There is a particular silence to estrangement. Not the noise of a fight — a fight, at least, means someone is still trying — but the quiet of a phone you no longer pick up, a name you scroll past, a chair at the table no one mentions is empty. Searching the estranged meaning usually…
You’ve seen the headlines and plot lines for every courtroom drama and true crime podcast: “Wife Finally Snaps!” “Husband Loses Control!” “Honeymoon Ends Early with Attempted Murder.” The story is usually told the same way. It focuses on the moment of the violence—because that’s what captures attention. Like slowing down to look at a traffic…
It’s a common assumption that once we move out, build a career, or start our own families, we have finally “grown up” and left the past behind. Yet, for many, an unexpected comment from a partner or a specific tone of voice from a friend or co-worker can instantly transport them back to the feeling…
Alarmingly, a 2024 Barna Group study discovered that 78 percent of U.S. men (which included 75 percent of Christian men) consume pornography to some extent. Additionally, 44 percent of women watch porn. Pornography is no longer something done in secret or by a few. Now it is something commonly consumed by both men and women…
When Gottman therapists assess relationship health, we are looking for three things above all else: the presence of trust, the presence of commitment, and the absence of contempt. Most articles you’ll read will help you focus on how to strengthen your relationship by focusing your energy on working on these three pillars: especially contempt since…
Fostering friendships takes time, energy, and communication. As adults, it can be difficult to build friendships because many individuals already have established friend groups. If you are someone who is trying to grow your friendships, know that you will need patience. True, genuine friends are hard to find, but they are out there. The Lord…
I recently had the pleasure of attending a workshop at my local gym/wellness center by Dr. Molly Maloof; a physician, author, and longevity expert specializing in personalized medicine, healthspan optimization, and the science of human connection. She spoke about the social drivers of cellular damage as well as how healthy relationships actually heal the body….
The apostle Paul knew that believers can be different in personality, expectations, past wounds and experiences, and how they express themselves, so he provided helpful instruction for how to maintain unity. I find his instruction especially helpful when it comes to the different ways family members grieve. In Philippians 2, he told believers to make…
Godly responses to conflicts include communicating, sharing your concerns, listening to the other person’s concerns, including God in the situation, and working toward a solution that honors God. The silent treatment will destroy any efforts at ever coming to a conflict resolution. It will cause pain, hurt, and disorder. The damage that is inflicted on others through the…
A familiar moment in human-services work: the second hour of an afternoon session, one partner tightening at the shoulders, the other looking somewhere just past her ear. The clinician can feel what has shifted in the room — the empathy that brought her into this work is fully present. The question, as it tends to…