So many people enter couple’s counseling because something in their marriage or relationship is not working and they are unhappy, disconnected or thinking about breaking up. One of the common things I see when working with couples in counseling is that one or both of the partners often did not grow up in a home where they had modeling for managing emotions in a healthy way. Many people grow up in home with what Dr. Jonice Webb describes in her book as “Childhood Emotional Neglect” which is also the title of her first book. . This means that you or your partner may have grown up in a home where emotions and feelings were not attended to for various reasons. As a result, you may have learned unhealthy ways of dealing with emotions . This can have a huge impact on a relationship if a couple does not have the same rules of engagement for how to manage their own feelings and how to respond to their partners feelings and manage conflict effectively. Here is a great article with some things couples do that grew up with childhood emotional neglect. As a couple’s therapist, I teach you how to manage your feelings and relationship in a healthy way so you can communicate effectively, experience more connection, love, trust and fun between you and your significant other.
Keeping Romance Alive During Pandemic and Stay at Home Orders
Is it even possible to keep any romance alive while sheltering in place and having everyone home full time? I would say ,"Yes" but you have to be creative and look at romance from a different...