I recently met with a client who is experiencing some struggles in his marriage. While the struggles aren’t easy, he doesn’t see them as insurmountable because he states with confidence that he and his wife are, and always have been, best friends. Some couples started out as friends before dating, while others began dating, getting…
Details
I see many couples in my office who are in the middle of the tornado. By that I mean, they have school age children at home; they both work full-time; then they have to take one kid to gymnastics and the other one to soccer practice. The weekend comes and there are soccer games to…
Details
I see couples on a daily basis and most often they are individually very different from each other. One person is quiet while the other is more outgoing; one is spontaneous while the other plans out everything; or each are on opposite sides of the introvert/extrovert scale. People tend to marry people who are at…
Details
For the past year, I have been on a declutter quest. You see, I have lived in our current house for over 25 years – the longest I have lived in one place. And living in the same place for this long, I have accumulated stuff. Things I haven’t used in years but always tend…
Details
For many step-parents, the answer to this question would be a resounding “No!” I have heard comments such as, “I was such great friends with his kids before we got married. I don’t know what happened.” Or “My partner and I had discussed this issue prior to marriage and thought we had a handle on…
Details
I love the Progressive commercials with Dr. Rick who tries to keep his clients from becoming their parents. In one commercial he plays a voicemail that someone named Julie left for him. Then he asks the group what Julie did wrong. While they answer with a variety of suggestions, he states that she didn’t even…
Details
Now if your first thought is, “What date night?” then this might be a timely post. Depending on your season of life, date nights can look very differently. If you are young with no children or are empty nesters, you may find date nights fairly easy to put together. But if you are like so…
Details
“I’m really frustrated because I arrived home, expecting dinner, only to discover that nothing had even been done, no effort had even been made to start dinner!” Why did this person expect dinner to be ready? It might be because every other night dinner has been prepared. Or it could be that the person grew…
Details
While those sound like good kind words; an offer to assist, to provide support – individual’s reactions often don’t seem appreciative. Why? I have found myself trying to carry an armload of stuff (probably too much stuff) to the recycle bin, and my wife says, “Would you like some help?” To which I reply, “No,…
Details
I just finished a counseling session with a couple who talked about wanting to be on the same team, but then everything they discussed demonstrated that they are clearly fighting for their individual agendas. They are far from embracing a “team” concept. In a marriage we are two individuals who “become one”, creating a new…
Details