Family · Repair
Family Repair After Rupture Worksheet
Acknowledge, own, change, reconnect
Families that stay close over time aren't the ones without ruptures — they're the ones that repair. This sheet walks one rupture (a fight, a betrayal of trust, a long silence) through an actual repair, not an apology-and-move-on.
Name the rupture
What happened, in specific behavioral terms
What it meant to the person hurt
My part — no matter how small
What I did or didn't do that contributed
The four-part repair
1. Acknowledgment — name the impact, without "but"
2. Ownership — name my part, without blaming
3. Change — what I will do differently, specifically
4. Reconnection — a shared action that rebuilds the thread
Step
What I'll say / do
When
If the other person isn't ready
How I'll stay in the door without demanding they come through it
Repair is the whole relationship
Rupture is not the opposite of closeness — repair is. Every family has ruptures. The close ones have practiced the repair.