Relationships

“We communicate worse than anyone I have ever seen. I thought my parents were bad…I never expected we would end up here. Every attempt I make to understand her is shot down with more criticism, hate, and blame than I think I’ve ever ...

I am a former police officer. In my eight years of service I served in many roles of my former agency. I was a member of the Special Response Team, Street Drug Interdiction, Gang Unit, Detective, Undercover, School Resource Officer and patrol. I am als...

By Tony Madril, L.C.S.W., B.C.D.   Research is starting to examine the benefits of mindfulness as a tool to promote healthy relationships. In addition to reducing stress, studies now suggest that mindfulness can increase our empathy toward other...

  I am seeing an increasing number of communication dilemmas involving misperceptions between what’s being said versus what’s being interpreted. When explaining this perplexity, I describe it as not being the “message” but...

Having Privacy Vs. Keeping Secrets In Relationships: What’s The Difference?   One of the most common areas of couples’ struggles is determining how open and transparent they want to be, and will be, in their relationship. There is of...

What’s the Problem with “No Problem?”   By Marcia Naomi Berger, MSW. LCSW   When you express thanks to someone and then hear, “No Problem,” how do you feel? Maybe it’s fine with you. Maybe you yourself ...

Should I Keep a Secret from My Spouse? By Marcia Naomi Berger, MSW, LCSW   If you think you need to confess every one of your secrets to your spouse, think again.  In a good marriage, we can be ourselves more with our partner than with any...

When You Feel Out of Control Recently, one of my clients had quite an amazing epiphany. She realized that she’d been nagging and complaining to her significant other. When we talked about why she was doing this, she suddenly realized that she fe...

The Uneasy Side of Compliments. Mary Lamia, Ph.D.   You may want to receive a compliment from someone you value. But can you accept it? Praise, admiration, or appreciation may be difficult to embrace, regardless of how much you desire or seek i...

Don’t Waste Your Time (It’s Precious)   Please, don’t waste my time! If you do, don’t expect me to hang out for very long with you. And don’t expect me to spend time with you in the future. I confess, I discriminat...