Over the next five years, the University of Central Florida’s Marriage and Family Research Institute (MFRI) will provide relationship education to 1,500 couples in Central Florida. The latest phase of Project Harmony will focus on supporting first responders and parents by offering tools to strengthen relationships, improve communication, and manage stress.
Project Harmony was first launched at UCF in 2015 as a grant-funded research initiative. It uses the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), an evidence-based curriculum designed to teach core relationship skills such as effective communication, active listening, and conflict management. The program also offers personalized support through tailored programming and relationship coaching.
Participants attend group sessions with flexible scheduling options. To reduce barriers to participation, the program provides free childcare, meals, and gift cards.
“We talk about what healthy relationships look like, the communication pitfalls we can fall into when we feel invalidated or unheard, and understanding love languages and styles,” said Sejal Barden, professor of counselor education and principal investigator for Project Harmony. “Ultimately, it leaves couples with a new curiosity for what their needs are and how to meet their partner’s needs with consideration for who and where they are now. By knowing that relationships are constantly evolving, they can use these skills to position themselves to evolve together as opposed to growing apart.”
The project is funded by a five-year $6.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Couples will be placed in one of three subgroups: Unite in Harmony for general relationship education; Shield in Harmony for first responders; or Raise in Harmony for couples who are parents.
Barden explained that tailored programming was developed based on research and feedback showing unique stressors faced by these groups. All participants receive the core PREP curriculum; those in Shield or Raise complete additional hours focused on issues relevant to first responders or parents. Curriculum development involves input from members of these communities.
For first responder couples, challenges include irregular work schedules and occupational hazards. Barden’s team is conducting focus groups with firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, and their partners to better understand their experiences.
“I don’t think we can underestimate the impact of the occupational demands of being a first responder, not only on the individual but on the family dynamic at home,” Barden said. “They keep our communities safe, so the least we can do is provide a service back to them.”
Benoit Aubin—a doctoral student in counselor education at UCF—brings his experience as a former Navy medic and firefighter/paramedic to developing content for Shield in Harmony. Aubin has helped recruit focus group members from fire services leadership while analyzing research related to mental health among first responders.
“A lot of what I’m hearing from participants is that they didn’t know other first responders were having the same issues regarding the mental health crisis and relationships,” Aubin said. “There’s a powerful stigma with mental health among first responders, but I didn’t know it was to that extent. It showed me how important this is and fuels me to spend countless hours assisting in curriculum development.”
Aubin works under Barden’s mentorship synthesizing focus group findings into training modules aligned with real experiences while considering stigmas around mental health care access within this population.
“When I started recruiting and telling people about a free relationship education program that’s being created with a first responder for first responders, people were so enthusiastic about it,” Aubin said. “I think of and picture the people that this will help, hold onto those images, and that gives me the motivation to do this because it’s something that we know is so needed.”
For parent couples participating in Raise in Harmony, programming addresses connecting both as partners and as parents—including navigating challenges such as adolescent social media use—using feedback from parenting experts nationwide.
“We want to ensure parents have the tools for connecting with each other through the more challenging chapters in life and in parenthood,” said Barden.
Enrollment for Unite group participants is expected to begin this spring; Shield and Raise groups will follow soon after. MFRI staff plan community outreach efforts at fire stations, police stations, libraries, health departments, and wellness events.
“Learning that we can change the trajectory of a couple’s life and their connection with a short amount of education and intervention is life-changing,” Barden said. “If we know that this works, how could we not do it? It feels like a calling and commitment I couldn’t imagine not being a part of.”
Barden holds advanced degrees from University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Ph.D.) as well as University of Florida (master’s/education specialist). She joined UCF’s Department of Counselor Education & School Psychology in 2011.
