couple communication

Why Is Honesty So Important in a Relationship?

When we talk about honesty in relationships, our mind often goes straight to deception. We think about it in terms of whether or not someone lies to their partner. Or how often they lie. Or what kinds of lies they tell. But when we consider honesty only as the absence of deception, we miss an… Read more »

Learn More

How to Love Your Partner the Way They Want to Be Loved

As much as being in love can feel like a natural state we either experience or don’t, we have a lot more say in it than we may think. Research has shown that taking more loving actions can make couples feel more in love. In this way, there’s a great deal of truth to the… Read more »

Learn More

Want a Better Relationship? Work on Collaborative Communication

Many people have only heard the term “collaborative communication” used in the context of company culture and teamwork. It’s basically defined as a method of exchanging information that helps people work toward a common goal. Yet, it’s not just businesses that reap the rewards of this type of relating. Studies have shown that couples who… Read more »

Learn More

How to Stop Yourself from “Losing It” With Your Partner

We all have those moments of frustration with our partner that lead us to act in ways we later regret. We may acknowledge after the fact that there was a healthier way to react or vow to handle things better in the future, but the moment tensions rise, and we feel triggered in a particular… Read more »

Learn More

Talk Less, Listen More

The most effective way to feel closer to your partner is in your power. Whatever challenges a couple is facing, there is one skill anyone can work on to greatly improve a relationship; that skill is listening. Recent studies have linked attentive listening to better coping behaviors and higher relationship satisfaction in couples. This is… Read more »

Learn More

Top 10 Effective Communication Techniques for Couples

Good communication skills are the keys to any successful relationship because relationships are emotional and rely on interpersonal verbal and nonverbal exchanges between the two people involved.  Most marriages start out with the idea of success not realizing the number one cause of divorce is bad communication.  In cases of parenting and co-parenting, communication is… Read more »

Learn More

Take Control of Who You Are in Your Relationship

I often speak to people who are in distress over the way their romantic partner treats them. They believe that they want to be close, but that their partner is preventing it by being “condescending”, “critical,” “irresponsible,” “distant,” or “rejecting.” This makes them feel terrible or forces them to take control, demand attention, or stand up for themselves. They… Read more »

Learn More

How to Say What You Want in Your Relationship

In my 30 years working with couples, I’ve noticed that most people have an easy time describing what they don’t want in their relationship. If prompted, they’re able to rapidly fire off the many issues that they feel are creating distance between them and their partner. Yet, if I ask the same people what they… Read more »

Learn More

Can an Open Relationship Actually Work?

Research tells us that about 4 to 5 percent of heterosexual couples have agreed to have an open relationship. In other words, they’ve given their consent to not be monogamous. That may seem like a relatively small and, given the stigma surrounding open relationships, unsurprising number. Yet, take this into consideration. The latest data from… Read more »

Learn More

Angry at Love

Most of us aspire to find love. It is unquestionably one of the most important goals of our lives. Because of this nearly universal truth, it isn’t always easy for people to grasp the fact that most of us are also angry at love. It is often the case that no matter how long we… Read more »

Learn More