The Relationship Alphabet

Here we are at Zed - the end of the alphabet. It’s been a pretty incredible experience working through these 26 topics and exploring a little bit of what I tend to think about relationships.

Yes is a word that does more than answer a question. It creates opportunity and invites possibility. 

My first exposure to pornography was over 30 years ago. It was in the basement of my childhood home where my dad stored a dusty stack of Playboy magazines.

What would you guess is the most common reason couples come into therapy? The lady who cuts my hair thinks it’s “affairs.” My neighbor thinks it’s “empty nest syndrome.” 

In case you missed it, October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I’m not really sure how you could have missed it, however. 

There are about a half-dozen primary sound bites that frame Gottman Method Couples Therapy. One is Small Things Often. 

I have to confess, when I opened up my column to your questions, I was really hoping to get a bunch of benign inquiries like: What’s your favorite novel?

John Gottman’s research revealed that about ⅔ of relationship problems are unsolvable. One of my favorite questions for couples is whether that statistic is discouraging orencouraging. 

Whenever I work with pre-marital couples, we spend a fair bit of time pondering whatever a marriage actually is. Is it a social contract? A political statement?