By: Dorothy Watson, Contributing Author Newlywed communication skills are less about saying the right thing and more about staying connected when conversations get hard, especially in the early stages of marriage. Newly married couples in the relationship adjustment period often expect daily conversations to feel easy, yet early marriage conflicts can rise fast around chores, money,…
By: Dorothy Watson, Contributing Writer When people want to strengthen relationships during life’s big changes, everyday interactions can suddenly feel harder. For couples rebuilding closeness and for individuals trying to protect important connections, major life changes can quickly turn ordinary days into repeated relationship challenges. Life transitions such as a move, a new job, a…
By: Addison Rives, Contributing Writer Do you struggle with parent-child communication? Have you ever wondered why your child doesn’t respond well to your advice, and possibly lashes out at you for it? But you know deep down you only want the best for them. So what’s really happening that causes such a rift? As a…
By: Dorothy Watson, Contributing Writer You want evolve, to be better—at life, at relationships, at handling your anxiety when your inbox goes full red dot. You’ve got goals. A vision board. Half a dozen self-help books you promised you’d finish. And yet, if you’re honest, personal growth sometimes feels like chasing a moving target. The…
By: Dr. Cheri Locke, PhD, MA, LPC-S, CST, CCTP Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Isn’t this just how it’s supposed to be?” about your sex life — but deep down, something doesn’t feel quite right? That’s probably a sexual script talking. Sexual scripts are the unspoken “rules” we all absorb about how intimacy should work — often without…
By: Dorothy Watson, Contributor Life doesn’t wait for you to catch your breath. Some mornings, the alarm feels like a starting gun and by the time you hit the pillow again, your brain’s still whirring through unfinished to-do lists and old conversations you wish had gone differently. Stress is baked into the rhythm of daily…
By: Dr. Cheri Locke, PhD, MA, LPC-S, CST, CCTP Over the past decade working with couples, I’ve come to understand something that many people experience but few talk about: the quiet complexity of unwanted consensual sex. It’s that moment when someone says “yes” to sex—not because they’re aroused or excited—but because they feel like they should….
By: Dr. Cheri Locke, PhD, MA, LPC-S, CST, CCTP Do you have intimacy beyond sex in your relationship? As a certified sex therapist and couples counselor for over a decade, I spend a lot of time helping people untangle the complicated web of intimacy. Spoiler alert: intimacy is not just about sex. In fact, if…
By: Simron Biswas If you’ve ever been in couples’ counseling, you might have heard the phrase “bids for connection.” In the context of relationships, a bid for connection describes any request for attention, support, or connection from one person to another. Dr. Gottman, a psychologist who specializes in relationship and marriage stability, finds that bids…
By: Dorothy Watson There’s little doubt that being a caregiver can wear you down. When you deplete your mental and physical reserves, your ability to care for your loved one also shrinks. That’s why caregivers need self-care. It may sound complicated or frivolous, but adding simple changes can make a difference in how you feel and…