validating each other's perspectives and striving for mutual understanding. Even if one partner initially leads the way, consistency and "planting seeds" of new communication habits can gradually foster trust and connection.
She further explains the concept of "positive communication cycles," where instead of avoiding issues, couples actively meet each other's attachment needs through empathetic listening, gentle language, and vulnerability. Rather than blaming or criticizing, Julie suggests using "I" statements and validating each other’s feelings, even if issues like minor frustrations arise, as with her humorous "cheese example."
In this session, Julie Menanno discussed the concept of the "negative cycle" in relationships, explaining how small triggers can spiral into recurring, unresolved conflicts. She emphasized that when a partner feels triggered, they often react in ways that lead to protective or defensive responses from the other partner, creating a cycle of unmet emotional needs and ineffective communication.
Julie shared that these conflicts are rarely about surface issues alone; instead, they often reflect deeper attachment needs and fears. She highlighted the importance of understanding and slowing down our reactions, as our bodies can respond within a fraction of a second, often without conscious thought. To illustrate, she described a fictional couple, Talia and Jaden, who struggle with trust and communication issues, especially when Jaden spends time with his friends, which triggers Talia's insecurities rooted in past betrayals. Their exchanges reveal unmet needs: Talia desires security and assurance, while Jaden feels caught between his commitment to her and his need for independence.
Julie encouraged participants to shift from reactive communication, which typically exacerbates issues, to a more vulnerable, attachment-friendly dialogue. She suggested that by recognizing and discussing the root of their triggers, couples could move toward healthier, more connected exchanges and resolve their core attachment needs, ultimately reducing the frequency and intensity of their conflicts.
Resources:
In this meeting, Julie Menanno discusses the topic "Seeing the Value in Your Moves and Your Partner's Moves," focusing on the defensive behaviors couples use in negative relationship cycles. These "moves," while often harmful, are protective strategies to avoid pain like disconnection or shame. Julie explains that these behaviors stem from a lack of alternative ways to stay safe or express needs and provides examples such as protesting, defensiveness, and shutting down.
The presentation emphasizes that while these negative moves don't work, they have underlying value as they signal unmet needs, such as wanting to feel heard, appreciated, or understood. Julie encourages participants to move away from shaming these behaviors and instead, confront and understand them. She discusses the importance of replacing these moves with vulnerability and healthy assertion, where partners openly express their feelings and respond positively to each other’s vulnerability.
If you're interested in how to recognize these patterns in your own relationships and learn strategies for healthier communication, this recording is insightful and offers practical advice for building stronger connections.
Julie guided participants through a shame exercise, emphasizing that shame is a complex combination of negative self-beliefs and physical sensations triggered by those beliefs. She walked the group through steps to identify triggers, name fears surrounding them, and recognize the impacts these fears have on their lives.
Julie discussed the origins of these negative beliefs, often rooted in childhood messages, and how they shape one's sense of self. She provided examples of common negative beliefs and explored how shame manifests physically in the body. The session encouraged participants to write down their triggers and associated fears to better understand the root causes of their shame.
The exercise also involved exploring how individuals blame themselves for these fears and identifying deep-seated negative self-beliefs, such as feeling incompetent or unworthy. Julie highlighted how shame drives people to hide their vulnerabilities and how this impacts relationships.
Julie emphasized the importance of honoring and validating the role of shame as a protective mechanism, while encouraging participants to comfort and face their shame to heal from it.
This meetings focus was abusive language in relationships. Julie started by defining abusive language, noting its negative impact on relationships and categorizing it into "small-a" abuse (e.g., snarky comments, sarcasm) and "big-A" abuse (e.g., intense name-calling and meanness). Both types, though varying in severity, harm emotional safety and connection in relationships.
Julie discussed how abusive language often stems from individuals not knowing how to manage their feelings or communicate their needs effectively. She emphasized that abusive behavior is typically a result of unaddressed emotions, and although it’s common, it should not be accepted. The behavior often emerges from deep-seated feelings of powerlessness, shame, or a lack of emotional regulation skills, often rooted in childhood experiences where healthy communication was not modeled or reinforced.
