relationship advice psychotherapy Archives - Page 6 of 18

Managing co-dependency in a marriage – the second five steps in learning to support rather than rescue
Gallery
Managing co-dependency in a marriage – the second five steps in learning to support rather than rescue

Anxiety therapy, relationship issues

Managing co-dependency in a marriage – the second five steps in learning to support rather than rescue

By dr_j_raymond|2016-12-13T05:19:18+00:00March 26th, 2013|Anxiety therapy, relationship issues|

Despite the relief that Craig felt when his wife Sophie did his bookkeeping for his landscape business he was frequently choked with shame. The conflict made him snappy and uninterested in spending leisure time with her. He dreaded going to bed at night because he didn’t want to face his impotence when he forced himself to try and make love to her. He was trapped in a cycle of neediness, shame and anger at the very person whom he relied upon to keep his business afloat. The more ashamed he got the less he wanted to be with Sophie. She got angry at him and accused him of being ungrateful and irresponsible. Of course the criticisms added more shame onto Craig’s pile. He hated his wife for making him so dependent on her. The lethal combination of shame and hate made him aggressive towards her. He wanted his power back, but being in a co-dependent relationship made it impossible. He just melted with fear when he tried to stand up for himself

Comments Off

Is Co-Dependency the Currency of Your Family Relationships?
Gallery
Is Co-Dependency the Currency of Your Family Relationships?

Anxiety therapy, relationship issues

Is Co-Dependency the Currency of Your Family Relationships?

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-11T18:09:06+00:00March 13th, 2013|Anxiety therapy, relationship issues|

Driving home from his last landscape design consult, thirty-three year old Craig’s stomach was in knots wondering if Sophie would have gotten over the row she had with her mother the other day. He felt bad for his wife who had tried and failed to arrange a family dinner, taking out her frustration on him. His temples began throbbing and his breathing became quick and shallow as he felt the overbearing sense of heaviness that came over him when he approached his front door.

Comments Off

How to Get Your Boyfriend Back After Throwing Him Out
Gallery
How to Get Your Boyfriend Back After Throwing Him Out

Anxiety therapy, Breakups and Separation, relationship issues

How to Get Your Boyfriend Back After Throwing Him Out

By dr_j_raymond|2016-12-13T05:19:18+00:00March 2nd, 2013|Anxiety therapy, Breakups and Separation, relationship issues|

Do you regret having lost your cool and thrown your boyfriend out? Are you feeling lost, lonely and guilty that you ended the relationship and can never have it back? Do you feel like you have done permanent damage to your relationship and that he will never come back to you? It's a common experience when you are anxious about getting an ex back.

Comments Off

How to Repair Family Relationships That Get Broken With Repeated Hurts

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-13T19:39:32+00:00February 23rd, 2013|Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, relationship issues|

Do you feel that you can't speak your mind because it will end in a misunderstanding, fight and hurt feelings? Are you regretful after you speak your truth because a loved one got upset and froze you out? Family relationship problems usually revolve around the way you make up after a relationship issue has caused tension, hurt, pain and anger. Maybe you feel guilty when you do speak your mind and then rush to compensate by being extra attentive to the family member who felt hurt by your remarks. You give your power to the one who feels wronged and then resent it later when you feel diminished by your enslavement towards atoning for your daring move to speak out. The relationship feels burdensome and heavy making you want to exit. You may cut it off so give yourself some relief. But it's harder to make up later. The effort and work that is needed to bring the relationship back to life is enormous. So why not learn how to repair family problems by taking care of the hurt before it turns into a gaping and lethal wound.

Comments Off

Self-Compassion Makes You the Partner You Want to be Toward Your Loved One
Gallery
Self-Compassion Makes You the Partner You Want to be Toward Your Loved One

Anger Issues, Anxiety therapy, Intimacy, relationship issues

Self-Compassion Makes You the Partner You Want to be Toward Your Loved One

By dr_j_raymond|2016-12-13T05:19:18+00:00February 13th, 2013|Anger Issues, Anxiety therapy, Intimacy, relationship issues|

After chiding her live- in boyfriend of five years, thirty-three year old boutique owner Nicole was full of self-loathing. She was angry that she had lost her temper with thirty-five year old car service manager Craig who was constantly letting her down. Nicole watched herself berate him for his sloppiness and half-finished chores. She saw Craig cringe and it reminded her of the times when her father laid into her for not doing as he expected. She didn’t want to be anything like her father. She was alarmed and ashamed that she behaved exactly like her dad, and wasn’t able to do anything to stop it.

