Autism Spectrum and Dating
Couples and Marriage Counseling, Personal developmentGoing on a date can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience, especially for teens and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The key to a successful date lies in being authentic, respectful, and considerate of your own…
Fight Right: Effective Conflict Management in Relationships
Couples and Marriage Counseling In any relationship, conflicts are bound to happen. However, it's not the absence of conflict but how we manage it that truly matters. As a Level II trained Gottman couples therapist, I'm here to share some insights and techniques rooted in…
How Couples Counseling Helps
Couples and Marriage CounselingConflict is inevitable in any relationship. However, what if you could avoid unnecessary tension and conflict by feeling heard and understood at the beginning of a disagreement? If you feel like your opinions and feelings are respected and valued,…
How to Have a Healthy Relationship
Couples and Marriage CounselingAs a couples therapist, I’m often asked how happy couples make it work. The answer is consistent: when they disagree, they know they can talk about it. In this article, we’ll explore some effective strategies happy couples use to manage…
How to Beat Fear of Relationships and Intimacy
Anxiety, Couples and Marriage CounselingIn a previous post, I addressed the topic of Fear of Relationships (Romantic Anxiety). In this post, I will discuss how counseling can help you overcome this fear.Overcoming Fear of Relationships
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is…
Why Men Don’t Want to go to Couples Counseling (and how to talk about it)
Couples and Marriage CounselingIt is a common misconception that men are "less emotional" than women. The truth is that men experience emotions just as much as women do, but they may express them differently or keep them to themselves. Additionally, the unique biochemistry…
10 Great Tips for Couples Moving In Together
Couples and Marriage CounselingMoving in together is a significant step in any couple's journey. It's a time of excitement, adjustment, and shared experiences. While it's an opportunity to deepen your connection, it also comes with its unique set of challenges. In this blog…
Managing Defensiveness in Relationships
Couples and Marriage CounselingDefensiveness is a common issue that can arise in relationships, and it can have a significant impact on the quality of communication and connection between partners. In this article, we will explore some additional tips and strategies…
Communication Killers: Criticism
Couples and Marriage CounselingIn the context of relationships, criticism is when you judge a person's character instead of just their behavior. It is akin to character assassination. [...]
Communication Killers: Defensiveness
Couples and Marriage CounselingWhen a person becomes defensive they typically appear to be at least mildly angry or frustrated as they deflect responsibility away from themselves.
Communication Killers: Contempt
Couples and Marriage CounselingAt its root, contempt is the communication of utter disrespect; a rejection of another person's worth. To fully understand how toxic contempt is, consider that it is actually worse than hatred. It is about that utter disrespect. […]
Communication Killers: Stonewalling
Couples and Marriage CounselingStonewalling looks like a refusal or inability to participate in a conflict discussion. When it is a refusal, then a person may have a look of contempt or annoyance while they look away with closed body language [...]
Communication Killers: Belligerence
Couples and Marriage CounselingDuring a conflict, the belligerent person will seem to be looking for a fight. They will appear provocative or combative because they are expressing anger in an aggressive manner. […]
Communication Killers: Blame
Couples and Marriage CounselingBlame often takes the form of score-keeping where one person says, "Well I wouldn't have yelled at you had you paid better attention and not dinged the car door!" It can also take the form of overt assigning of fault: "This is your fault because you are never careful enough." […]
Enhancing Relationships: The power of being listenable
Couples and Marriage CounselingEffective communication is the cornerstone of any successful relationship, and mastering the art of speaking in a way that is easy for others to hear is particularly crucial in potentially difficult conversations that involve conflict. By developing…
Romantic Anxiety: Fear of Relationships
Anxiety, Couples and Marriage CounselingWhen it comes to dating and romantic intimacy, there are various anxieties that people experience. Although these fears are related to each other, each form of romantic anxiety has distinct differences. Some of these fears include:Fear…
Communication Skills
Couples and Marriage CounselingCommunication skills are about how to listen and how to be heard, not just how to talk. Communication is a cooperative process; in other words, while one person is speaking, the other must cooperate by listening. While this seems rather intuitive,…
Co-parenting
Couples and Marriage Counseling, Family and ParentingEver see a divorced couple that seems to get along great and wonder how they do it? It's effective Co-Parenting. There are skills that can be learned to cultivate a friendly co-parenting experience that benefits everybody, especially the kids!…