Have you ever been looking forward to a romantic evening with your spouse, when one of you inadvertently makes a comment that turns the rest of the night on its head? While you didn’t intend for things to devolve into a fight – they did anyway. We have probably all experienced this unraveling of an…
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While most of us think about the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s) as days to look forward to, just as many often cringe when they think about what is in store for them. You see, not all family get-to-gathers always go well. You may even dread them. I have one client, who is an…
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I recently sat with a client as he expressed his frustration over the fact that his wife doesn’t listen to him. Oh, she was present in the room but she wasn’t genuinely engaging with what he was saying. This would lead to him getting angry and sarcastic, which certainly wasn’t productive. As a matter of…
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“Research shows that about 45 percent of youth in the U.S. now spend some time without a biological parent by late adolescence.” And for children from disadvantaged socioeconomic groups, the numbers are even higher. A sociologist from Princeton University states: “If we were asked to design a system for making sure that children’s basic needs…
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I just finished a session with a couple today that was frustrating for them and frustrating for me as well. Why? Because they are not all in. It won’t surprise you to know that I see couples who are having “issues.” All of them. This couple today was no exception. They have been separated for…
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We all know what habits are, patterns that we get into as to how we do things. They become routine, second nature, things that we can just “do” without giving them much thought. Some habits are beneficial while others can be annoying, sometimes even destructive. For example, if you are in the habit of leaving…
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As you think about this, you may wonder, “Which relationships are you talking about?” To which I would say, “Any and all,” especially those that are most significant. A friend of mine recently helped his brother move to the middle of nowhere. His brother doesn’t want to engage with people and just wants to be…
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Whether we are talking about a marriage, a work place relationship, or a friendship – most of us would, at least initially, think of disagreements as a negative experience. While I know that it often feels that way, is it really? Disagreements come in all shapes and sizes. Sometime we have minor arguments – such…
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At first glance you may think, “Well, this doesn’t apply to me because my child has stayed away from alcohol and drugs. So I don’t have to worry about them having an addiction.” However, I am not talking today about substance abuse but about a very real addiction to electronic games. As one parent expressed…
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When my mother-in-law was alive, she was an incredible cook and a phenomenal hostess. If you were at her house enjoying dinner, you would want for nothing. She enjoyed serving people. But sometimes she could get so caught up in the preparations and making sure everything was just right that she had trouble enjoying the…
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