In the Don Bautista room at Hinson Campus Center, workshop attendees participate in identifying relationship styles, and the quality of those relationships with presenter Phil Boissiere, a psychology professor at De Anza College. 

Messages of adoration may translate to frustration, desire, or contempt in a workshop on relationships. A happy pink box can make mock at a sour relationship, or perhaps evoke reassurance on the success of love.

The environment in the room is intimate, and everyone is in attendance for the same purpose of maintaining a healthy relationship with an important someone. Boissiere is informative yet friendly, sharing parts of his own life to exemplify a point. 

“Don’t ask for feedback, unless you want an honest answer,” he advises. 

He has learned from experience about the ill-fated question, “‘Do you like what I’m wearing?'” To which he once responded, “Oh no, no, no, I don’t like that all. It’s just horrible.” He now answers, “Well it’s not your best outfit.” The room chuckles and moves on to explore the role of conflict.

Students are able to question certain aspects of their relationship through Boissiere’s inquisitive and engaging teaching style. 

“When we hear that word ‘conflict,’ what comes to mind?” he asks. Students utter answers like “war,” “hostility” and “fighting.” Boissiere suggests ways to avoid conflict, reasons why conflict occurs, and tips on how to healthily communicate an issue within your relationship.

In a relationship there must be a sense of “mutual regard, mutual trust, security,” says Boissiere. “People should feel secure to say, ‘you know what? This is my best friend.’ You should feel secure that they are your best friend, and that they feel the same way,” he says. It is an expression of trust. Though it sounds so simple, security can be overlooked. Just as much as the the status of an intimate relationship can become an issue.

Relationship management requires that couples consider details of the everyday course of the relationship strategies and discuss self-disclosure, moral and emotional support, physical expressions of love, and genuine interest in the well-being of your partner. The final minutes of the workshop are left for people to ask questions and express concerns.