After months of marriage counseling, Jennifer now felt supported by her husband Sean when she talked about Will—her adult son from her first marriage—who struggles...
Archive for category: Couples Counseling
Can’t You See
Elysia and Scott were sitting in the physician’s waiting room waiting for Elysia’s appointment. Elysia’s cell phone rang and she answered. Elysia kept the conversation...
An Unpleasant Holiday
Jeannie works in the restaurant industry. When she was working Christmas Eve, her husband Rick planned to make the night special despite her not being...
Zero to One Hundred
Escalation is a core problem in many relationships. If a person starts a conversation with a negative comment, the likelihood of a partner responding negatively...
We Need to Talk
Robert dreaded when Diane said, “We need to talk.” He knew the conversation was likely to escalate. She criticized him, he then defended himself, and...
Mars and Venus
The best selling hard-cover nonfiction book of all time is Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, Ph.D. This reflects people’s...
Listen, Support, and Validate
Sue was emotional these days. Her father’s memory was beginning to fail him and she was feeling distressed. When she began to share her upset...
Liberace Glasses
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...
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...