She outlined that abusive language creates emotional unsafety, destroys trust, models bad behavior, and can severely damage or even destroy relationships if left unchecked. Addressing this requires both partners to understand how their words affect each other, develop healthier communication patterns, and break the cycle of escalation. Julie encouraged bringing up issues outside of heated moments to foster more productive and safe conversations, noting that partners often avoid these discussions when things are calm, fearing conflict.
The session also touched on how individuals with abusive tendencies often struggle with shame and self-blame, contributing to repeated cycles of abusive behavior. Julie also mentioned that those who don’t stand up for themselves in abusive situations might be held back by their own upbringing, where standing up to poor behavior led to negative consequences like punishment or shame.
Overall, the session focused on understanding the origins of abusive language, its impact on relationships, and strategies for standing up against it while promoting healthier communication patterns.
In this meeting, Julie discusses effective communication strategies for couples, focusing on how to bring up and respond to concerns within a relationship. Julie explains that many couples struggle with addressing their concerns in a healthy way, which is crucial for maintaining a strong and connected partnership. She highlights the importance of timing when bringing up difficult topics and suggests choosing moments when both partners are calm and not distracted. Julie also emphasizes the need for emotional safety in conversations, advising against bringing up issues when feeling highly emotional or reactive. Instead, she recommends processing emotions first and approaching discussions from a place of regulation. Throughout the meeting, Julie provides practical tips, such as talking about how to communicate before diving into challenging topics, validating each other's feelings, and breaking negative communication cycles. She encourages viewers to make a plan for when conversations become unsafe and to differentiate between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe. By fostering open dialogue and understanding, couples can improve their communication skills and build a healthier, more resilient relationship.
Resources:
In this meeting, Julie discusses a common issue in relationships known as "bouncing back and forth," where partners engage in a repetitive cycle of trying to voice their concerns but end up interrupting each other, leading to unresolved issues and frustration. This dynamic often stems from triggers that cause partners to react defensively rather than listen attentively. Julie explains that these triggers can be rooted in past experiences or fears, such as feeling unheard or invalidated.
She emphasizes the importance of breaking this cycle by being mindful of each other's needs and emotions. Partners should strive to be more flexible and avoid rigid thinking, which often leads to shutting down their partner's ideas. Julie also highlights the significance of empathy and understanding, encouraging partners to explore the underlying fears or vulnerabilities that contribute to their defensive reactions.
Julie suggests that in order to improve communication, partners should take turns speaking without interruption, allowing each person to feel heard and validated. If a partner is too triggered to listen, it may be necessary to address their concerns first before returning to the original issue. Ultimately, she advises couples to view these challenges as opportunities for deeper connection by discussing the emotions and fears that underlie their reactions, fostering empathy, and working together as a team to resolve conflicts.
Resources:
The focus of this meeting was on the importance of standing up for oneself, one's partner, or loved ones in various situations, particularly in romantic relationships. Julie highlighted how standing up for something might involve ensuring physical or emotional safety, protecting personal boundaries, or advocating for someone you care about. She discussed the nuances of knowing when and how to assert oneself, emphasizing that it's not about following strict rules but about developing insight into appropriate behavior.
Julie explained that standing up could take different forms, such as confronting poor behavior, sharing one's truth, or supporting someone who relies on you. She also explored the concept of healthy assertion within relationships, where partners are responsible for protecting each other from pain and validating each other's emotions.
Throughout the discussion, Julie stressed the importance of balancing self-work with supporting a partner, especially in managing negative emotions like shame. She provided examples of how couples can stand up for each other in difficult situations, like handling criticism or addressing behaviors that aren't conducive to a healthy relationship.
Resources:
Julie introduced the concept of "reaching" in relationships, where one partner seeks emotional or physical connection or wants to address a concern. She emphasized the importance of acknowledging these reaches and responding thoughtfully to maintain a healthy connection. Connecting responses include recognizing and reciprocating gestures, participating in requested activities or discussions, and setting boundaries kindly when needed. In contrast, disconnecting responses, such as ignoring, rejecting, or deferring conversations indefinitely, can harm the relationship. She discussed common blocks to connection, such as leading with accusations, making vague requests, and interpreting concerns as criticisms.
