ND Compass Workshops for Professionals

The ND Compass offers a structured yet flexible approach to working with complex couples, guiding them through a stabilization-to-transformation process that honors both relational and internal differentiation.

The Outer Ring: Creating Stability for Relational Work

The Outer Ring establishes a safe, structured frame where relational therapy can unfold. It does this by deploying four core processes:
✔ Education – Building a shared understanding of neuro-type and partnership dynamics
✔ Liberating Structures – Creating sustainable relationship rituals and communication templates
✔ Differentiation of SELF and OTHER – Strengthening individual identities within the relationship
✔ Autonomic Wellness – Addressing compassionate nervous system support, foundational to relational change

Beyond stabilization, the Outer Ring also introduces key concepts (“seed-planting”) that couples can return to if they choose to move into deeper Inner Ring work.

The Inner Rings: From Regulation to Transformation

The Inner Rings build on the safety, language, and relational patterns established in the Outer Ring. At this stage, couples shift from focusing on regulation to exploring their internal landscapes—examining the trailheads that emerge during system activation.

Here, Internal Family Systems (IFS) principles become central. Couples begin to transfer their ability to listen and respond differently to each other into an internal dialogue with their own parts. This deepens inner SELF-parts differentiation, fostering internal attachment and SELF-leadership.

As couples integrate this work, they often experience:
✔ Deeper intimacy and vulnerability
✔ A shift from co-regulation of the body, to SELF - part healing and unburdening of somatic struggle
✔ Healing legacy burdens in areas like sexual expression and relational witnessing