Marriage

Ending a Marriage That's Already Over

Helping Women Move Beyond the Paralysis of Guilt

The person burdened with the decision of whether or not to end a marriage may not be the one who’s already left the marriage—emotionally or sexually. Read more

Hunting for Harry

Can a Lost Marriage Be Retrieved?
Campbell Gregson

When losing your spouse in a bookstore helps you find perspective. Read more

Rewriting Marriage Contracts

Fresh Options for Ambivalent Couples

The choice for ambivalent couples is no longer binary: separate or stay together. Instead, therapists can help them craft formal yet flexible agreements... Read more

The New Premarital Counseling

A Good Match for Therapists?

Premarital counseling is growing in popularity, and research indicates it has numerous benefits. So why aren't more therapists offering it? Read more

Death and a Lifelong Love

Bracing for a Future without Marilyn

A psychotherapy icon grapples with the imminent death of his wife as she moves from palliative care to hospice care. Read more

Love Scrabble

An Evening with My Wife's Boyfriend

Playing a traditional boardgame in a nontraditional romantic arrangement. Read more

A Script for Male Dementia Caregivers

Helping a Husband Be More Than a 'Pillar of Strength'

Many spousal dementia caregivers struggle emotionally watching their life partners slowly decline. But I also knew that male caregivers, especially spouses... Read more

Creating the Good Divorce

Tools of the Trade

The fundamental goal of a good divorce is simple yet challenging: children must experience their parents as a working partnership that reliably nurtures and... Read more

Suddenly Strangers

Iraq War Vets, PTSD, and the Challenge of Relationship

With tens of thousands of Iraq War vets with PTSD returning home, therapists increasingly face the challenge of helping them with their troubled marriages. Read more

Therapy Card Decks

A Session in the Palm of Your Hand?

Are therapy card decks a clinical tool, a branding exercise, or something else entirely? Read more

It's Still Unfair!

Struggling to Establish Equitable Relationships

Healthy, equal relationships require compromise, negotiation, and generosity. But when couples don’t have models for mastering these skills, they often... Read more

Getting at the Heart of Affairs

How to Help Clients Examine Ethical Dilemmas

A seasoned therapist discusses the ethics around consulting with couples impacted by infidelity. Read more

VIDEO: Esther Perel on Speaking About Sex

Getting Comfortable in Couples Therapy

Many traditional approaches to couples therapy are built on the assumption that if you help a couple clear up the emotional issues in their relationship, sex... Read more

The Last Joke

The Pathos of a May-December Marriage

A shared sense of humor can help couples make heavy issues feel lighter. But what happens when there’s no one there to get the joke? Read more

The Gay Man in the Straight Marriage

Exploring the Uncharted Territory of a "Mixed-Orientation Marriage"
Jeff Levy

"Okay, I'm gay, I'm married, I have three kids, and I'm not getting divorced." One therapist's approach with mixed orientation marriage. Read more

Mark and his wife, Nicole, have been in couples therapy for almost six months. But Mark recently requested an individual session, where he revealed he recently... Read more

Resisting Matrimania

A Conversation with Bella DePaulo

Author and researcher Bella DePaulo says it’s time to start seeing the growing population of single adults as something more than just people unable to find... Read more

My Client is Moving Overseas to Marry a Man She's Never Met

Five Clinicians Give Their Take on This Tricky Clinical Scenario
Psychotherapy Networker

Diane has just announced she intends to move overseas to marry a man she recently met online. This raises an alarm for her therapist, but he's unsure about... Read more

What's In a Kiss?

Helping Couples Decode the Language of Their Sexuality

Over the years, I've worked with many couples who complain bitterly that the other kisses or touches, fondles, caresses, strokes the "wrong" way. These couples... Read more

The Silver Lining in Failure

Not Every Teachable Moment Has to Be a Successful One

The problem with a failure is that one doesn't really understand why one failed. If one did, it wouldn't have been a failure. But I'm not giving up on my... Read more

Coping and Learning After a Client's Suicide

A Therapist Reflects on What He Might Have Done Differently

I've been in full-time private practice for almost 30 years. In that time, three patients in my practice killed themselves. Each suicide has left me... Read more

After an Affair, How Much Should Be Shared?

How to Have an Honest Discussion Without Accusations and Defensiveness

Infidelity expert Shirley Glass discusses how much disclosure is needed for a couple to heal after an affair. Read more

VIDEO: Julie Gottman on Why There's a Right Way for Couples to Argue

Breaking Down the Four Points of the "Conflict Blueprint"

Are you working with partners who can't seem to escape cycles of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling? According to renowned couples therapist... Read more

The Mystery of Eroticism

Rethinking Conventional Wisdom

It’s long been the conventional wisdom among couples therapists that if couples fix the emotional issues in their relationship, their sexual lives will... Read more

If you’re going to help a couple get closer and really learn to work harmoniously with one another, whether in bed or anywhere else, the key is helping... Read more

A sex-starved marriage isn’t about the number of times per week or per month people are actually having sex. It’s one in which one spouse is longing for... Read more

Transforming Sexual Narratives

From Dysfunction to Discovery

Therapists too often ignore the importance of the longstanding, often unconscious stories that partners carry with them into their sexual relationship. Helping... Read more

The Secret to Helping Agitated Couples Reel in Emotional Arousal

How Oxytocin Stimulates Trust and Connection, and Helps Relationships Heal

When clients are emotionally worked up, caught in fight-flight-freeze mode, all their hard-earned skills in empathic listening and responsible (and responsive... Read more

Pornography on the Rise: A Growing Mental Health Problem

Wendy Maltz on the Need to Address Porn Addiction as a Public Health Threat

Nearly 40 million Americans visit Internet porn sites at least once a month. Not surprisingly, concerns about the effect of porn on individuals and... Read more

Are you a therapist that's "marriage friendly?" It's the inclination towards helping clients in good relationships stay together. Read more