Staying Together for the Kids: Why This Isn’t a Good Idea In my work as a counselor, I approach every couple with the intention of helping them heal what isn’t working in their marriages. I know that even the most challenging issues are often repairable. But occasionally, it is in everyone’s best interest to separate. […]
Ways to Increase Fondness and Admiration
The Sound Relationship House Part 3: Ways to Increase Fondness and Admiration We use many of these tools for increasing fondness and admiration in couples counseling, but you can use them to good effect without being in therapy. The most important thing to remember is that changing your relationship takes care and attention. Beginning to […]
The Sound Relationship House: Sharing Fondness and Admiration
In the previous post, I described the first foundation level of the Sound Relationship House: friendship and appreciation. Another important concept in developing and maintaining a strong friendship system is sharing fondness and admiration. The Magic Ratio In Dr. John Gottman’s research, he found that couples need to be perfect, having nothing but positive […]
The Sound Relationship House: Friendship and Appreciation
The Sound Relationship: Part 1 A great marriage needs a strong foundation. Remember the story of the three little pigs? The first little pig built his house of straw and the second made his house with wood. The third pig built his house of brick while the first two pigs played, taunting him for working […]
Sex and Kissing in Relationships
Have you stopped kissing your partner? In new relationships, kissing is frequent, often as a prelude to lovemaking. As a relationship develops over the long term, kissing can devolve into occasional pecks on the cheek. In couples’ therapy, I often ask how much kissing occurs during lovemaking as well as in non-sexual moments. Kissing […]
