Couples Counseling

Scenario: You have completed the needs and wants exercise in Vol. 1, No. 2 and you realize that a person you’re already interested in or involved with falls short of the man or woman you described. What now? Hopefully, they don’t fall too short, and candid, on-going communication about the situation will suffice. But what…

In the early stages of a relationship, there is no way to be certain that someone is right for you. But these are some ways to know for sure that a person is wrong for you. • Lies a lot • Has multiple excuses for coming late, or forgetting dates • Seems distracted, instead of…

Ways to Help Your Marriage Succeed Most married couples walk down the aisle full of optimism and hope. They know conflicts and problems will arise, but they’re certain they’ll be able to keep their relationships healthy and on track. John Gottman discovered something that can help. A psychologist at the University of Washington, Gottman has…

If you want to succeed in dating you need to be able to make conscious, informed decisions about who you’re willing to go out with, get to know, and possibly become emotionally and physically involved with. You want to be open to different types of people, yes; but it’s crucial to have a clear sense…

New York is a difficult place for dating, even with the active social lives that most of my patients lead. Traditional social-support systems that used to bring people together are waning. Relocations are frequent. Work committments now go well beyond the almost-forgotten nine-to-five schedule. To expand their dating opportunities, 40 percent of the 100 million…

Couples enter into marriage full of hope. They may be aware that problems will inevitably arise, but they usually feel confident they’ll be able to keep their relationships on track. There’s reason to be optimistic. Decades of research into the dynamics of relationships have finally established solid principles for helping marriages work – as opposed…

Do girls play with dolls and boys play with trucks merely because society imposes such behavior? Or is it genetics at work? Experiments by psychologist Gerianne Alexander of Texas A&M put nature before nurture. Dr. Alexander presented 44 young male vervets and 44 young female vervets with a range of playthings including cars, balls, dolls,…