Professor Globan Sever led the 12th seminar for married couples of the Counseling Center of the Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek

At the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo on Saturday, February 8, 2025, the twelfth consecutive seminar for married couples organized by the Counseling Center of the Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek was held, as a way of celebrating World Marriage Day. The seminar was led by Assoc. prof. Irena Sever Globan, PhD, from our University Department of Communication Sciences.  The topic of the seminar was Marital Communication and Communication with Children. About 20 married couples were present who, through lectures and workshops, had the opportunity to learn more about the importance of empathic connection, honest expression and active listening.

In the lectures, prof. Sever Globan commented on how the quality of our life in general depends on the quality of interpersonal relationships. In order to enhance our close relationships with the people we love, it is necessary to consciously choose communication patterns that lead to connection. It was emphasized that the communication that breaks the connection - and which is very often used in our society, which is focused on competition and proving who is right and who is wrong - is the one in which we criticize, label, morally judge, compare, condemn, deny personal responsibility, use demands and "musts". In contrast, empathic communication is focused on listening to one's own and other people's feelings and needs and seeking consensus in conflict situations.