Next week Maryhope Howland and I will be teaching an intensive 3 week class on relationships and health at the University of Minnesota. We have 25 students who will meet 4 days a week for 2 and a half hours to discuss a selected scientific journal article assessing how interpersonal relationships impact important health related areas such as stress management, self-regulation, caregiving and social support as well as the health benefits of marriage and sex.
We will ask the students to comment on each article and think about how it might apply to their own lives or someone they know. Students could also write about how some of these ideas might have popped up in the popular media, movies, TV or in literature. I'll be creating a blog that publishes their thoughts about these issues and invite others to comment with their own personal stories of how those who we know and love influence our health and well-being.
I'm looking forward to this!