The Silent Treatment: How to Communicate Through Conflict Without Withdrawal
While there are so many positive experiences that come along with marriage, the unfortunate truth is that there are some not quite as exciting experiences that every couple faces. Namely, conflicts with your spouse. Whether this is a disagreement over something simple, such as what to have for dinner, or a fully fledged argument over […]
Getting Along with Extended Family for the Holidays: How to Prepare for the Festive Season Ahead
With the end of the year quickly approaching, it’s about time for the family gatherings to begin. From cozy holiday get-togethers to fantastically festive parties, there’s a lot to both look forward to and dread in the season ahead. This is especially true if you and/or your partner come from large families that typically get […]
Politics & Your Marriage: How to Focus on Your Relationship & Push Past the Divide
When it comes to relationships, one piece of advice that is more common than not is to never talk politics. Certainly a divisive topic, politics can quickly ignite a ‘fight to the death’ mode that can quickly come between the most secure and loving of couples and relationships. This is especially true in the United […]
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 […]
Is a Disagreement with In-Laws Affecting Your Marriage?
In-law relationships can have a significant impact on a marriage. That’s why conflict with in-laws requires a united front that puts your marital relationship before the relationship you have with your parents. Perhaps you’ve experienced varying levels of joy and tension while interacting with your mother-in-law or father-in-law. But when the dynamics between spouses and […]
People in Conventional Relationships can Learn a Lot from Neurodiverse Couples
Couples with one or both partners on the autism spectrum face challenges just like people in typical relationships do. Neurodiverse couples face communication challenges that can be addressed to maintain healthy, fulfilling, and long-lasting relationships. That said, there are plenty of unique strengths or benefits to being in a neurodiverse relationship! And while no two […]
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 […]
How to successfully coparent, even around the holidays
There are do’s and don’ts for successful coparenting relationships. These “rules” are important for your children’s sake, so that they can enjoy a stable environment even when having to split their time between two homes; which is ultimately the goal of coparenting. Tips to improve co-parenting relationships: 1) Keep the best interest of the […]
Is my spouse a narcissist?
Think your spouse is a narcissist? Thankfully there are a lot more resources out there to support a spouse married to an abusive partner. The most important thing is always to make sure that you are physically safe and not in danger. If you are truly safe and you’re just wondering about something someone may […]
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 […]
How is Imago marriage counseling different from other marriage counseling that you’ve tried?
We get asked that question a lot… “how is your marriage counseling program different than any of the other marriage counseling that we’ve already tried?” At our last group setting couples retreat we held here in Baltimore, MD, a couple asked us the very first day of the retreat, “Our previous therapist told us we […]
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 […]
How Silent Treatment & Repressed Animosity Ruins Relationships (And What You Can Do to Stop It)
Whether you’re on the receiving end of it or you are giving it to your partner, the silent treatment can create a toxic relationship environment. Most of us know what it feels like to be so frustrated during an argument with our spouse that we simply want to shut down, surround ourselves with metaphorical walls, […]
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 […]
Have you ended a relationship (or are thinking about divorce) over political differences?
Are you about to end your marriage over political differences? Have you severed ties with other family or friends in the last three months? It’s such a shame to see relationships being destroyed over this especially when it doesn’t have to be this way. I remember as a child I used to talk politics with […]