Friends and Relationships – Making It Work
You’ve met someone and decide to start dating. You have been telling your best friend about this person and can’t wait for these two special people in your life to meet. The highly anticipated day comes, and it doesn’t go as planned. Their interaction is lukewarm, or one person is friendly while the other is […]
The Freedom of Forgiveness
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ― Nelson Mandela “True forgiveness is when you can say, “Thank you for that experience.” ― Oprah Winfrey Forgiveness is not about pretending something didn’t happen, surrendering, accepting injustice, or being weak. It is about acknowledging what happened and moving past it, […]
8 Loving Tips To Improve Your Relationship
Do you feel a little distant from your romantic partner? Could your relationship with a family member be closer? Are you experiencing some friction with a friend? Here are some Loving Tips on boosting contentment and happiness in your relationships with a loved one: Accept the person for all that they are, and all that […]
The Richness of Relationship
Typically, we think of relationships in terms of our connection to the people we see every day, our friends, our families and ourselves, and perhaps to our immediate environment. I think relationship goes much deeper than this. Carl Jung coined the term collective unconscious, which is the idea that we are all connected on an […]
How We Can Support Gender Equality
We’ve learned gender stereotypes from a young age—how females and males are supposed to behave and look; what societal roles and jobs they take; even how they think and feel. When we view someone not as an individual but as a member of their particular gender, and judge them on their ability to live up […]
Evaluating Your Relationships
We are social beings. We crave connection and relationships. Relationships can bring us much joy, fulfillment, and security. However, there are times when we have to decide whether we want to continue our involvement with a friend or significant other. How do you know when it’s not working for you? Counsel yourself like a friend. […]
How to Resolve Conflict Through Communication
Disagreement is a natural occurrence in life—we all have different opinions, ways of doing things, personalities, and communication styles. However, if one or more of the persons involved don’t communicate openly, or let emotions take over, a disagreement can easily turn into conflict. Here are some suggestions for resolving conflicts in a respectful and productive […]
Why Healthy Boundaries Are Essential
“The most important distinction anyone can ever make in their life is between who they are as an individual and their connection with others.” ― Anné Linden Boundaries are necessary. Imagine a map of the world with no defined delineations from one country, state, province, city, or town on it…what a mess! Without boundaries, it […]
The Key of Communication
Have you ever imagined talking to someone beyond your words? Communicating through speech is our most common form of relating to each other; imagine if one day that changed. We’ve heard of being ‘telepathically connected’ to someone, usually a close friend, relative or lover, but what if everyone could take it a step beyond that? […]
When Should I Move In?
At one time, I would have said that when you know you know so just jump. That was before I was a seasoned couples therapist and fully understood how important sharing the same values are for a relationship to work well over time. So, when do you know if a person shares your values? My […]