Rick and Amy were having a dinner party with several other couples. Rick shared a story about meeting Amy and “pulling her out of the...
Hello Good-Bye
Successful couples say hello when they greet each other and good-bye when they part. They say good morning when they awake and good night when...
A Love Story
John’s parents divorced when he was a toddler and he immigrated from Cape Verde to the US as a teenager with his mother. His dad...
You’re Controlling
Andrea and Don came to marriage counseling to work on their disconnection. As they talked about their disconnection, Andrea talked about feeling micro-managed and controlled, ...
You Don’t Fight Anymore
As Roberta and Dan were concluding their marriage counseling sessions, we were reviewing their progress. Roberta shared that their 8 year old son Conor recently...
What Do You Need?
I was recently reading the Gottman Institute’s newsletter Marriage Minute and the Gottmans’ shared a story about their relationship. Dr. Julie Gottman shared feeling upset...
Disengaged
The majority of couples in counseling have difficulty managing conflict, but discord doesn’t characterize every couple. Some couples are disengaged. Disconnected couples may avoid addressing...
A Word Can Make A Difference
During a couples counseling session, Debbie told her husband Al, “You are depressed.” The problem with the statement is that it’s critical and analytic—she’s diagnosing...
You’re Too Tense
As her kids were getting older, Madeline decided to return to work outside the home. She started her own business and was having great success....
Torn Between Two Women
As an only child, Joe feels obligated to his seventy-two year old mother. His father died years ago and his mother’s only sibling recently died....