Marriage Relationships and Their Healthy Characteristics: Part 1

marriage

If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced a few ups and downs in your relationship.  But do you ever wonder about the health of your marriage?  In his book, “The Science of Trust,” Dr. John Gottman discusses that, even though healthy marriages can vary greatly … Read More

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 2

grief

In part 1 of this series, we took a look at disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief is the category that covers grief that doesn’t have a socially accepted place to be recognized or expressed. Basically, it is the “ugly duckling” grief that people feel they have to hide because others won’t … Read More

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 1

grief

There are tons of books, podcasts, shows, and blogs that address the topic of grief. Everyone experiences grief at some point in their life. It is the emotion that results when something or someone important to you is no longer in your life. Mourning is what happens when grief goes … Read More

Stress & Heart Disease

stress

Stress can be poisonous. We’ve known that for a long time, but a recent study linked emotional stress to heart disease in a new and interesting way – via the amygdala. A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School scanned the brain, bone marrow, spleen and arteries of 300 people … Read More

Divorce: Dad or Mom left…now what?

divorce

Navigating divorce is difficult. There are many causes for divorce. A few of these are: Affairs Grown apart/fallen out of love Addiction Incompatible Divorce becomes even more complex when there are children involved. Many times, parents become bitter and angry towards each other and it is hard to treat each … Read More

Experiencing Positive Change in Your Relationships

Relationships

As a marriage and family therapist, the biggest hurdle that I see individuals and couples face in realizing the goals for their relationships is that they keep doing what they have been doing, in spite of having learned a better way. So, as the Nike ad says, “Just do it.” … Read More

Mourning the Loss of a Pet

pet

Pet loss is often one of the most difficult experiences people deal with. It often takes people by surprise just how difficult it can be to “bounce back” after a pet’s death, or how hard the loss hits them in their day to day life. Whether it is a childhood … Read More

New Ideas for Resolutions

resolutions

It can be easy to get stuck in the same routine where you make the same resolutions year after year.  I can’t count the number of times I have promised myself to drink less caffeine!  If you have tried the same few resolutions each year, why not try something different … Read More

Ignite Your Passion this Valentine’s Day with a Sex Talk

sex

It’s never a bad thing to have a sex talk with your partner, but it does require a thoughtful approach to ignite the passion in your relationship. Passion is what most couples I work with want more of when they assess their sexual needs. They want powerful, compelling emotions with … Read More

Do Something Hard

hard

It turns out, doing something hard might be good for your brain. This is the time of year when people tend to try and make and keep resolutions. Are you still looking for one? Try this one out: Do something hard. A group of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital recently … Read More