Relationships

The choice for ambivalent couples is no longer binary: separate or stay together. Instead, therapists can help them craft formal yet flexible agreements... Read more

Even when you've spent your entire career teaching people how to have relationships, finding love is still a risky, humbling, and unpredictable... Read more

How can therapists help divorcing clients share a message that conveys hope and healing? Maybe it's time to counter the divorce-as-catastrophe trope that runs... Read more

A new kind of social media and psychotherapy influencer challenges the common cultural misconception that toxic people should be cut out of our lives, no... Read more

Healthy, equal relationships require compromise, negotiation, and generosity. But when couples don’t have models for mastering these skills, they often... Read more

Exploring “high conflict” with a bigger picture in mind. Read more

With its Western focus on secure emotional bonds and demonstrative, healthy attachment in couples, how does Emotionally Focused Therapy fit into ancient and... Read more

A seasoned therapist discusses the ethics around consulting with couples impacted by infidelity. Read more

Discovering how ghosts and global issues have permeated relationship bonds in new ways. Read more

Helping our community understand the suicide of one of modern psychotherapy’s most cherished public figures. Read more

For the roughly 23 percent of married couples who don’t share a political affiliation, disagreements over a party or candidate can easily escalate into... Read more

Perhaps now more than ever, maintaining strong relationships is crucial to our emotional well-being. In this video clip from the 2020 Virtual Symposium, EFT... Read more

Many traditional approaches to couples therapy are built on the assumption that if you help a couple clear up the emotional issues in their relationship, sex... Read more

Successfully combining families as part of remarriage is always challenging. But it's especially hard when older re-couplers have adult children, who may or... Read more

I used to view boundaries as a fancy way of dressing up rejection, incompetence, and selfishness. But after a decade of working as a couples counselor, I've... Read more

"Okay, I'm gay, I'm married, I have three kids, and I'm not getting divorced." One therapist's approach with mixed orientation marriage. Read more

It's not always easy to get men to talk about intimacy and sex. But according to renowned sex therapist and author Esther Perel, there's a way to weave... Read more

A therapist recently joined a few online dating apps after finding herself newly single. She's seen several clients come up in these apps, and suspects they've... Read more

Sometimes during sessions, Jonathan checks his phone for emails or updates, even though his therapist has asked him not to. She suspects Jonathan's... Read more

A man learns shocking news via Facebook about an old flame, which brings back romantic memories of his youth. Read more

A whirlwind romance turns into a troubled relationship. Read more

Therapy often involves entirely too much talking about new skills the client should put into place, but not enough rehearsing. Just as exposure training... Read more

In past decades, the only alternatives to involuntary celibacy in a relationship were affairs or divorce. But more and more therapists are recognizing... Read more

In a world of new and emerging norms about commitment, intimacy, the right to personal happiness, and open relationships are there also new patterns? Has the... Read more

The hallmark of John and Julie Gottmans’ work is taking the rare step of actually observing the broadest sample of couples they can find, rather than relying... Read more

Patricia Papernow, an expert in working with stepfamilies, helps us understand the fundamental issues and unique hurdles most stepfamilies must navigate. Read more

Can broken hearts run in a family? Read more

Far too often, trauma survivors appear to progress in therapy and then go home and fall right back into the same old patterns of negative emotion and... Read more

According to renowned couples therapist Julie Gottman, one of the main predictors of a romantic relationship's success or failure is how well partners can... Read more

Three simple steps from Buddhism to help hostile spouses cultivate a spirit of nonviolence, generosity, and compassion toward their ex-partners. Read more