3 Hidden Beaches to Explore with Your Spouse on Your Retreat’s Rest Days in Costa Rica
We’ve been hosting couples at marriage counseling retreats in Costa Rica for a few years now. During our time here we’ve been fortunate enough to discover some hidden beaches that you can discover with your husband or wife on your retreat’s rest days. We’re talking a pink sand beach, a hidden beach you must know […]
Rabbi Shlomo Slatkin’s Recent News Contributions and Online Features
Browse some of Rabbi Shlomo Slatkin’s recent contributions and expert advice from columnists, journalists, and reporters. Need to interview a licensed, experienced marriage counselor? Fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page to request answers, advice, or expert information about a topic related to couples therapy. We’re also happy to verify facts […]
Enhancing Emotional Connection in Your Relationship by Creating Meaningful Moments
Feel Like Your Partner Doesn’t Do Anything Special for You? Here’s How to Reconnect Emotionally — One Moment at a Time You don’t want fancy things.You just want to feel like your partner sees you. You want to feel cared for, remembered, appreciated — not just someone who shares a house or raises kids with […]
Recognizing the Four Horsemen in Your Marriage And How to Turn Things Around – According to Gottman
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a biblical metaphor that John Gottman adapted to describe four destructive communication patterns that predict divorce with high accuracy¹. Recognizing these behaviors—criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling—is crucial if you want to prevent them from eroding the foundation of your relationship². How to Recognize, Anticipate, and Mitigate Destructive Behavior […]
Divorce Prevention Retreats: How an Intensive Marriage Counseling Retreat Can Save Your Marriage
On the Brink of Divorce? There’s Still Hope Has your marriage spiraled out of control? If you feel like you’re one step away from splitting up, our divorce prevention retreats can help. The goal of our 2-Day intensive marriage counseling retreat are simple: prevent divorce by helping you and your spouse reconnect, rebuild trust, and rediscover […]
Wife Yells at Me: Why & How to Make it Stop
Does your wife yell or scream at you often? If the behavior is relatively new, there may be an unresolved issue or point of contention that needs to be addressed together. If the yelling is chronic, it’s important to know that this behavior is both unproductive and damaging to your relationship. Research shows that frequent […]
Trauma Dumping in Relationships: Signs, Causes & How to Overcome It
You care about each other—but lately your conversations feel one‑sided. You’re sharing painful details again and again, and your partner seems drained. Or maybe you’re on the receiving end, dreading “that look” when your spouse starts recounting every traumatic detail. This quiz will help you see whether you’ve crossed the line from healthy venting into […]
Why Presenting a United Front with your Husband or Wife is So Important for a Healthy Relationship
The most sacred vow a person can make in marriage is to honor their union for the rest of their lives. Presenting a united front is the simplest example of this unification. When two different people create a life together there will eventually be disagreements and differences of opinion along the way. Healthy conflict is […]
Helping Your Partner Manage Life While They are Healing from Trauma
Emotional trauma can present some very challenging elements in a relationship, causing both partners to feel frustrated, unfulfilled, misunderstood, and even unloved at times. The person who has endured the emotional trauma, whether it occurred during childhood or as an adult, can react irrationally, seem apathetic, or even neglectful in certain situations. These unexpected reactions […]
Christmas Holiday Activities for Couples: Romantic, Fun, and Cozy Ideas to Strengthen Your Bond
The holidays are supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year—but they can also get stressful and busy. Between shopping, family gatherings, and endless to-dos, it’s easy to forget to slow down and connect with your partner. If you’ve been wondering, “What can couples do together for Christmas?” or looking for romantic Christmas […]
How to Use Mindfulness to Stop Reacting During Marriage Conflicts
Every couple argues — but not every argument has to end in hurt feelings or distance.If your conflicts often turn into shouting matches, shutdowns, or days of silent resentment, it’s not because you’re incompatible — it’s because your nervous systems are in survival mode. Mindfulness helps you pause that instinct to fight, flee, or freeze […]
The Importance of Intentional Validation & Empathy in Your Relationship
Have you ever tried to share something important — only to feel dismissed, ignored, or misunderstood?You’re not alone. One of the most common phrases we hear from couples in crisis is: “It’s like we’re speaking different languages.” When you no longer feel heard in your marriage, every conversation can turn into an argument or withdrawal. […]
Signs Your Husband Is Experiencing Long-Term Grief (and How to Help Him Move Forward)
If your husband has been distant, irritable, shut down, or emotionally unavailable for months after a painful loss, you may feel worried, confused, or unsure how to help him. Many wives search for answers to questions like: Grief looks very different for men than it does for women. While women often cope through emotional expression, […]
How to Prioritize Your Spouse Even When Life Feels Too Busy
If you’ve ever fallen into bed at night realizing you barely spoke to your spouse all day — you’re not alone. Between kids, work, chores, and endless responsibilities, it’s easy for marriage to slip into maintenance mode. But even five intentional minutes together can make the difference between feeling like roommates and feeling like partners. […]
5 Ways You Might be Undermining Your Marriage Without Even Realizing It
As spouses, we sometimes do seemingly innocuous things that end up being much more harmful to our marriage than we realize, especially if we do them repeatedly over time. In other instances, what might look like “normal” behaviors can actually be a warning sign of underlying distress within the relationship. To keep the allegorical “slowly boiling frog” out of […]
Why You and Your Spouse Clash — and What Personality Has to Do With It
Do you ever feel like you and your spouse are total opposites?Maybe you crave deep talks while they’d rather joke around.Or you like everything planned and they live by the motto, “We’ll figure it out.” It’s easy to assume you married the wrong person when these differences start creating tension. But what if the problem […]
Do Marriage Retreats Really Work? Especially Marriage Intensives & Weekend Couples Therapy Retreats?
Many couples wonder: “Do marriage retreats really work — or is it just another quick fix?” Here’s why we think Intensive Weekend Marriage Retreats Beat Weekly Counseling Every Time. The truth is, retreats aren’t magic. But for many couples, they provide something weekly counseling can’t: an immersive reset, uninterrupted time to reconnect, and a framework […]
How Emotional Neglect Experienced in Childhood Affects Our Relationships as Adults
Did you or your spouse face emotional neglect as a child? Are you concerned that emotional trauma from your past could be contributing to the conflict you’re experiencing in your marriage today? The parallels between the things you experienced in your childhood and how you behave in your your adult life are unmistakable. People who experience emotional […]
Overcoming Intimacy Issues Caused by Childhood Trauma
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Could my childhood experiences be the reason I struggle with intimacy in my marriage?” — you’re not alone.Many couples silently carry wounds from the past into their closest relationships today. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), more than two in three children experience at […]
What Counts as Cheating? Defining Infidelity, Its Types, and How to Begin Healing
What Is Infidelity—and Why It’s So Confusing for Couples Few things shake a marriage like discovering that trust has been broken. But defining what counts as cheating isn’t as simple as it sounds. For some couples, infidelity means physical betrayal. For others, it includes emotional attachment, secrecy, or even financial dishonesty. These gray areas are […]