Sometimes a couple comes in with a 10+ year marriage and one partner is much more dissatisfied with the relationship than the other. Both describe a relationship where they have become working partners caring for the kids but with nothing … Continue reading →

“Crazy making” isn’t a clinical term, however I use it to describe what happens when one partner in a relationship has an outside emotional interest in another and then magnifies flaws in their partner and the relationship to justify ending it. … Continue reading →

Phase one of a romantic relationship lasts between 2 to 3 years depending upon the amount of real contact between the individuals. This means that long distance relationships with intermittent contact outside the context of day to day living ——(((((((where … Continue reading →

Falling in love is ‘heady’ and a wonderful thing. Sex is hot, he/she is always on my mind, completes me, makes life full/real/worth living. Brain chemistry is altered in this phase. If we could only bottle it!  The trite adage … Continue reading →

Read one man’s opinion on why he thinks a trip now and then with business associates to a strip club keeps the eroticism in his marriage and sex with his wife alive. http://www.yourtango.com/200913788/strip-clubs-help-my-marriage?page=0%2C0

The debate continues with no clear conclusion. Estimates are that 5% of the population are compulsive sexually and use multiple partners for quick ego boosts -like eating chips when you’re really hungry for a meal. It’s more frightening to be vulnerable to your spouse than … Continue reading →

Trust and intimacy go together. To be emotionally and physically intimate individuals have to let their guard down, be genuine and let their partner do the same. This requires a sense of emotional safety on both sides and a belief … Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day where we show our love with a card or token to a person we care about. Men often feel pressured to create a perfect day. And as always, when faced with perfectionism the worry … Continue reading →

I recommend this interesting book by M. Gary Neuman called ‘Emotional Infidelity – How to Affair-Proof Your Marriage and 10 Other Secrets to a Great Relationship’.  It has interesting observations about the need for dependence in relationships and why/how to … Continue reading →