Comments Off

How to Get What You Want From Your Valentine
Gallery
How to Get What You Want From Your Valentine

Communication Problems, Intimacy

How to Get What You Want From Your Valentine

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-14T20:26:48+00:00February 9th, 2013|Communication Problems, Intimacy|

Do you have a fantasy about what you want from your valentine? Would you like action in the form of receiving gifts and treats at a fancy restaurant? Or would you prefer a few genuine and sincere words that touch your heart and make you feel special, loved and treasured? Do you care more about spending time with your valentine or is it more important that your loved one spends a lot of money and spoils you rotten?

Comments Off

Where to Find a Boyfriend When the Current One is No Good?
Gallery
Where to Find a Boyfriend When the Current One is No Good?

Anxiety therapy, Dating, Intimacy, relationship issues

Where to Find a Boyfriend When the Current One is No Good?

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-13T17:41:18+00:00February 6th, 2013|Anxiety therapy, Dating, Intimacy, relationship issues|

As the six week new beauty product launch project wound down thirty-six year old Gina felt sad that the closeness and unity of the team was about to shatter as they all went their separate ways. She would miss the happy family they had created in order to get the job done, but understood that good things came to an end. What she couldn’t let go of was the fluttering of excitement and hope she felt when she thought about getting to know Brett on a more personal level.

Comments Off

Are You Ready For Couples Therapy?
Gallery
Are You Ready For Couples Therapy?

Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, Couples Counseling, relationship issues

Are You Ready For Couples Therapy?

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-11T18:14:31+00:00February 2nd, 2013|Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, Couples Counseling, relationship issues|

When you have tried as hard as you can to get through to your partner without success you may feel unheard, unseen and misunderstood. You try even harder to make your point, to show where you are coming from and what upsets you so much in the relationship. Your partner may be feeling equally frustrated and exasperated with failed attempts to get through to you about what's going on for them. So you both escalate, get even more angry and disappointed and worst of all you both end up terrified that you are never going to be able to communicate in a way that allows you to feel understood and attended to. Your arguments and fights get increasingly bitter with accusations and blame used as cannons in an attempt to break down the barricades of your partner's apparent refusal to see it your way. At that point you may think that the only way you can salvage the relationship is to go to couples therapy. Maybe an outside person can be more objective and act as a referee or mediator. Before you go to couples therapy, there are some crucial things you should be aware of:

Comments Off

Develop Good Communication Skills and Solve Marriage Problems
Gallery
Develop Good Communication Skills and Solve Marriage Problems

Anger Issues, Anxiety therapy, Communication Issues, Communication Problems, Intimacy, relationship issues

Develop Good Communication Skills and Solve Marriage Problems

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-11T18:47:25+00:00January 15th, 2013|Anger Issues, Anxiety therapy, Communication Issues, Communication Problems, Intimacy, relationship issues|

Gina a twenty-seven year old recent law school graduate was bubbling about her acceptance as an intern at a prestigious law firm. She jumped into the car when her thirty-two year old boyfriend Jake, vice-principle at an elementary school came to pick her up. She started talking excitedly before she strapped her seat belt on, but was gutted when she was abruptly cut off in mid- sentence. Three sentences in Jake sighed, avoided eye contact and told her he had to concentrate on the traffic.

Comments Off

Self-help For Couples That Actually Works!
Gallery
Self-help For Couples That Actually Works!

Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, Couples Counseling, Intimacy, relationship issues

Self-help For Couples That Actually Works!

By dr_j_raymond|2017-09-13T20:47:38+00:00January 12th, 2013|Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, Couples Counseling, Intimacy, relationship issues|

Have you tried reading self-help books on making your relationship work and found the advice sensible but impractical? Perhaps you have been on couples retreats, gone to couples workshops and taken courses on communicating with your partner, gaining intimacy with your spouse and managing conflict with your loved one - but still not succeeded with any degree of consistency. There is a good reason why self-help materials and experiential workshops fail - and that is because you are being taught the skills that work for couples who can do relationships well naturally. They don't have to work through the same tensions, challenges and fears that you do. So when you come to putting those skills into practice the fears that you carry about losing your loved one, driving them away, being cheated on, not being good enough and so on get in the way of the success. It's not that you lack skills or need to learn new ones. It's the fears and insecurities producing relationship stress that get in your way.

Comments Off