Relationship Problems and Concerns
Relationship problems may go beyond romantic partners and the sort of things addressed in couples therapy. This may include persons with whom we have strong emotional ties, such as friends and family, or those who are regular parts of our daily lives, such as co-workers and employers.
A healthy individual requires healthy relationships, but for countless reasons, relationships of all shapes and sizes can get stuck in familiar patterns that may be unhealthy and stressful.
Therapy can be a place to navigate through and improve the quality of interpersonal relationships by developing new levels of self-awareness and insight as well as by fostering practical relationship skills and overcoming interpersonal challenges. Some areas of focus might include:
- Learning to be more assertive
- Setting healthy boundaries
- Overcoming shyness
- Ending unhealthy relationship patterns (e.g., excessive people-pleasing)
- Dealing with anger
- Learning to be more open
Recommended Reading
The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships (John Gottman)
Being able to communicate effectively will ensure the stability and longevity of important relationships, including those with our kids, siblings, friends, and coworkers. Gottman focuses on what he calls the emotional "bids" being made in communication - that is, a gesture, a look, a touch, tone of voice... anything that is intended to make some kind of emotional connection with the other person. Readers will learn to identify their own "bids" and how they respond to the "bids" of others. Strategies are offered to develop more effective emotional communication skills to improve meaningful relationships.
How to be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving (David Richo)
Drawing on the concept of mindfulness, Richo makes suggestions on how we can be more loving, realistic, and present in adult relationships. The five hallmarks of 'mindful loving' are described as: 1) attention to the present moment, 2) acceptance of ourselves and others as we are, 3) appreciation of all our gifts, limits, longings, and existential human predicament, 4) physical affection, expressed in respectful ways, and 4) allowing life and love to be just as they are, with all the joys and pains, without trying to control it. Potential readers should find something helpful in this well-written book on relationships.