by Sabrina Walters | Apr 4, 2017 | Core Values Couples
When our first son got engaged, Eric and I started taking dance classes. At the time, our only goal was not to embarrass ourselves at our children’s weddings! But, you might not be surprised to hear, it actually transformed our relationship in some surprising...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 29, 2017 | Core Values Couples
This is a question so many couples ask us when they come to our conferences, or enter into counseling, is: “If our Core Values are so different, how can we be compatible?” But the fact of the matter is compatibility has nothing to do with whether your Core Values are...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 22, 2017 | Core Values Couples
This Ted talk speaks to a very important issue: how childhood trauma affects children throughout their lifetime. What so many people don’t understand is the damage we do to our own children when we don’t directly deal with our own issues. Whether it’s...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 21, 2017 | Core Values Couples
We’ve all heard someone say it — we might have said it ourselves at some point: “We’re perfect together. We never fight!” But when someone says that to me, it’s a big red flag. You never fight? Really? First of all, unless you’ve been dating for less than a...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 21, 2017 | Core Values Couples
The part of the brain that gets triggered by cocaine is the same place we get triggered by romantic love. The difference being, of course, that you get to come down from cocaine — but you can’t come down from romantic love too easily. As this Ted Talk explains...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 21, 2017 | Core Values Couples
Joy is defined as: 1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety 2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss 3 : a source...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 21, 2017 | Core Values Couples
Expectations. As you hear this word in your mind, what does it conjure for you? For me, it brings up feelings that aren’t really that positive. Honestly, it just reminds me how much I fear disappointment. It’s a slippery slope, isn’t it? On one hand,...
by Sabrina Walters | Mar 2, 2017 | Core Values Couples
So often we hold on to a hurt or a grudge — we just can’t let go of the anger and resentment when we have been wronged. Sometimes this is a very old wound, one from our distant past. Sometimes it is a recent hurt that just keeps nagging at our heart with...
by Sabrina Walters | Feb 16, 2017 | Core Values Couples
If you’re a reader of this newsletter, it’s safe to assume you take fidelity pretty seriously. The last thing we want to fall into is an affair. But what many people don’t realize is that an emotional affair can be just as damaging as a physical one,...
by Sabrina Walters | Feb 16, 2017 | Affair Recovery, Core Values Couples
Yesterday, I posted this video to our Facebook page about how some couples are able to survive affairs others aren’t. The professor they interviewed hit the nail on the head: getting through infidelity, together, is all about taking responsibility. Part of that...
by Sabrina Walters | Oct 21, 2016 | Core Values Couples
This weekend, I was at the Gottman Institute for PTSD and Affair Recovery. This training, in correlation with a previous training on Addiction recovery in couples therapy, is truly becoming one of the most powerful ways to help couples. As I reflect on the couples I...
by Sabrina Walters | Oct 21, 2016 | Core Values Couples
When couples don’t see eye to eye, it’s easy to take offense, get defensive, shut down, put up walls, or even jump to worst case scenarios. Believe me, we all fall into one or more of these traps–even great marriages can slip into these negative...
by Sabrina Walters | Oct 21, 2016 | Core Values Couples
When a couple is recovering from an affair, re-establishing trust is the key component. If you’ve been hurt by this betrayal, you are probably asking: will it ever get better? Will I ever be able to trust again? Sometimes, even in situations that weren’t...
by Eric Walters | Oct 7, 2016 | Core Values Couples
Over the last 6 months I have been working with more and more couples who are recovering from an affair–some who had even drawn up divorce papers. It often makes me wonder about the recovery Sabrina and I went through dealing with the affair that hit us. Why...
by Eric Walters | Oct 7, 2016 | Core Values Couples
Okay, with the word intimacy, what comes into your mind? If you are a guy, you might be thinking of your wife or girlfriend giving you that look–you know the one–that has a bit of a tease telling you that she desires you as much as you want her. Hold...
by Sabrina Walters | Sep 15, 2016 | Core Values Couples
While we always love sharing our stories with you, every once in a while we come across another article we simply have to share. Bustle.com recently released a post titled “10 Habits That All Happy, Healthy Couples Have.” Every single point is spot on,...
by Sabrina Walters | Sep 15, 2016 | Core Values Couples
As a counselor and a coach, Sabrina and I are often asked, “How long will these feelings of hurt last?” That’s a tough question to answer. We offer a lot of resources for just that, and we also refer many couples to BeyondAffairs.com as another great source of...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 23, 2016 | Core Values Couples
In her incredible book, “Hold Me Tight,” Sue Johnson emphasizes the need for our beloved to literally hold us tight–to cuddle often, and in doing so to consistently feel very close. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you probably already...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 23, 2016 | Couples
We all desire respect from the ones we love and anyone else we have a relationship with. In the book Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs, a group of men was asked the question: If you had to choose between being on a desert island by yourself, trapped, or being in a...
by Sabrina Walters | Aug 23, 2016 | Core Values Couples
Today, Eric and I had the opportunity to listen to world-renowned author, speaker, researcher and therapist Dr. Daniel Seigel speak. I was thrilled; I’ve been influenced by his work since grad school and, for the last couple of years, been continually shaped by...
