Relationship abuse, also known as intimate partner violence, refers to a pattern of behaviors used over a period of time, to exert power and control over a partner, within an intimate relationship (National Domestic Violence Hotline, n.d.). Relationship abuse can take on many shapes or forms and does not necessarily involve physical violence.
In loving relationships, it is natural to put another’s needs first. Because of this, it can be difficult to tell when putting someone else’s needs first meets the threshold of codependency. As a result, codependency often and unfortunately goes under-recognized as a relationship problem. This is an issue, and more information needs to be
It’s that time of year again where some of us are busy writing our New Year’s resolutions, but how many of us have included, as a priority, on our lists to work on ‘strengthening our relationship’ with our partner or spouse? If you haven’t done so, let’s include one small change in the way we
photo credit The Greek word for conflict is agen, which translated into English is agony. If you have ever been in a conflict you will know it can be agonizing. John Gottman in his work with couples found that the inability to resolve conflict is an early predictor of divorce. Thus, it is important that
Many of us prepare for most things in life. We prepare for holidays. We prepare for job interviews. We prepare for dinner. We prepare for the kids to get into the right schools, albeit kindergarten and/or college. We prepare our immune system through vaccines. So, why wouldn’t we prepare for marriage? We prepare
Asking your partner open-ended questions on a regular basis helps build a stronger friendship between the two of you by creating a space for you to learn about your partner’s internal world. Couples learn a wealth of information about each other during their first couple of months of being together. Do you remember that time?
