Sabrina here! I’m back with the next installment of our exploration of the “Eight Dates” discussed in Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, and Rachel Carlton Abrams. Things are getting real...
This past week, one of today’s greatest relationship theorists and researchers, psychologist Dr. Sue Johnson, passed away after a three-year journey with cancer. Sue Johnson, who pioneered Emotionally Focused Therapy, has greatly influenced my work with couples — and...
In this guest post from Oregon Counselor Associate and Core Values Counseling team member, Josie Self, we explore what the Gottmans have to say about tending to your relationship once your little bundle arrives. A baby changes everything In our last...
In this guest post from Oregon Counselor Associate and Core Values Counseling team member, Josie Self, we explore what the Gottmans have to say about tending to your relationship once your little bundle arrives. A baby changes everything Bringing a baby home is one of...
In this guest post from Oregon Counselor Associate and Core Values Counseling team member, Josie Self, we’re digging into a topic that’s not discussed often enough: perinatal mood disorders. Difficulties of the perinatal period The perinatal period, considered...
In our last post, we shared that Eric and I have committed to going on the “Eight Dates” prescribed in Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, and Rachel Carlton Abrams. We will then share our...
For the next 8 weeks, Eric and I are committed to going on the “Eight Dates” prescribed in Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, and Rachel Carlton Abrams. We will then share our experience...
This month, I’m excited to share something a bit different than I usually do. You might have heard of Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, and Rachel Carlton Abrams. My husband, Eric, and I...
A lot can be said about grief. Google the term, and you’ll get almost 630 million search results. But search for “how to sit with someone who is dying,” and you’ll get exactly eight results. When you lose a loved one, dozens or hundreds or even thousands of...
Grief. When you’re in the midst of it, you can sometimes hardly see straight, much less gather resources to help you navigate your new reality. I know the feeling all too well. This past week, I said goodbye to my mom. She passed away peacefully from...
If you and your partner have participated in The Art and Science of Love (ASL), you might be wondering, “What comes next? How can we get even more out of what we’ve learned here? How can we make the changes last?” Good news: we’re excited to announce that Eric...
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been digging into a three-post blog series on self-care. And no, we’re not talking bubble baths, essential oils, and booking an appointment with your hair stylist (though, by all means, you should do those things for yourself,...
One of the hardest parts about getting self-care right is that it is so intricately tied to our personality and our core values. As a high Merchant — based in love and truth and connections with people and connecting people with other people — my mind is...
It seems like self-care has been one of the buzziest words of the last decade. And while it doesn’t take much to convince most folks of why self-care is important, there’s still a lot of misunderstanding around what self-care actually means (and what it doesn’t) and...
Welcome to a brand-new year. While I won’t be pitching any resolutions or quick fixes to jump-start your 2024, I would like to invite you and your partner to explore your dreams and goals — and not just for this year but for the long haul. Years ago, I encountered an...
I LOVE Christmas and the holiday season! I do! However, for many years, all of the weight of the holidays seemed to land on me, the daughter, mom, wife — and now grandmother. (In case you missed it, all the roles women play really do add up.) While I’ve learned to...
According to research from Drs. John and Julie Gottman, there are three phases a couple must work through in order to repair a major breach of trust: atone, attune, and attach. If you’ve been following along with my last few blog posts, you’ll know we’ve discussed...
In my last post, I introduced the three phases of repair you’ll need to walk through with your partner after a major breach of trust: atone, attune, and attach. (These are based on extensive research from the Gottman Institute.) We talked about atonement in detail....
If you and your partner have experienced a major breach of trust, there is hope for healing. Gottman Institute research shows that repairing your relationship is a three-step process: Atone, Attune, Attach. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it is — and it isn’t. ...
I am convinced that kindness and gratitude are integrally linked. We often don’t even think about kindness, but often we are unkind, especially to the ones we love most. Why is that? Why do we take for granted the love of the one person dearest to us? I think it is...
