“You’re too sensitive!” or “You’re insensitive!” are both accusatory statements. The recipient is likely to react or withdraw. Every individual falls somewhere along the continuum...
Archive for category: Marriage Counseling
You Have to Work at it
I was recently reading the book Barking Up the Wrong Tree, and came across a fascinating study. The research compared love marriages—couples that marry because...
No Filter
A client recently shared with me that when she’s with her husband, “I don’t want to filter what I say.” She wants to “be herself”...
Connected Conversations
Kim was longing to feel emotionally connected to Sam again, so I was coaching Sam how to be more emotionally responsive to Kim. They were...
A Piece of Work
Ed’s mother was a piece of work. She was visiting from across the country and staying an extended period of time. She had a history...
What I Meant to Say
It’s not unusual for a couple to be talking about a previous conversation and a partner remembers the discussion differently. The tendency is for the...
Security Code
April and John are strongly attracted and feel a deep sense of love for each other. Despite this connection, an issue emerged that was troublesome....
Playing Mozart
After my first information gathering session with Kelly and Ted, I had them read a manual that I routinely give to couples. This manual describes...
But I Mowed the Lawn
Jake was on the West Coast between work meetings when Kristin called. She was panicked, thinking she was having a miscarriage. When he came home, despite...
Words are Revealing
A husband noticed that his wife talked about their relationship in the past tense and this panicked him. He had a reason to be concerned....