Susan L.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Next cohort starts in January 2026 – limited seats available.
2000+
people transformed
40+
years of development
84 years of Harvard Research shows:
"Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period."

Robert Waldinger
Author, Professor, Zen Priest
Develop your mind.
Improve your relationships.
Transform your life.
The Immersion is our flagship program and our most transformative experience. Enrollment is limited to small, closed groups so each participant receives the individual attention essential for meaningful change.
This course was born from four decades of guiding seekers, couples, therapists, and leaders — and recognizing the misconceptions about what it means to be human that keep us stuck, disconnected, and unable to thrive.
Over the years, we’ve developed Real Dialogue™, an approach to break through, connect well, and live with meaning and fulfillment. The Immersion provides the essential foundation and support to bring it into every part of your life.
I look forward to sharing this experience with you.
Polly


Not more content
Not another tool
A new way of being.
Our greatest superpower is self-awareness.
And it only arises through relationship.
Without self-awareness, you’ll keep repeating the same patterns — within yourself, in love, and at work. No amount of knowledge — not even self-knowledge — will lead to true transformation; only self-awareness can.
Real Dialogue™ is one of the rare methods that builds skills in self-awareness through relationship, and shifts these deeply stuck patterns in real time.
Grow, transform, connect, and discover a new way of being with The Immersion.
Susan L.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Robin J.
Pastor
Kristina V.
Executive Director
Raymond C.
Clinical Psychologist
The Immersion is a 3 Month crash course into Real Dialogue™.
Over 40+ years of clinical experience, we've distilled what's most essential and effective to transform conflict and relationships into an engine for growth, connection, and fruitful collaboration.
We've helped over 2000 people experience real results.
Weekly videos covering essential insights to shift the way you experience and engage with reality, relationship, and projects
Get clarity and strengthen your awareness with The Immersion Workbook, exercises, and challenges
Weekly 60-minute live call with a partner from your cohort to practice Real Dialogue™
Weekly 90-minute Zoom meeting with your 10-person cohort - and led by your expert facilitator - to practice Real Dialogue™, reflect on the week's lessons, plus Q&A
Weekly 90-minute live calls with Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath introducing innovative exercises and explorations that will push you to experience direct insight and learning
Access to the Real Dialogue™ Community and valuable resources from Real Dialogue™ and our partners
In Week One, we'll introduce you to your cohort and facilitator, The Immersion, and Real Dialogue™. We'll give you a clear map of the program and guide you on how to make the most of this experience.
In Week Two, we'll look at how emotions, self-consciousness, preferences, and the urge to control others and life arise in development. We'll look at how these work against us and how we can approach them to improve our connections, relationships, and get more of what we want in life.
In Week Three, we will look at why we fight and how emotions and self give rise to "taking things personally", emotional threat, and cycles of humiliation and rage.
In Week Four, we will explore how we each live in our own internal world and how this can lead to confusion, emotional threat, and disconnection on the one hand, or clarity, connection, and wonder on the other.
In Week Five, we will look at how we each live in our own movie, have a "reality distortion field", push other people's buttons and pull their strings, and have our own buttons pushed and strings pulled, in a dance of what we call emotional entanglement.
In Week Six, we will look closely at how to stop destructive fights, stop blaming, and stop telling stories that reproduce hatred. We'll also look at how this leads to a sense of personal empowerment and a sense of mystery about the other.
In Week Seven, we will explore the muscle of containment – the ability to stop emotional reactivity and respond optimally. We'll look at what it is and isn't with nuance, how to develop it, and how it can transform your self, relationships, and life.
In Week Eight, we will look at the power of commitment – the ability to show up consistently over a long period of time no matter what. We'll explore how commitment builds self-trust and trust in others, develops character, and leads to mastery and wonderous things.
In Week Nine, we will explore the gift of constraint – the way limits give rise to appreciation, humor, mystery, and peace. We'll look at how coming to terms with limits in ourselves, others, relationships, and life opens the door to radical acceptance, deep satisfaction, and fulfillment.
In Week Ten, we'll explore dialogue – a process of considerable tension that is not oriented toward agreement or resolution, but is itself a generative force for creativity.
In Week Eleven, we'll explore how Real Dialogue™ can help you differentiate: to disentangle from merger and disconnection in relationships, clarify your sense of yourself and your life, increase connection, and help you live into meaning.
In Week Twelve, we will explore how to use Real Dialogue™ to sustain creative collaborations that enrich and expand your life.
The Immersion
$6,000
Our most personalized, immersive program designed for meaningful transformation.
Who it’s for:
What You'll Experience:
12 weekly live sessions with Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath + practice groups, partner sessions, daily practices, and essential insights videos
Transform and develop your mind
Learn the art of healthy conflict
Awaken vitality in your relationships
Become more effective in your work and life
Discover the preciousness of human life
Develop equanimity, humor, wisdom, and love
Next cohort starts January 2026.
The Immersion For Couples
$20,000
The couples path of The Immersion with additional personalized attention and expert support to bring Real Dialogue™ into your partnership.
Who it’s for:
What You'll Experience:
Everything in The Immersion for 2 people PLUS
Private lesson with Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath
24 hours of private skill-building sessions with a Real Dialogue™ Expert
Exclusive Couples Small Group
Next cohort starts January 2026.
The Immersion For Leaders
$20,000
The leaders path of The Immersion with additional personalized attention and expert support to bring Real Dialogue™ into your work.
Who it’s for:
What You’ll Experience
Everything in The Immersion PLUS
Private consult with Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath
12 one:one sessions with our Executive Leadership Team
Exclusive Leaders Small Group
Next cohort starts January 2026.
No. This is not therapy. This is an educational program designed for you to develop skills that help to engage in relationships with clarity and skill. We do not diagnose or treat mental health conditions and this is not marriage or family therapy.
1:1 support is only included in The Immersion For Couples and The Immersion For Leaders; however, as part of The Immersion you will get access to: weekly Mastery Classes with Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath, a weekly Small Group led by a highly skilled and knowledgable Real Dialogue™ Expert, the Real Dialogue™ Community, and you can connect with our Customer Success Team any time. You will have plenty of opportunities to ask any questions you may have and get individualized support and feedback to help you learn the skills.
Yes. We offer extended payment plans for all of our programs. You will have an opportunity to choose the payment plan that works for you after your application and interview, at the time of enrollment.
For terms and conditions specifically related to payment plans, click here.
No. This program is designed for anyone who wants to learn relational skills. Many seekers, couples, families, leaders, teams, and more have found our programs valuable.
Yes. Every year, we offer a number of partial and full scholarships funded by generous donors to the Center For Real Dialogue. You will have an opportunity to apply for a scholarship when enrollments are open. In the meantime, we suggest that you join the waitlist for early notice as seats and scholarships go quickly.