Lessons in Love: Expressions of Love
It is one thing to love and quite another to feel loved. Without feeling loved, you may become disillusioned with your partner and your relationship. To make your partner feel loved and appreciated, it is essential to understand how best to express love so that your partner can feel it and to be open with…
Read MoreA Newlywed’s Guide to Setting Realistic Marriage Expectations
You have said, “I do,” signed the marriage license, and perhaps even celebrated your wedding with family and friends. With all the hard work of planning and executing a wedding behind you, now is the time to sit back, relax, and enjoy life as a married couple, right? The truth, of course, is that this…
Read MoreLessons in Love: Love is Dynamic
Love exists in many forms that complement a variety of relationships. Think of the love you feel for your partner versus the love you feel for a friend, relative, pet, or hobby. It is restrictive to think that there is a “right” kind of love to strive for, which may lead you farther astray from…
Read MoreLove is Conditional: Busting Relationship Myths
Love stories often arrive wrapped in cultural slogans and social media soundbites. Those messages sound comforting at first, yet many of them create confusion and disappointment over time. Relationship myths affect how people approach intimacy, conflict, sex, and commitment, and those myths quietly influence daily choices. From our perspective as clinicians, these beliefs often block…
Read MoreGuidelines for a Good Apology
Offering a good apology to someone may seem easy, but doing it right requires attention and care. Simply saying, “I’m sorry” does not necessarily absolve you from your mistake; truly conveying remorse involves much more. No matter the circumstances, we each need to take personal responsibility for our own actions, regardless of how the past…
Read MoreShowing Interest in Your Partner: Home-based Therapy for Your Relationship
Over time, partners frequently lose the fervor they once had to understand and actively appreciate the other. This is partially due to simply knowing your partner better. After being with this person for so many years, day in and day out, you certainly learn a thing or two about your partner’s likes, dislikes, annoyances, and…
Read MoreTaking Control: Achieving a More Fulfilling Relationship Using Gottman’s Magic 6 Hours
John Gottman is a well-known researcher of intimate relationships , and he developed a method of couple therapy based on many of his findings. One piece of his theory that recently received media attention is the significance of couple time in improving your relationship. Given that this is a concept I almost always bring up…
Read More3 Tips for Dating if You Are Socially Anxious
Many people say that dating is difficult and unpleasant. Rarely do you hear someone express unbridled excitement about going on yet another date, and that is because for a lot of people, dating is hard work! It requires one to be vulnerable yet energetic and engaging yet quiet enough to listen to your date. Even…
Read MoreWhat to Do When You Feel Undesired By Your Partner
Sexual desire naturally fluctuates, but many partners and couples struggle to accept the inevitable fall in sexual frequency and desire following the initial romantic love stage of a relationship. Sexual desire often comes willingly and easily in the early stages of a relationship, and many couples are left unprepared to initiate more active efforts to…
Read MoreMarriage Saver: Talking About Resentment
“As challenging as it can feel, it is the responsibility of the approached partner to be willing to listen to the hurt partner’s request.” All relationships encounter points where one or both partners become irritated with the other. Ideally, many of these irritations are accepted as just part of the marriage deal. Just because your…
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