VivahBandhanWhere relationship starts

Talking about marriage with other people can be a strong release of both frustration and bottled up emotions. For many people, however, there are few open avenues for them to turn to. Many friends and family that would be a natural source of support are often emotionally invested in the couple as a whole and are, in a sense, too close to the situation to provide the kind of individual support a person may be looking for. In addition, there is the “gossip” factor. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the time honored traditions at wedding showers is for guests to write their wedding or marriage advice into a guest journal. This is then, usually, supposed to be kept by the couple and read over to do with as they wish.

While many people will tell you to not listen to the advice of other people regarding marriage because every person and every relationship are completely individual, the wedding advice journal gives and interesting slice of life that can, if nothing else, be used as a way to see into the lives and marriages of others and avoid some potential pitfalls. Read the rest of this entry »

A healthy relationship is one that fulfills both your needs and the needs of your partner. Of course, it stands to reason that if unhealthy needs are being met, this doesn’t actually help anyone, either. A healthy relationship doesn’t necessarily mean a romantic one, but any close emotional bond that you have with family and important friends. Read the rest of this entry »

For many clients who seek out individual therapy, it is only after having suffered for many years with the pain and often guilt and shame of enduring their particular disorder. Struggling to solve the problems alone, they find that eventually the problems begin to grow and affect other areas of their lives, no matter how much they have tried to bury them deep down. Read the rest of this entry »

All you need is love

That simple and catchy phrase has brought more marriages to their knees than just about anything. Love is, of course, the driving force within any marriage, however the concept that love is all you need is a faulty one at best. Love is a benchmark, a baseline, the foundation of a relationship, however trust, communication and mutual respect and a compatible mentality for the future are all vital aspects to a marriage. Read the rest of this entry »

The first year of marriage is often a challenging and exciting time for couples. Many couples, especially those falling into the younger age brackets, naturally assume that their new marriage will simply be an extension of their dating experience, with all of the ups and downs, a few extra bills and a lot more freedom. These are usually the same couples that experience a dearth of confusion, anxiety and surprise when the first year of the marriage turns out dramatically different then the way they had envisioned it. Many people, at this point in their relationship, find that couples therapy is a surprising and much needed resource. Counseling can help navigate the new waters of a beginning marriage. Read the rest of this entry »

Daryl and Sarah were in unusual situation – one that the experienced couples counselor they had chosen hadn’t witnessed before.

Daryl was still married – to another woman. Daryl and his wife had established separate living situations years ago but decided to stay together until the children grew older. Daryl had met Sarah at the sound studio in which he worked. She was a recording artist who came into town to work on her project and then promptly flew thousands of miles back to her home in New York City. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people ask for a better understanding of a healthy marriage, and that isn’t a surprise considering much of what makes a healthy marriage is what makes it healthy for you. For some couples, a passionate and heated marriage is absolutely necessary, but for others the mark of a good marriage is a quiet and supportive atmosphere. It is all relative. For those who are looking for a sort of litmus test on marriage health, however, some generalizations can be made. Read the rest of this entry »

Many Couples Counseling experts agree that there are relatively predictable stages to long term relationships. It is important to note that not all relationships include a legal vow of marriage so while these stages are traditionally called “Martial Stages” they are actually defining stages for couples who have been together long term.

Understanding the different stages that a long term relationship generally goes through is a way to help couples realize that they are not alone in dealing with the issues, thoughts and troubles that are found in these stages. Knowing they are not alone helps a couple understand that their relationship and its ups and downs are a part of a normal cycle and not a reason to call it quits. Read the rest of this entry »

Love is the key factor in physical and emotional intimate relationships that last the long haul. It is relatively easy, for many, to have a physical and even very emotional bond with someone else for a while, but in order for the relationship to grow and support one another’s needs in the long term, both must be able to love one another.

The use of the word Love can cause some immediate concern because it is famously difficult to define, it is really useful if you think of it in terms of what love means to you and your partner in addition to some of the traditional hallmarks. Read the rest of this entry »