Our understanding of emotions keeps growing thanks to scientific research. This includes the work of Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at U.C. Berkeley. He has investigated the topic of what makes us happy and also examined relationship satisfaction.  From this research, he developed some ideas we can all follow in order to increase our happiness

There are tons of blog posts and articles out there that claim to provide the magic formula for creating satisfying and long-lasting relationships. Some focus on keeping your passion alive or finding the secret to love. However, few of these claims are supported by scientific research.  One important exception is research conducted by John and Julie

It’s now 2017 and technology is everywhere. Forget “fast,” everything is about NOW in the instantaneous era of the digital age. With new technology and apps we have more ways to communicate and connect online. It’s a fascinating time, but there’s also a downside to technological advancement.  That’s because there are truly many ways that

It’s generally accepted that premarital education programs help clients learn skills that are beneficial and contribute to the overall health of relationships. There is also some research that suggests premarital counseling helps prevent divorce as well. Premarital counseling is frequently conducted through programs affiliated with a particular faith or religion. Often religious leaders will require

Financial disagreements can not only be damaging financially, they often expose deeper relationship problems. When it comes to harmful relationship problems, conflict over finances is right at the top of the list. There is even some research showing that compared to all types of conflict, financial disagreements are the top predictor of divorce. However, by

I often see couples who, for one reason or another, have fallen out of love. They are hoping to fall back in love, under the magic spell of couple’s therapy, in order to return to the “high” they experienced at the start of their relationship. But how realistic is it for couples to fall back

Anger is a normal emotion. It stems from feeling hurt, anxious, shame, or powerlessness. Although it’s a natural emotion, it is often seen as a problem, even evil, bad, or wrong. However, it’s important to remember that feeling anger is an internal experience.  How anger is expressed is an external issue that can affect others,

Various forms of trust issues are always present in most relationships. When couples come to see me, trust almost always shows up in one way or another. Most couples – even healthy ones – have some sort of trust issue present, even if it’s a relatively small issue. These issues aren’t necessarily connected to affairs