We aim to deliver effective, research-based relationship counseling and achieve this directive through three primary avenues:

1. direct-service relationship counseling for couples,
2. professional training for therapists, and
3. empowerment of relationship education initiatives, including training for faith leaders and secular community organizations.

Relationship Builders operates in connection with the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships, affiliated with both the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences and the College of Social Work at University of Tennessee-Knoxville. In addition to extensive support from UT, funding sources have included support from the Trinity Health Grant, Vision Grant, Cornerstone Foundation, Templeton Foundation and Boyd Foundation.

If a person wants to be in a healthy committed relationship, that relationship often serves as the nucleus of their life. When they face challenges with that relationship, the toil on their emotional and mental health and physical wellbeing ripples out, affecting not just the individual and the couple but the entire family, including any children, their job and their community – impacting all of us.

The stability of their core relationship affects if and how they show up to work, how they take care of themselves, how they care for family, how they contribute to society, and how they engage with and rely on healthcare and social services. A strain on a relationship causes strains on our community resources, ranging from workplace productivity to soaring healthcare expenses and increased demands on the legal system and other social services.