Top 10 Healthy Relationship Worksheets for Deeper Connections

published:	29 Jun 2023

Healthy relationships give a 50% hike to our longevity. Social networks are even more beneficial than exercise [1]. With such an impact, we should all be working on healthy relationships worksheets.

All mental health practitioners know the importance of having a healthy social network and strong close relationships. Nevertheless, have you maximized all the tools at your disposal?

The human mind is complex and we need a variety of approaches to enable people to open up to new ways of behaving and living. In some cases, you might need art therapy or group therapy but either way, homework and ongoing self-reflection between sessions is key.

Healthy relationships worksheets are simple and easy to use both in session and as homework. You can find many online of course but with a platform like Quenza, you can integrate these worksheets into tailored client journeys.

We’ll show what those journeys might look like, along with the best of today’s healthy relationships worksheets. You can also easily follow the worksheets as you read along by signing up for the free, full-access, one-month $1-only trial. With this, you’ll experience the whole of Quenza’s library of worksheets, exercises, visualizations and more.

What Do Healthy vs Unhealthy Relationships Look Like?

Over a quarter of adults between the ages of 50 and 80 report feeling isolated, according to a 2023 University of Michigan National Poll. Loneliness can and does affect all of us.

The need for belonging and social connection is now relatively well-known but developing healthy relationships based on mutual respect, trust and compassion isn’t always easy. For many, it starts by understanding their attachment style which neuroscientist Dan Seigel details in his book, Brainstorm [2].

Estimates vary with some studies quoting 63.5% of securely attached adults living in the US versus perhaps only half of the population being securely attached [3]. As any mental healthcare professional knows, insecure attachment styles bring self-doubt, fear and even manipulation, control and abuse to relationships.

Naturally, developing healthy vs unhealthy relationships isn’t just a question of working with our attachment style. We also need to understand our emotions and how our needs are being met across our life themes.

In his book, Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, psychologist and relationship expert John Gottman details 4 techniques that everyone needs to learn. These are learning how to calm emotions, practicing assertive rather than defensive communication, knowing how to validate the other person and having the willingness to keep practicing [4].

My Boundary Response Plan

In terms of learning how to calm themselves, clients can work through this exercise which complements any of the many healthy relationships worksheets out there. Essentially, it walks clients through becoming aware of their stress triggers and creating plans to navigate their way through them more wisely. All this, without shouting or becoming defensive.

Healthy relationship communication is another aspect of creating positive dynamics with people. Of course, there are well-known tools such as the non-violent communication framework or working with I-statements.

Dan Siegel takes healthy communication a step further by stating that when we communicate, we essentially exchange energy. This comes through as signals, including non-verbal ones, as well as in our general presence.

As such, Seigel suggests we should develop what he modeled as “mindsight”. This is the ability to know and understand both our internal world as well as that of others. In other words, it’s a blend of social and emotional intelligence [5].

Building Open-Mindedness in Relationships

This Quenza exercise, for example, can easily be amended to complement healthy relationships worksheets that focus on social and emotional intelligence. With its self-reflective questions, it encourages one aspect which is key: empathy.

Mindful Self-Forgiveness Meditation

To start creating a client journey, the previous exercise could be coupled with this one from Quenza’s vast library, for instance. Developing mindsight, or insight into the internal world of both our and others’ minds is often founded on mindfulness. A great way to start experiencing mindfulness is with this walking meditation because the mind has something to focus on. By observing the movement of the body, the mind starts developing “present” concentration, a necessary skill for experiencing healthy relationships.

The Art of Building Healthy Relationships

Learning how to build healthy relationships starts by understanding who we are and where we are in our development. For Maslow, it was about getting basic needs met, which included belongingness. For Kegan, Torbert, Cook-Greuter and others, depending on which adult developmental model you look at, it’s about how the self is connected, not just to relationships but to the community, universe and generations before and ahead of us [6].

What all this means is that you’ll clearly need different healthy relationships worksheets for various people. Maslow again took this to another level. In essence, he proposed that self-actualized people have met their needs for esteem and belongingness and as such have less need for a social network. In other words, as they are less emotionally dependent on others, they might simply have a handful of very close friends that they connect with sporadically. Overall, their definition of a social network will be very different [7].

Spending Time in Nature

For such people, and others of course, this Quenza exercise is a lovely reminder of how to connect with Nature. Through Nature, we engender a deep sense of belonging with the universe and all sentient beings.

Wheel of Needs

To further understand what people need, this Quenza exercise gives clients a holistic view of their needs and how balanced they currently are. From there, it’s easier to determine how they perceive the human-nature balance and therefore, how to continue working with healthy relationships worksheets.

Overall, developing healthy vs unhealthy relationships is a lifelong journey that evolves as people grow and mature into adulthood. Although, our earlier infant and teenage years are still part of the medley of how we approach relationships. The key is to tailor healthy relationships worksheets for the right audience which, as we’ll see, Quenza can help you do.

See for yourself by signing up for the free, full-access, one-month $1-only trial just how easy it is to customize each activity from the library.

Healthy Relationship Communication or Co-Creation?

