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Dr. Susan O'Grady

Couples Counseling – Relationships – Mindfulness – Podcasts

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Five Excuses Couples Use to Avoid Date Night

September 17, 2014 By Dr. Susan O'Grady

1. “Hiring a sitter is too expensive.” There are ways to minimize the expense of hiring a babysitter. A neighborhood teenager is probably the least expensive way to go; they’re usually happy to sit for less than the minimum wage of $8.00. Tipping will keep you in their good graces, but it doesn’t have to […]

Date Night: Making Time Together

September 11, 2014 By Dr. Susan O'Grady

Couples need time to be together without other couples, family, kids, TV, and the endless distractions of a digital world. For many years I have suggested to the couples that they have two dates a week, minimum. One date can be an evening out, such as a movie or dinner. But it is essential that […]

Why Soul Mate is a Setup for Disappointment

September 8, 2014 By Dr. Susan O'Grady

In my practice, I often treat couples who have highly idealistic expectations about marriage. Does that sound contradictory? After all, idealism is romantic, and you need romance for a great marriage. If marriage isn’t just a partnership, but a meeting of souls, then something must be deeply wrong when you have petty disagreements. Soul mates […]

Procrastination: Scratching Items off the Mental To-Do List

September 5, 2014 By Dr. Susan O'Grady

A lot of our stress comes from holding our undone tasks in mind; the more we have, the more they weigh upon us. Sometimes it’s not our actions but the actions we’re not taking that cause us stress. If we can generate ways to off-load the things on our to-do list from working memory, we […]

Chronic Pain: Talking About Pain

August 21, 2014 By Dr. Susan O'Grady

Treating pain is difficult for several reasons. Narcotic painkillers bring with them addiction and other problems, but the medical system isn’t set up to handle behavioral interventions that can help pain management, as I wrote a couple of years ago in a post on “A Behavioral Approach to Treating Chronic Pain and Medical Problems.” Another […]

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Recent Posts

  • Marriage: In pleasure and in pain
  • The No Surprises Act of 2022: What it means for psychologists
  • Relationship Mindset: How implicit beliefs affect romantic relationships
  • Psychotherapy in the Virtual Space: How teletherapy has changed the way we give and get care
  • Passion, Sex, and Romance in Long-term Relationships

Dr. Susan J. O’Grady is a Certified Gottman Couples Therapist

Learn more about marriage counseling and couples therapy »


Learn more about the Gottman Relationship Checkup »

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