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Couples Course

Couples Course

Your relationship doesn’t have to stay stuck in the friend zone.

Built to Last™ Certification Course

Relearn Sex. Rebuild Connection. Create a Relationship That Evolves.

Many couples deeply love each other. They are best friends. Great parents. Reliable teammates. But somewhere along the way, sex became awkward, avoided, stressful, routine, or completely disconnected. Most adults were never actually taught how to talk about sex, understand desire, regulate emotions, navigate differences, or grow sexually together over time.

 

The truth is: most people received little to no healthy adult sex education ...And it shows. Research consistently demonstrates that couples struggle to communicate openly about intimacy, desire, boundaries, needs, fantasies, and emotional connection. Many couples spend years avoiding these conversations while silently hoping things will improve on their own.

The Built to Last™ Couples Certification Course was created to change that. This is not a “spice up your relationship” program. This is a complete relationship and sexual wellness model designed to help couples reconnect mentally, physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually through a step-by-step framework you can return to throughout your relationship.

What Is the Built to Last™ Model?

The Built to Last™ Model is a relationship and sexual health framework developed by licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist supervisor Angela Skurtu. The model teaches couples how to heal and grow through five core areas of intimacy:

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MIND

OPEN YOUR MIND

YOU'LL LEARN

Learn how beliefs, shame, stress, anxiety, education, culture, and communication patterns impact your relationship and sexuality.

  • How to talk about sex without panic or shutdown

  • Why avoidance keeps couples stuck

  • How your nervous system impacts communication

  • The foundations of healthy adult sex education

  • How to build psychological safety around intimacy

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BODY

RECONNECT WITH YOUR BODY

COUPLES WILL LEARN TO

Most people were never taught how to feel safe, present, or connected in their own body.

  • Understand stress and arousal systems

  • Improve body awareness and sensual connection

  • Explore touch, pleasure, pacing, and comfort

  • Reduce performance pressure and anxiety

  • Create safer physical intimacy experiences

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HEART

REBUILD TRUST & INTIMACY

YOU'LL LEARN

Emotional disconnection impacts physical intimacy more than most couples realize.

  • How resentment quietly damages desire

  • Emotional regulation skills for conflict

  • Repair strategies after hurt or avoidance

  • How to reconnect after years of distance

  • Why friendship and intimacy must work together

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SOUL

OWN YOUR SEXUAL IDENTITY

COUPLES WILL LEARN TO

Many adults are still carrying shame, confusion, silence, or inherited messaging about who they are sexually.

  • Explore sexual identity without judgment

  • Understand desires, preferences, and boundaries

  • Develop confidence and ownership around intimacy

  • Move from shame to self-awareness

  • Build an authentic relational identity together

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SPIRIT

LEAVE A LEGACY OF LOVE

YOU'LL LEARN

Healthy relationships evolve. This final section teaches couples how to create a long-term vision for love, intimacy, connection, and impact.

  • What kind of relationship you want to build over decades

  • How to grow together instead of apart

  • Modeling healthy intimacy for future generations

  • Shared meaning, purpose, and vision

  • Building a relationship that lasts beyond survival mode

Frequently Asked Questions

Meet Your Guide

Licensed Marriage Therapist in the state of Missouri and
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist

Angela Skurtu is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Missouri and a nationally certified Sex Therapist through the American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She holds a Master of Education in Counseling and Family Therapy from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Since 2008, she has been helping couples navigate intimacy, communication, and sexual health.

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As an AAMFT and AASECT-approved supervisor, Angela is a recognized expert in the field of sexual and relationship health. Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, Women’s Day Magazine, The Post-Dispatch, Good Therapy,and Psychology Today. In 2017, she received a media award from the Missouri Association for Marriage and Family Therapists for her contributions to blogging, podcasting, and media appearances. She also received the 2020 Best of Ballwin Award for marriage and family counseling.

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