When you marry someone, you take on the burden of loving your spouse deeply and caring for him or her as for no other. You care about how you affect your spouse; you care about your spouse’s welfare and feelings. If one spouse feels no sense of responsibility to the other, this spouse is,...

When it comes to your relationship, acceptance has to do with being able to relate lovingly and without judgment to everything about your partner. It is embracing the reality of his or her strengths and weaknesses, gifts, and imperfections. It does not mean that you approve of everything about...

Amanda had issues with her in-laws and wasn't sure how to address the boundary violations that had occurred since she and her husband had gotten married.

"They like to tell us how things should be," she said. "I think his mom comes from a good place sometimes, but she comes across as overly...

I listened as Faith told me about her fiancé, Daniel. She was excited about their relationship and their upcoming marriage. I was excited as well until she said something that revealed an attitude people have about relationships: she expected her fiancé to be her other half.

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Many people conceal their negative feelings of anger, sadness, and fear. These people are unable to cope with good and bad because they have never processed these negative feelings, and they suffer from many problems, such as fear of relationships, depressions, and anxiety as a result. Negative...

Disrespect flourishes when someone values their own desires above their date's. They may not be actively trying to hurt the other. Instead, the other person's feelings, freedom, or needs get trampled or ignored because of how intent their date is on having their own way. Disrespect tends to be...

We should use and appreciate the abilities of those who have what we don't. However, the danger occurs when we use opposing styles or abilities as a basis for relationships. At the outset of the relationship, this may seem like a good thing. You are complementing each other. You each provide what...

Tell me if you’ve known of this to happen:

You’re in a relationship, and one of you gets a little peeved about some ordinary matter and says something like, "It really bugs me that you don't listen to me.” The other partner reacts by exploding in rage, hurt, or both, in a manner...

Validation is necessary for couples to navigate successfully through conflict because we all need to be heard and understood. We really don't move forward to resolve conflicts when we do not feel we have been understood.

Think about the last fight you had with your partner. When you were trying...

When you’re stuck on dating a certain “type,” it’s often rooted in pathology.

Britney loved the muscular type. When I tried to get her to go out with someone who did not fit her physical template, she resisted. I pushed, and she finally agreed. Here is what happened.

When...

Hi everyone, 
 
For the past several weeks, you’ve heard me talk about how excited I am about my upcoming webinar on How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, and if you’ve read the book, you’ll absolutely love the live online event!
 
This is for you if … 
 
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"I don't know what to do with my boyfriend," Stephanie said. "We're having problems, but I love him a lot. He's just not into the spiritual life. He pushes me for sex, and my values are important to me, so we get into a fight over being physical. And it doesn't seem like I'm a high priority to...