An Introduction to The Relationship Newsletter

Thirty-seven percent of U.S. families are now single-parent families. The number of unmarried couples living together is up 800 percent.Women today have more extramarital affairs than their husbands.

Reports of sensational findings like these usually omit the most important point of all: eighty-five percent of Americans still get married at least once (U.S. Census Bureau), and only 10 percent think marriage is an out-dated institution (World Values Survey).

Welcome to the Relationship Newsletter
Marriage remains the central life relationship that most of us are either in right now, or heading towards in the future — and that’s good.

Research collected by Waite and Gallagher shows that married people have longer, healthier lives. They live up to 10 years longer. They spend half as much time in hospitals. And they’re twice as likely to rate themselves
as “very happy.”

Marriage fosters material success, too, in the form of significantly higher paychecks and four times as much accumulated wealth.

In view of all this, it makes sense for any couple — either married, or possibly moving in that direction — to ask how they can make a longterm commitment work. And if you don’t have a promising relationship right now, it’s a good idea to think about getting one.

An Approach You Can Believe In

Your first Relationship Newsletter will start at the logical place: Dating 101, based on in-depth university research that’s thoroughly objective. You’ll discover the key reason why dating is often difficult and unrewarding today and what it takes to overcome the problem.

You’ll go on to learn how to cultivate your dating relationships in the directions you choose by thinking through the possibilities up front, instead of finding yourself compelled one way or another after you’re actually involved.

We’ll proceed together through all the seven stages of relationship outlined here over the coming months, with an emphasis on frank evaluation of compatibility.

That’s vital when marriage is on the table, for example; sound premarital counseling reduces the chance of divorce (now twice as high as in the 1950s) by a good 30 percent.

Are you in a problem marriage? As long as you’re willing to talk, there’s hope: new scientifically-based counseling methods developed at the University of Washington significantly improve relationships for 67 percent of couples.

What if divorce is unavoidable? We can help you make it a relatively cordial, adult process instead of a messy, hateful one with negative long-term effects that damage parents and children alike.

The Relationship Newsletter draws on the latest research, collegial surveys, and perhaps most significant, insights gained from scores of patients over the past two decades.

There are lots of fascinating facts and ideas, but it’s not a mere intellectual exercise; it involves practical, step-by-step moves you can take to cultivate better relationships. And those are the source of life’s greatest satisfactions.

Welcome to the journey.