Resources:
During the meeting, Julie Menanno elaborated on the difference and connection between people-pleasing and appeasing behaviors. She highlighted the significance of recognizing these tendencies and understanding their origins, often rooted in coping mechanisms for feeling safe. Julie explained that while it's normal to want to make others happy, it becomes problematic when driven by anxiety and fear of rejection. People-pleasing frequently stems from a desire for acceptance and can lead to actions that undermine one's own well-being and authenticity.
Julie provided examples of how people-pleasing manifests in relationships, such as going to great lengths to avoid disappointing a partner, even when it is inconvenient or harmful to oneself. This behavior, she noted, is often driven by a fear of abandonment and rejection. The discussion explored how chronic people-pleasing can hinder genuine intimacy and foster resentment for both the pleaser and the person being pleased. Julie emphasized that individuals with anxious attachment styles are particularly prone to people-pleasing as a way to manage their anxiety and secure a sense of safety.
The conversation also addressed the negative consequences of people-pleasing, including the loss of personal identity, feeling exploited, and the potential for negative cycles of resentment and protest behavior. Julie encouraged attendees to reflect on their motivations when helping others, ensuring they make intentional choices rather than acting out of anxiety. She advised on the importance of tolerating others' disappointment and reassessing relationships where one feels compelled to people-please to avoid abandonment. The goal was to guide participants toward a healthier balance between caring for others and maintaining their own well-being.
Julie begins the meeting expressing the fact that many people struggle with emotional engagement, not due to unwillingness, but because they lack understanding of what it entails. True emotional engagement involves feeling and expressing emotions in the moment, not just discussing them superficially.
Julie explains that frustrations in relationships often arise when one partner feels emotionally shut out, leading to loneliness and anger. She advises against pressuring partners to open up emotionally, as it can cause them to withdraw further. Instead, she suggests creating a supportive and non-judgmental environment.
She also highlighted the importance of validating emotions and providing space for both partners to express their feelings. Asking specific questions rather than vague ones like "How do you feel?" can help partners articulate their emotions better. Julie also notes that reflecting on and attuning to a partner's emotions can foster a sense of safety and closeness.
Throughout the presentation, Julie offers practical tips and insights on fostering emotional engagement in relationships, focusing on empathy, patience, and the creation of a safe emotional space for both partners.
Julie Menanno discussed the impact of negative self-beliefs originating from childhood experiences, particularly in the context of attachment styles. She emphasized that insecure attachment, shaped by messages from parents and influential figures, often leads to more profound and numerous negative self-beliefs. Even those with secure attachment can develop some negative beliefs, although they are generally more resilient. Julie highlighted that children with supportive parents are better equipped to process harmful messages, reducing their long-term impact. She illustrated how these negative beliefs manifest in adult relationships, causing individuals to misinterpret or overreact to their partners' behaviors, driven by deep-seated fears and past experiences of shame and unworthiness. The discussion included specific examples and explored the compounding effect of unresolved childhood trauma on present relationship dynamics.
In the meeting, Julie discussed the significance of understanding and addressing anger in relationships. She explained that anger indicates unmet needs and serves as a signal that something is wrong, aiming to motivate communication and push for behavioral changes to improve closeness. Julie emphasized that while anger contains hope for change, "hot" or reactive anger can be destructive. Instead, she advocated for assertive, "warm" expressions of anger, which are more constructive. Strategies for managing anger include taking breaks to avoid heated exchanges, protecting each other from reactive anger, and making space for healthy expressions of anger. The goal is to use anger to foster vulnerable and constructive conversations, leading to better understanding and resolution.
In this session, Julie dives into what it really means to create and maintain healthy boundaries in your relationship. She explains how boundaries are not about building walls, but about protecting your well-being while staying connected to your partner. You’ll hear practical examples of where couples often blur the line between closeness and overreach, and how to communicate limits in a way that strengthens, rather than weakens, the bond. Julie also answers member questions on how to set boundaries when your partner struggles with them, how to know when you’re overstepping theirs, and how boundaries connect to secure attachment.