The Irrelationship Group was founded to assist people in developing fulfilling intimate relationships through education, self-help, and facilitation. TIG was started by three healthcare professionals in order to assist people in understanding themselves by understanding how they become engaged in dysfunctional relationships, termed "irrelationship". We offer approaches to disentangle oneself from irrelationship through the cultivation of compassionate empathy, mutuality and self-awareness. What is an irrelationship? An irrelationship is a two-person psychological defense system; it is a defense against the fear and anxiety that come along with allowing another person to matter. Irrelationship is a way of protecting those within it from the messy business of really relating, because while intimate connections promise caring, compassion, and empathy, they also require emotional investment and risk. Irrelationship is not a syndrome, an illness, or a pathology. It is a way of being in relationship, a dynamic—something partners do together.