Robert Clarke MFT

You can try using emoticons, but more than anything else, your mood when you read a text changes how you interpret it.

This is a good time to have some conversations about external pressures that are affecting you and your partner.

When we’re calm, we might misunderstand something we hear but instead of reacting, we will ask a question, or just dismiss it.

Summarizing what you’re hearing can be very powerful in its ability to diffuse an argument, and it only takes a moment.

Communications can be so confusing, especially when our culture seems to train men and women differently.

Taking turns making a decision can provide some variety and eliminate the need for what can sometimes be a long, drawn-out negotiation.

Our culture seems to label any marriage a failure if a couple decides to end it before someone dies of old age.

When you hear someone complaining about a problem you usually want to help. But unless fixing is requested, help means listening.