Don’t Forget About YOU!

September 28, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

Regardless of your relationship status, it is always important for you to focus on yourself, to continue to grow as an individual, and to foster your personal relationships. Find out why below.

FIND LOVE TIP:

If you’re in the process of looking for love, it is essential that you continue to nurture your social life. Meeting new people, trying new activities, and tending to your social network is a great way to jump-start this process. Not only will being socially active broaden your pool of people to choose from, but it will

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Filed Under: A Healthy You, Finding Love, Marriage Success Secrets, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Open-Ended Questions

September 13, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

An open-ended question encourages a meaningful, complete response. It is a communication technique used to gain deeper access into a person’s thoughts and feelings. When utilized correctly, open-ended questions can strengthen a relationship, help us understand a person’s point of view, needs, and feelings, increase empathy, and assess if someone is a good fit for us.

Unfortunately, most people tend to ask closed-ended questions, which usually elicit a “yes” or “no” or one word response. The problem with closed-ended questions is that they do not foster

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Is Fighting Really Bad for My Marriage?

December 16, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

“We want to learn how to stop fighting,” Diana told me during her first session with her new husband Tim.  After just 8 months of marriage, Diana and Tim entered marriage counseling.  Although they loved each other very much, they had begun fighting more regularly and were feeling increasingly insecure and unsure about their relationship.  In other words, they worried that they had made a mistake marrying one another.

During their first session Diana and Tim shared details about their arguments.  They reported that most of the time they were unable to resolve conflict and ended up fighting for days.  Instead of hearing one another and working towards healing, they often fought until they were exhausted and both felt hurt, disappointed,

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Filed Under: Communication, Marriage Success Secrets, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Holiday Shopping Stress and Your Marriage

December 2, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

The holidays are in full swing! Thanksgiving has passed and now the focus shifts to holiday gifts, parties, travel, and more.

For most couples, the financial pressure that comes with holiday shopping often gets in the way of enjoying the season together. Arguing, fighting, and distance typically increase for couples who find themselves unprepared to manage these demands. Fortunately, relationship problems DO NOT have to be a part of your holiday season.

The video below will teach you how to work as a team with respect to your money over the next next four weeks, which will keep you

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Filed Under: Communication, Newlywed Tips, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , ,

Where Did the Passion Go?

September 23, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

When we fall in love, we fall hard.  Romantic love is extremely powerful and is often filled with passion, romance, and unending thoughts about one’s partner.  As we grow together as a couple, this passion can shift, change, or dwindle, but researchers are beginning to find that this shift may not be something we can control.

In my private practice, I hear many couples discuss the changes that have taken place in their love lives.  They often long for the days when they couldn’t keep their hands of each other, miss the special looks their honey used to give them, and wonder why going to sleep is sometimes more appealing than making love.

Recent research has found an answer to this question.  From a

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Filed Under: Marriage Success Secrets, Newlywed Tips, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , , ,