Relationship Advice

What to Look For in a Partner

The question “what are you looking for in a relationship partner?” may seem like an easy one to answer. Common attributes that come to mind include intelligence, kindness, sense of humor, attractiveness, or reliability. No matter what we think we’re looking for in a partner, the people we wind up choosing don’t necessarily match our… Read more »

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How Your Attachment Style Impacts Your Relationship

Our style of attachment affects everything from our partner selection to how well our relationships progress and to, sadly, how they end. That is why recognizing our attachment pattern can help us understand our strengths and vulnerabilities in a relationship. An attachment pattern is established in early childhood attachments and continues to function as a… Read more »

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Starting a Relationship 101

There are typically many questions running through our minds when starting a relationship. Does she really like me? Could things get serious? Is he the right choice? Where is this going? In this transitional period, we spend about as much time analyzing the relationship as we do participating in it. With everything from our casual… Read more »

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Why You Should Be the One Who Loves More

There is always a lot going on between two people in a relationship. But very often, much of what goes wrong in a relationship has to do with what’s going on in our own minds. Most of us have a constant dialogue running in our heads, analyzing our relationship and informing us on how to… Read more »

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How Mindfulness Can Save Your Relationship

In my recent blog, “The Many Benefits of Mindfulness,” I outlined how a mindfulness practice has been scientifically proven to improve our mental and physical health. The win-win effects of incorporating mindfulness into your life just seem to keep growing and expanding, interweaving into every area of our lives. Mindfulness practice doesn’t just enhance our… Read more »

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Relationship Skills

In her article “After the Honeymoon,” psychologist Donna Rockwell opens with the straightforward words, “Listen up. Marriage is hard work.”  She then goes on to explore and explain just why this is and what couples can do about it. Yet, this simple directive alone – to “listen up” – is a good starting place for… Read more »

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Relationship Compatibility

Psychologist and author of Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships, Dr. Lisa Firestone answers some fundamental questions about relationship compatibility. How would you define relationship compatibility? Relationship compatibility exists, first and foremost, when a couple relates with equality and respect. It’s important for couples to have fun together and really enjoy the time they spend… Read more »

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How to Fix a Relationship

“In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we created in the first place.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love When it comes to our relationships, the expectation of a perfect union or… Read more »

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Advantages of Dating After 40

On Dec. 31, 2009, one day before the baby boomer generation turned 65, a New York Times article reported, “79 million baby boomers, about 26 percent of this country’s population, will be redefining what it means to be older.” Today, in 2013, this statement may be proving to be true. The healthier, harder working and… Read more »

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VIDEO: Mindfulness Meditation and Romantic Relationships

In her interview with PsychAlive Senior Editor Lisa Firestone, Dr. Donna Rockwell talks about the effects of mindfulness meditation on parenting. Watch or read the interview below. Lisa Firestone:  I was wondering if you could talk about how mindfulness affects relationships, like romantic relationships, for instance. Donna Rockwell:  Certainly. Well, as far as relationships go,… Read more »

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