Repairs are one of the most difficult skills for couples to learn and implement. Repairs are when a conversation begins to go off track but...
Author archive for: drrein
Listen
Lauren and Anthony generally have a great relationship. They love each other deeply but struggle with communication. Their challenge is that communication difficulties are subtle,...
Read the Room
Jack and Eileen were arguing at home when Jack attacked Eileen, Eileen reacted, and Jack said, “Let’s end this.” When they processed this interaction in...
What I Need
Sue took issue with Jeremy calling her useless. She began to criticize him for name-calling when I stopped her. I suggested that rather than pointing...
Transparency
Christie discovered that Connor was calling another woman. Since Connor had a history of not being honest, this made the issue even more problematic. Connor...
Silent Rage
Alex and Courtney are an engaged couple in their early thirties, living together in the city. One evening Alex was hoping to hang out with...
Feedforward
When couples give feedback to one other, it tends to be negative. The information typically describes what their partner is doing wrong—which is often critical....
Capacity for Change
A client was describing being estranged from his sister. Any consideration of reconciliation was non-existent. The sister was written off. It made me think about...
Not a Smart Idea
Andrea and Ron were enjoying their long weekend at the beach when Andrea was feeling adventurous. Despite it being dark out, Andrea said, “Let’s go...
What’s Wrong? Nothing.
Debbie is pretty intuitive and was sensing something was bothering Chris. When she asked, “What’s wrong?”, he said, “Nothing.” She asked again and his response...