Rachel had felt alone in her relationship for years, experiencing the relationship as one-sided. She supported her husband Dan but didn’t get the same in return.

By our second meeting, Rachel talked about how well the relationship was going. In the third meeting a month later, Rachel was wondering what they were going to talk about since the relationship was going exactly the way she hoped—she couldn’t ask for more.

When she asked Dan what he was doing differently, he didn’t think he was doing anything differently. This concerned her, but as the conversation continued, it was clear he was being more responsive to Rachel. Her comments were no longer responded to with silence or one-word answers. They were now having conversations.

It didn’t take much, so we explored what was different this time since Rachel had been sharing her dissatisfactions for years. We concluded that hearing her complaints in the serious environment of marriage counseling was the tipping point. She needed a partner and he was now being one. The only challenge left was to keep it going. I would see them in two months to ensure their progress. 

On rare occasions, sometimes a couple only needs a little bit of pixie dust.