The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Marital researcher John Gottman has spent years identifying the strengths and downfalls of marriages. With over 40 years of research under his belt, he can predict with more than 90% accuracy whether a couple will stay together or get divorced. One of the predicting...

The Antidotes to the Four Horsemen

Last week we discussed Gottman’s Four Horsemen the Apocalypse. Hopefully you are beginning to notice which horsemen you tend to use. As you grow in your self-awareness, you can begin to catch yourself and instead choose to communicate differently. Here is what...

Taking a Healthy Time Out

All relationships can experience gridlock when talking about a difficult topic. Relationships, whether it be a couple, friendship, parent-child, or family system, tend to have a familiar dance that plays out in communication and conflict. For example, a common dance...

Conflict in Young Marriages

Conflict is part of life, how we handle it is another story. The first place we learn about conflict is in the home, ask yourself “How was conflict handled in my home growing up?” was conflict a constant in your house? Was it non-existent? Were you able to...

The Best Communication Technique

    If I only had five minutes to change someone’s life, I would give them this DEARMAN tool.  A DEARMAN is a communication tool from dialectical behavior therapy which was designed by Marsha Linehan.1 It is a tool that helps us to connect and...