Friendship is like good insurance. You never know just how important it is until you really need it. In fact, the supportive nature of friendship is so subtle and so integral to our everyday quality of life, that we can sometimes take it for granted. For instance, this is a common occurrence with women when [...]
Friendships are a major factor in self-growth and the continuance of a healthy relationship. The importance of outside friendships in a healthy marriage can never be overestimated. If you or your partner surround yourselves only with friends who have a negative opinion on relationships and commitment as a lifestyle, it will eventually begin to degrade [...]
We marry our best friends, someone we’re comfortable with, but we grow and change over time–and at different times from our spouses. How do we handle these “growth spurts?” Sometimes we need someone to talk to, to help us work through the changes that inevitably come with long-term relationships, and that’s where couples therapy can [...]
The television series Sex in the City depicted a group of girlfriends who met often–and their conversations always seemed to gravitate to their relationships. They’d complain, brag, and whine about what was going right–or wrong–in their relationships. And one by one, they headed into or out of marriage 9it’s television, so drama happens). Marriage counseling in [...]
Dahlia and Frank entered couples counseling for an unusual reason. Both wanted to break up but weren’t quite sure how to do it. They had been struggling to make a “final split” as Frank called it, for over 4 years. Both decided their relationship was too inherently flawed and beyond repair. But because of financial [...]
Marriage counseling teaches communication skills, among other things. Many times, improper communications skills can stand in the way of a healthy, thriving marriage. Here’s what one counselor had to say: I think many couples give lip service to the skill of listening. Many don’t realize that they aren’t listening very well, even when they are [...]
Marta was not having an easy time letting go. Her husband Sean had been unfaithful to her during their first year of marriage, over 10 years ago. It had put such a schism in their marriage that by the time they entered marriage counseling, neither were communicating at all. As Sean put it: I made [...]
There are a myriad of ways we communicate with people every day, whether its through our body language or through our words. And it doesn’t stop there. Lack of communication can be a form of a communication. Silence counts. In marriage counseling, couples learn new ways to communicate about their relationships that are generally more [...]
Nothing can more allusive to some than the idea of self-love. What is it? Do I wake up and hug myself? Stare into a mirror and repeatedly say, “I love you, I love you”? These actions can ring false yet it still doesn’t negate the importance to learning to love yourself. Its one of the [...]
Entering into couples counseling isn’t necessarily an easy process. There are usually internal obstacles that most of us encounter before entering into a therapeutic process. Questions like these may arise: “What if the counselor takes his side and not mine?” “What if I’m blamed for all of the problems? I’ll feel worse than I already [...]
It’s often something we don’t give much thought to, but tone of voice matters. We can tell almost instantly how someone feels but the way they speak. A tense, constricted voice may put us on “red alert” while a gentle soothing voice helps us relax and genuinely listen. Couples counselors notice the way you talk [...]
Daryl and Sarah were in unusual situation – one that the experienced couples counselor they had chosen hadn’t witnessed before. Daryl was still married – to another woman. Daryl and his wife had established separate living situations years ago but decided to stay together until the children grew older. Daryl had met Sarah at the [...]
It’s not always easy to tell if your marriage or relationship is in need of couples counseling. All relationships, including friendships, have their own rhythm, with varying ebbs and flows. This is often difficult to accept, especially for newer relationships. The new couple wants to believe that the “enmeshment” phase will last forever. This is [...]
