The birth of Growth Climate™, both as a relationship profile and as a company, arose out of our desire to halt the rising tide of domestic violence. Most individuals, when they find themselves in marriages that are abusive, are either afraid to tell others or are too embarrassed to admit that they made a mistake. Even sadder, when they do get the courage to speak out to those they think they can trust, they are often not believed. These hurting souls and their children end up bearing their pain alone. When the pain becomes intolerable, they finally seek professional help.

Growth Climate™ L.L.C., was founded by Kenneth H. Patey, M.S., and Kevin B. Skinner, Ph.D.-educators and therapists. The name comes from literally many hundreds of reports wherein course participants and clients related what they had experienced. The reports are of individuals who presented themselves as warm, sensitive, caring, and valuing persons while they were dating, but who emerged from behind pre-marriage masks as abusers. These dating masks often dropped the instant they were married. Most interesting is that, upon reflection, victims could now see indicators of potentially abusive relationships, but had dismissed these warning signs as insignificant.

We decided that the best way to decrease abuse in families is to help people identify both healthy and unhealthy relationship patterns before it is too late. Test Your Relationship™ is intended to be a guard rail along the edge of potentially dangerous roadways. Unfortunately, most mental health funding is currently spent on sending ambulances to pick up those who fall into the abyss of abuse.

A wise man once said, "The lives of most people are histories of their search for intimacy, of their attempts to be socially, physically, and emotionally close to others." Our greatest desire is to help individuals and couples develop healthy relationships and to teach them how to avoid the unnecessary pain of harmful ones.