A divorce without lawyers could be right for you if you want to remain friendly and avoid a long, expensive court battle as create agreements that serve your unique situation and goals.
Relationship Blog
How to Show Compassion in Marriage and Create Positive Sensory Override
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Happily married couples occasionally have screaming arguments. Yet, their marriages are immune to lasting damage from these fights. What seems to protect happy couples from severe problems is how they communicate when they are not fighting. Of course, happily married couples are optimistic about their lives together and set high expectations for
The Most Powerful Ways to Express Your Love Will Surprise You
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Romantic love involves both the experience of affectionate feelings and the outward expression of those feelings. No matter how deep your feelings of love are, your partner can only know that you love them if you frequently, openly express that love. And if you want your partner to know
Want a Happier Marriage This Year? Adopt These 7 Proven Habits
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD If you’re like most people, you resolved to “be healthier and happier” this year. But, since the quality of our lives is directly related to the quality of our closest relationships, being healthier and happier is directly connected to the level of happiness you experience in your marriage or partnership.
Want to Be Right? Or Happily Married on the “Home Team”?
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD You can be “right”, or you can stay happily married. That doesn’t mean you must be a doormat if you want to stay happily married. Instead, you can accept that there is no objective reality in a relationship. There are two subjective realities – in your reality, you’re right and
Ways Types of Pride Can Strengthen or Destroy Your Marriage
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD As the old song goes, pride could be the chief cause of the decline in the number of husbands and wives. But the type of pride displayed makes a big difference. The right type of pride strengthens relationships. But, the wrong type of pride leads to the wrong kind of
Beat the Heat – How to Cool Down Your Conflicts
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Couples tend to have more heated conflicts when it’s hot outside and when they experience life stressors. But, fortunately, you can learn to “beat the heat” and cool down your conflicts. We have more conflict when it’s hot because the hot temperatures interfere with mindful, sensible thinking. When we are
How to Be Lucky in Love
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Being lucky in love is more about action than chance. Whether you are searching for your first love, building the courage to start a new relationship, or trying to get that “lucky in love” feeling back with your current partner, keep these two important actions in mind. Be Deliberate in
How Do Love Relationships Make You Happy and Healthy? Takes More Liking Than Loving
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Loving relationships are essential for human well-being and happiness at all ages. In fact, the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period”. A variety of social connections
How to Stop Cheating Before it Starts
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD You may have heard the adage “Cheating is a symptom of relationship problems, not the cause of it”. With notable exceptions for certain pathologies, this statement is generally accurate. So, the time to protect your relationship from an affair is long before your partner feels the need to seek attention
Great Expectations Make Marriages Flourish
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Couples get what they expect. One primary difference between couples who make it and those who don’t is that those who stay happy have high expectations for marriage and each other. This may seem a bit counterintuitive. I’m sure you’ve heard many relationship “experts” (or your own mom) say that
Stay Happily Married by Following the “Magic Six Hours” Formula
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Six hours a week is all it takes to stay happily married. If you follow this Magic Six-Hour formula, you can keep your marriage running smoothly and prevent a gradual growing apart or a dreaded relationship breakdown. Relationship expert John Gottman and his colleagues have determined that for relationships to
When Your Partner Makes Mistakes, Your Attributions Make a Big Difference
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD People in long-term relationships make mistakes. The impact your partner’s mistakes have on your relationship depends largely on how you make sense of why they behave as they did. We call this an “attribution” of cause. And, what you see as the cause when your partner makes mistakes depends mostly
A New Way to Discover the Best Co-Parenting Partnership Type
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Divorce should not be entered into lightly, especially if you are a parent. Marriages may dissolve. But co-parenting is truly a “to death do us part” commitment. Parents must choose (and it is a choice) whether they will have a friendly divorce or an acrimonious one. The decision
Secrets to Staying Happy ’til Your Silver Anniversary and Beyond
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhDCheers! This month my husband Larry and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Ours is a second marriage for both of us. And, even though the 25th is traditionally considered the silver anniversary, we feel “golden” pretty much every day. Younger couples often tell us that they want to know our
How to Date Your Spouse: 6 Tips for Successful Date Nights
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Most couples know they are supposed to have a regular “Date Night”. Unfortunately, along the way, they let familiar routines and their life partner/parenting roles overshadow their ongoing need for novel activities and their role as romantic partners. They just can’t seem to have a night out that doesn’t involve
Make SMART Relationship Goals Not New Year’s Resolutions
Relationship-based resolutions will likely fail by February. Create SMART relationship goals instead.
Happy Couples Have Attitude of Gratitude
Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Couples who mutually express gratitude to each other enhance intimacy and bolster their levels of relationship satisfaction.
These 3 R’s Let Your Happy Relationship Bloom Naturally
Spring reminds us to refresh, renew, and improve our relationships. These 3 R's guide the relationship improvement process.
Money Can’t Buy Love, But the Right Gift Can
by Jamie C. Williamson, PhD ‘tis the season. But how do you know the right gift to give your partner? Most gift givers assume that a more expensive present will be more appreciated, yet, receivers don’t appreciate expensive gifts more than other less expensive gifts. And, that goes for gifts of clothes, wine, home
4 Easy Steps to Coping with Perpetual Marital Conflict
By Jamie C. Williamson, PhD Most marital conflict is unsolvable. In fact, according to renowned relationship researcher John Gottman, 69% of marital conflicts are perpetual problems that couples will never resolve. Only 31% of the problems in marriage are solvable. This is true for both happy couples and unhappy couples. So, it is not the