Making Your Relationship a Safe Haven: Ideas to Help Lean On One Another During These Challenging Times
All of us face stressful seasons in life. But lately, things have seemed especially challenging for just about everyone. World conflict, financial and economic uncertainty, health and safety concerns. Whether directly or indirectly, these problems are impacting lives throughout the world. It’s times like these that our relationships become all the more essential. We lean on […]
Communication After Infidelity is Hard: Here Are 5 Tips to Improve It
Learning how to communicate again after experiencing infidelity is one of the most difficult obstacles one can experience in a lifetime. However, its worth putting in the work because a couple can never experience a deep connection emotionally if they cannot express themselves and feel understood. Infidelity is painful and creates so much uncertainty, pain, […]
Do you believe in soulmates?
As a Rabbi and psychotherapist, I do believe we have soulmates. In my work with couples, I see how this plays out, particularly from the vantage point of Imago Relationship Therapy. The Journey We believe in Imago theory that a person is always attracted to the most positive and negative character traits of their primary […]
Why It’s Important to Go On Dates with Your Spouse & 3 Ideas to Try
Remember the excitement you felt when you were first dating your spouse? The amount of care you put into your outfit and your appearance? The anticipation of seeing each other and the strong desire to reach out and connect again? Going on dates isn’t something only new couples can enjoy. In fact, even though there […]
Work up the motivation to set a New Years Resolution and succeed (even if all other past attempts have failed)
After the doozy that was 2020 and 2021, is there even a point to setting a New Year’s resolution when so many things are out of our control? That may be your inner perfectionist talking- if it can’t be perfect why do it in the first place? It’s wonderful to have the blessings of a […]
What Surrendering in Your Marriage Means & Why it Builds Trusting Relationships
What does it mean to surrender in your relationship—and why bother anyway? It might help to start by talking about what surrendering isn’t. After all, individualism, entrepreneurship, and equality are so strongly celebrated in our culture, so the idea of “surrendering” to your partner can conjure up a lot of negative connotations—becoming a doormat, being weak, being taken advantage of, […]
Should you work on your own “stuff” before trying couples work?
For many couples, or one partner, even going to marriage counseling is a big stretch. You may be afraid the therapist will take sides or blame you. You may even think that addressing the situation will make it worse. That’s why it is extremely unhelpful for a therapist to tell one partner that he/she needs […]
4 Things to Do When Dealing With a Toxic Family Member
It’s normal to have arguments, disagreements, and moments of frustration with our in-laws and close loved ones. If the disconnect becomes harmful and toxic, far beyond the occasional “button pushing” that all family members engage in it’s time to take action. “Family.” The word is dynamic, diverse, and loaded with history—and for all of us, occasional conflict, too. How […]
3 Insightful Ways to Bring Up an Issue With Your Spouse
Want to talk to your husband or wife about something important but don’t know how to bring it up without starting a fight or scaring them away? Whether you’re an introvert, an empath, or find it difficult to have a conversation about something important with your partner; the key to a happy marriage is communication. […]
That’s Funny, Honey: Tips for Using Humor During Marital Conflict to Stop Fights in Their Tracks
Want to know why bringing the heat down a notch during a relationship conflict is so important? Close your eyes and picture the last time you and your spouse laughed together. Really put yourself in that memory, conjuring up how it felt. It felt good, right? Want to feel it again? There’s no question that […]
What Are the “Four Horsemen” of Relationships? Here’s What the Research Says
Psychologist Dr. John Gottman has spent over 40 years researching relationships. Considered a leading expert on marital stability, Dr. Gottman is famously known for predicting whether couples will divorce with 90% accuracy. How has he developed such a keen eye for identifying ill-fated marriages? Dr. Gottman credits the work he’s done with over 3,000 newlywed […]
How Marriage Intensives can help you stop marital fights before they start
While it’s unreasonable to think that marriage intensives will eradicate all conflict in a relationship, they can definitely help. By getting to the core issues of your relationship and teaching you practical tools that will help you navigate through the difficult topics and feel more connected, you will find yourself feeling closer to each other […]
I Don’t Love My Spouse Anymore? Which of the 3 Relationship Stages are You In
The stages of a relationship are often misunderstood, and confused with what at first appears to be the end of a marriage. Find yourself saying “I don’t love my spouse anymore”? Wondering what to do if you don’t love your spouse anymore? Wondering if your marriage is over and beyond repair? These feelings are normal […]
No Communication in Marriage? Learn Why. Maximizer vs Minimizer Styles
In a marriage, we need to make sure we communicate effectively. Our communication styles dictate for the most part how we react in certain situations, and the two most common communication styles are maximizers and minimizers. A maximizer is loud and boisterous, while the minimizer is reserved and avoids conflict. This dynamic can become very […]
How Imago Therapy can help provide stress relief
When you feel stressed, you are not able to make conscious and informed decisions. You will react out of fight/flight mode. The Dialogue that Imago Therapy is famous for can help provide stress relief by working to calm down these fight/flight reactions and help us utilize our “full brain” and not just the reptilian one […]