Here is a question for all married people – do you still have fun in your marriage? It’s a simple question, but perhaps I’ll make it a little harder – when was the last time you had fun in your marriage? And by the way, I don’t mean sex. By fun, I mean a good [...]
Whether you are in a new relationship or a long-term relationship (especially marriage), being able to say no without guilt is important to your own well being as well as the well being of your relationship. In the past, it was not acceptable for a wife to say no. Over the years, things have changed, [...]
“I give my partner a compliment and they brush it aside.” Does that sound familiar? You may feel they are being negative, however, there are a lot of people in this world who find it hard to receive compliments. I’ll go further: There are a lot of people who find it hard to accept love! [...]
We often look at marriage problems from the perspective of the aggrieved partner. But what about the partner who has caused the pain? How do they say they are sorry; that the marriage is worth saving; and that they want to save it? Often, the aggrieved partner is feeling hurt, the trust is gone, and [...]
There are several very good self help marriage tools available today, but they are not necessarily the answer to every marriage in trouble. There are several elements that need to be present before any self help program can work. When it comes to marriage therapy, these elements need to be present in both partners. If [...]
There are a lot of factors that go into making a successful relationship. Communication is one factor that is extremely important. In fact, it forms the base for many of the other factors. One aspect of communication is knowing what to say and when to say it. You can look at this as being a [...]
You can go to the doctor to determine your own health. You can take your car to a mechanic to check its health status. But what about your marriage? How do you check its health status? In fact, what defines a healthy marriage? The University of Maryland has put together an extensive list of the [...]
Every marriage goes through rough patches. Often all that is needed is some friendly advice on how to deal with the issue at hand. In many cases, couples steer their way through the problem with no outside help at all. Online counseling has proven to be effective for a number of reasons. First, it is [...]
One of the most important aspects of any relationship, particularly a marriage, is friendship. When you look at your partner, can you say they are your best friend? Can you confide all your fears to them, talk about them, and perhaps work together to resolve them? There are often times when third parties are our [...]
Do office romances destroy marriages? Often, they don’t. What destroys a marriage is breaking off an office romance. When an office romance comes to an end, there is often tension in the workplace, especially if one person has broken off the relationship against the wishes of the other. This tension often boils over and effects [...]
Why are we seeing more long term marriages falling apart? Any ideas? There are many reasons why a long term marriage falls apart, but in most cases what we haven’t seen is the marriage slowly breaking down. Couples, especially those with children or professional reputations to consider, can be very adept at hiding what is [...]
This may sound like a strange question when it comes to relationships and marriages – but when did you last review your priorities? If I asked you to write down your priorities for this year, what would be on your list? It’s very rare to see any reference to a marriage or relationship in a [...]
Do you want to get 2011 off on the right foot? Want to feel more deeply in love and have the marriage you dream about? In less time that it takes to brush your teeth, you can watch, The Most Important Lesson. In this video, you’ll learn: The secret of happily married couples How to [...]
Our recent posts have been very much on the positive side of saving marriages. If you read them, you will notice there is one thread that is common to all of them – and that is that a marriage can only be saved if both partners really commit to saving that marriage. There’s a sad [...]
There are times when a counselor will tell a couple there is nothing wrong with their marriage. The initial reaction is one of disbelief. Just because you feel your marriage is breaking down doesn’t mean it is. The fact you are both talking to a marriage counselor is often testament to that. Before I upset [...]
One of the questions many couples ask, or at least one half of a couple ask, is whether or not their marriage is worth saving. There is a relatively easy answer to that question. Imagine how your relationship was to begin with – do you want that back? If the answer is yes then in [...]
The number one question asked of counselors – where has my marriage gone wrong? We wish the answer was as simple as the question. Marriages can go wrong for a lot of reasons. One reason that is hard to fathom is the cop out answer – “we weren’t right for each other”. I call that [...]
We live in a world where families can be split by wide distances. Mom may be at home with a couple of school age children. The eldest child may be away at college, and dad may be off working in some remote corner of the world. Long distance families are difficult to maintain although they [...]
One of the most common complaints that marriage counselors hear is that a partner spends more time at work than they do in the home. While most people do spend more time at work than with their families, there is a difference between ‘normal’ working hours, and extended working hours. If you sleep for the [...]
We enter into a lot of relationships in our lives, not just those related to romance. Almost every relationship, including those involving romance, rely on one single word for survival. That word? Trust. While many people would consider love the most important word in a marriage, no one has ever been able to really define [...]
One of the toughest things for any family to go through is some form of tragedy. In today’s world, tragedy is really often waiting just around the corner. Car accidents, house fires, workplace accidents, crime and, in today’s world, even terrorism can strike at any time – often leaving a family devastated by one or [...]
While marriage counseling spends a lot of time dealing with issues within a relationship, one of the interesting aspects is that which involves romance. When a relationship starts to turn a little frosty, romance is one of the first aspects to be pushed aside. Romance is also one of those aspects of a relationship that [...]
There is an interesting study that has been done that followed relationship bust ups as reported on Facebook. It seems we are not shy when it comes to telling the world that our relationships are coming to, or come to, and end. What is interesting is the trend as to when relationships break up – [...]
He’s old, she’s half his age; she’s rich, he’s from the wrong side of the tracks; she’s got a college degree, he’s a high school drop out. You see or hear of these opposites forming relationships all the time and yet what many people don’t realize is that these relationships generally are long lasting. We [...]
Many people make resolutions at the beginning of the year. I wonder how many couples made a resolution to improve their marriage? If you didn’t, here are a few tips that you may want to consider adopting in 2011. They are sure to bring you closer together as a couple and at the same time [...]
Can your social environment affect the longevity of your marriage? They say that if you hang out with successful people, then some of their success is bound to rub off on you. There is more than a little truth in that when it comes to marriages. If you are in a social environment where the [...]
I’ll probably prick a few egos here, but, despite popular belief, marriage counselors do not repair marriages. They don’t have any special magic and they can’t wave a wand and say your marriage is fixed. In fact, if both partners are not committed to saving the marriage, then a marriage counselor may not be effective [...]
One of the hardest things to do in any relationship is to know when to quit. I don’t mean the relationship – what I am talking about is a dispute or argument. There is a lot of truth in the old saying of not going to bed with an unresolved argument. Come morning, everyone is [...]
The word divorce conjures up a sense of finality. A marriage that is legally over. Yet, you would be surprised to learn how many couples actually regret being divorced. Many of those couple still have strong feelings for each other too (in a positive way), yet feel they can’t live together. Although a divorce is [...]
