Every relationship experiences difficulties in communication from time to time. This can be especially true when discussing sensitive or hot button items, which can often make emotions rise, defences come up, and disconnection ensue. “Fighting For Your Marriage” by Howard Markman, Scott Stanley and Susan Blumberg is...
Parenting is not for the faint of heart, even when the world isn’t facing one of the most significant modern-day health crises. If you’re struggling to manage all the normal parenthood duties now with the added constant family interaction and home-schooling duties, you’re not alone....
A few days ago, I listened to an interview with Dr Sue Johnson, developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples, as she shared her thoughts on Coronavirus and relationships. Among the many important thoughts she shared, one seemed most prominent. “What we have learned is that...
Empathy is having the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. Sometimes there is nothing more meaningful than when you get the sense that your partner ‘gets it’ – not just understands the facts of your situation with their head, but really attunes to...
You’ve probably heard of the Five Love Languages – a notion developed by Dr. Gary Chapman which explains why even if you and your partner speak the same language, you might have different ways that you each like to communicate your love. There’s Words of...
Have you ever felt like when you and your partner talk to each other, you end up feeling further apart than you did at the start? Do you get the sense that they don’t really ‘get it’ and neither do you? Conversation is meant to connect...
When things heat up between you and your partner, or you and your children, how do you bring yourself back down? Are you intentional with your words when big emotions rise? Verbal abuse might not seem as harmful as physical abuse on the surface, but...
Here are some of the red flags that we see as couples’ therapists which typically mean something might be misaligned or off to an unhealthy road for couples: Never ever fighting. Tough conversations are part of any relationship, so the courage to speak your truth...
In intimate relationships, control looks like when one partner takes ‘ownership’ over the other partner’s sense of reality. If one partner is frequently attempting to manage their partner’s feelings, either by minimising, exaggerating, or altogether denying their partner’s feelings, this is control-abuse and not healthy...