Organizational anthropologist Judith Glaser developed the conversational intelligence model for the workplace [8] but it applies equally well to any person, both at home and at work. The question is, how do you help someone shift from an “I’m right, you’re wrong” mindset to “let’s explore and co-create”?

Developing healthy relationship communication takes a huge amount of self-awareness as well as compassion and insight. Of course, there are many healthy relationships worksheets that offer people various tools, such as the non-violent communication framework. Nevertheless, you also need some healthy relationships worksheets that focus on mindset.

Adopting a Growth Mindset to Criticism

This Quenza exercise is a great start for your clients to explore what triggers them when they receive feedback. Then, what are they really afraid of and how can they let that go to learn from others and even take risks in changing behavior?

The Effects of Language on Thinking, Emotion, and Physiology

One way to start shifting clients’ mindsets away from “I’m right, you’re wrong” is to boost their awareness of both their language and their emotions. This Quenza exercise helps them connect negative thinking with emotions but what about tweaking the exercise to ask them to determine how often they think others “should” do this or that? The greater the awareness, the more acceptance they can build that people are simply as they are.

The Positive Aspects of Your Relationship

As part of shifting their language, clients can also work through this Quenza exercise to focus on the positives of any of their relationships. As a practitioner, you can also easily add sections. For example, you can include one to encourage curiosity about the other person’s inner world. Without being curious, we can’t truly learn what the other person offers and we can’t co-create with transformational communication.

The Best of Free Healthy Relationship Worksheets

There are a multitude of healthy relationships worksheets that can be downloaded and even printed. They’re easy to do anywhere and clients can work through them on the go as issues or triggers occur.

Whilst Quenza offers a library of worksheets and activities, the sole focus isn’t just on relationships but on anything that touches life and mental health. As such, we’ve also reviewed some of the best free relationship resources currently available online.

1- Attachment Style

The Attachment Project is a valuable source of information for anyone who wants to learn about attachment styles and how they’re formed. Their mission is to support people in healing their past trauma in order to be more securely attached.

Therefore, before launching into healthy relationships worksheets, it’s useful to complete their online attachment style quiz. The answers can guide clients on how to proceed with what they need to heal for themselves before they can learn how to build healthy relationships

2- Couple’s Strengths Exploration

TherapistAid has many worksheets specifically tailored for therapists but most of them can also be adapted by coaches. For instance, this couple’s strengths exploration worksheet enables couples to reflect on their partner’s strengths.

The overall aim is to validate each other while remembering what they love about each other. Moreover, it takes couples away from simply focusing on the negatives.

The Strengths Profile Self-Reflection

This Quenza worksheet would complement the Strengths Exploration exercise well. In this one, each person reflects on their strengths and how they demonstrate them in the relationship. This can be a powerful reminder that they can either use their strengths more often or that they under-appreciate themselves.

3- The Relationship Wheel

The Wellness Society CIC has put together the Relationship Wheel worksheet. It first defines what it considers the key 8 signs of a healthy relationship to be, such as trust and shared interests. These 8 themes are then arranged into the relationship wheel so that clients can rate each one on a scale.

Emotion Regulation Wheel

This unique Quenza exercise takes the wheel concept and applies it to the different ways we regulate our emotions. Each of the many strategies is arranged in a wheel so that clients can prioritize whether they choose to shift their perspective on their emotions or change the relationship with them or simply work with their intensity. This further provides a solid foundation for healthy relationships worksheets because emotions are at the core of how we behave with each other.

Examples of Relationship Worksheets for Adults

Another great resource for relationship worksheets for adults is PsychologyTools. Again, coaches can adapt those worksheets for their clients, although these are not free.

1- Interpersonal beliefs and styles

The Interpersonal Beliefs and Styles worksheet takes clients through a 4 step process. Through this journey, they articulate their beliefs about relationships and how this causes them to act with others. It then encourages them to reflect on the self-perpetuating cycle that they create that reinforces their negative beliefs and hence, behaviors.

The Costs and Benefits of Changing Behavior

A powerful Quenza exercise to further work on beliefs to encourage a change in behavior is this cost and benefits analysis worksheet. The aim is to generate some intrinsic motivation to make the changes clients need.

2- Fair fighting rules for Resolving Conflict

It’s common for clients to use healthy relationships worksheets to review conflict. Most people seek to avoid conflict but it can in fact be a source of positive change and creativity. First though, we have to set the ground rules, as in this Fair fighting rules for Resolving Conflict worksheet.

Managing Toxic Relationships

Sadly, some people are still dealing with their traumas and inner demons which can be toxic. This Quenza exercise allows clients to evaluate their relationships to gauge whether healthy conflict is even possible. Of course, in some cases it can also be eye-opening for the client who brings toxic behaviors themselves.

Top Resources of Relationship Worksheets for Teens

Not only are many of our relationship issues created when we were children and teenagerss but teens also have the added challenge of dealing with constant change. Their bodies and emotions are on a roller-coaster as they try to work out who they are and how they fit into this world.

As such, relationship worksheets for teens need to be practical and easy to digest in the midst of a host of digital distractions. Moreover, they need to be fun so the best ones have an element of play in them.

