Bruce and Cindy were vacationing in Palm Springs and walked into an eyeglass store. Bruce saw a pair of Maybach glasses for $14,000. He called...
Author archive for: drrein
Discovery and Recovery
Wendy checked out of her relationship with Alan. Alan wasn’t meeting her emotional needs and hadn’t for years. Any attempt to change this consistently ended...
Code 2, Aisle 2
In my first session with couples, I love to hear the answer to the questions of how they met and what attracted them. Typically couples...
Can’t you Take a Joke?
Tom was making a joke. When Judy responded negatively, he said, “Can’t you take a joke?” Instead, Judy found Tom’s “joke” insulting. A joke is...
Attacking Vulnerabilities
John & Dana disconnected over the years. In our marriage counseling session, John shared that he was seeing a therapist individually for years. Dana was...
Artillery and Bombs
Relationships can become battlefields. Criticism is launched horizontally. A partner intentionally or unintentionally attacks. When one is attacked, the recipient defends him or herself, and...
What Can I Do?
Paul and Kim talked about how snarky they were being with each other the last couple of weeks. When I inquired what was going on,...
Turn Here! Slow Down!
Driving is a classic topic in couples therapy since it evokes power and control issues. Commands such as “Turn here,” “Park here,” “Go this way”...
The Tarp
Cynthia was feeling stressed. Between work, kids and maintaining the home, there was never enough time. Her partner Ron sensed her strain and decided to...
The Commander
Justin and Michelle were going away for the weekend. Justin insisted on returning to a particular restaurant, saying “I am going to ….” I pointed...