Both of these free healthy relationship worksheets have been designed for adolescents and our younger clients in general. You’ll find them engaging and easy to print out for your practice.

1- Teen Relationship Workbook

The Cheshire West and Chester Safeguarding Children Partnership offers this Teen Relationship Workbook with 68 reproducible worksheets published by Wellness Reproductions.

In there, you’ll find everything from supporting teens with understanding their relationships to making good decisions about relationships. It includes quizzes, self-reflection questions, pictograms and much more.

2- Healthy Relationship Resource Kit for Children and Adolescents

Another powerful resource in the list of healthy relationships worksheets is this workbook developed by Western Health, a US organization that supports well-being.

This particular Resource Kit of healthy relationships worksheets also includes sections for working with children younger than teens. Again, you’ll find games, word searches and other activities on topics such as the Friendship Circle, what love is versus love what it isn’t and kindness.

Working with Couples and Leveraging Printable Relationship Worksheets

All the above free healthy relationship worksheets are printable which gives you, the practitioner, an option when working with clients. Some prefer typing online of course but for those who are willing to print and write, they go through a different reflective experience.

Moreover, with these next three printable relationship worksheets, couples can sit down together and work through them like any other problem-solving issue. As they read, talk and write, they also slow down, bond and reconnect.

1- Learning how to open up to your partner

This wonderful worksheet on learning to open up to your partner encourages gratitude, appreciation as well as mindfulness of emotions within the body. The aim is to help people get out of their heads and into the present with each other.

Gratitude Meditation

A great way to complement this worksheet is with Quenza’s meditation practice and self-reflection questions. Together, they further deepen that feeling of gratitude.

2- Goal Setting for Couples

Any relationship is a dance between what each individual needs and wants and what the couple needs and wants. Many people lose that balance and can become overly focused on their individual goals. In fact, raising awareness of this loss of balance is one of the great benefits of working with healthy relationships worksheets.

For example, this goal setting worksheet for couples brings the focus back to what the couple can work on together. Moreover, it enables the couple to list both their individual goals and that of the couple so that they can see how aligned they are.

Reframing Avoidance Goals to Approach Goals

Another shift that couples sometimes need is to positively reframe their goals, as in this Quenza exercise. So, clients stop running away from what they don’t want which isn’t very motivating. Instead, the worksheet asks them to reframe their goals into positive action.

3- Relationship Growth Activity

Finally, this is another exercise from TherapistAid’s list of free relationship resources. In this Relationship Growth Activity, clients go through a set of reflective questions to explore their life as a couple across various themes. The aim is to get deeper into each other’s thoughts and feelings to gain insight for better communication and overall problem-solving.

For couples work, you can also review these 5 couples therapy worksheets and exercises for further ideas.

Naturally, we can’t just go through healthy relationships worksheets and expect everything to be fixed overnight. Some people will need more in-depth work and other therapy techniques. Either way, healthy relationships worksheets encourage self-reflection which is the start of raising awareness for the lifelong journey of self-improvement.

Bringing Us All Closer Together with Stronger Bonds

We all have different social and relationship needs depending on where we are in our lives. Nevertheless, social networks form the foundation for giving people a sense of belonging and how they fit into the universe.

Relationships are hard but, in many ways, they come naturally. Despite this we could all do with more awareness of how we behave around other people. As such, relationship worksheets for teens, as well as for adults, often start with exploring attachment styles.

From there, there is a range of healthy relationships worksheets covering every topic. These include everything from communication and mindfulness to gratitude and empathy. The aim is to help all of us boost our social and emotional intelligence with easy-to-use printable relationship worksheets.

With Quenza, you not only get access to a library of hundreds of such worksheets. You also get back-office support, chat messaging, individual client interfaces, documentation storage, such as client intake forms, and much more. In short, it’s your office space on a platform.

Thanks to such a powerful aid, you have more time with your clients to build those relationships. Similarly, you’ll be able to support them in creating the social networks and partnerships they need.

With your guidance, they can eventually shift from an “I’m right” mindset to a “what can we do together” mindset. Relationship neuroses will finally be gone and they’ll be living their best lives.

References

^ Harmon, K. (2010). Social ties boost survival by 50 percent. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/relationships-boost-survival/.
^ Siegel, D. J. (2015). Brainstorm. Penguin Random House LLC.
^ Adams, G. C., D'Arcy, C., & Meng, X. (2015). Associations between adult attachment style and mental health care utilization: Findings from a large-scale national survey. Psychiatry Research, 229(1-2), 454-461. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.092.
^ Gottman, J. (1995). Why marriages succeed or fail... and how you can make yours last. Fireside.
^ Siegel, D. J. (2012). Pocket guide to interpersonal neurobiology. W. W. Norton & Company.
^ Livesay, V. T. (2013). Exploring the paradoxical role and experience of fallback in developmental theory. https://doi.org/10.22371/05.2013.009.
^ Hoffman, E. (2017). The social world of self-actualizing people: Reflections by Maslow's biographer. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 60(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167817739714
^ Glaser, J. E., & Tartell, R. (2014). Conversational intelligence at work. OD Practitioner, 46(3), 62-67.