How To Prevent Your Marriage From Making You Depressed

Can marriage cause depression? See these 9 research findings for both the good and the bad news. Read More

Marriage: 6 Guidelines from Ancient Wisdom Texts

Traditional Jewish texts abound with teachings about how to create healthy marriage partnerships. Here’s a sampling of six. Read More

Are You Falling Out of Love? A Quiz on 10 Warning Signs

Falling out of love has become the number one cause listed for divorce, at least according to a study in England. It’s trumping even affairs and abuse in terms of frequency. The good news is that falling out of love is something you can prevent. How? Read More

Mad Enough to Tell Someone to ‘Take a Hike!’ ?

Lo and behold, the old expression of anger ‘Go take a hike!’ turns out to be good advice. Read More

The Deceptive Power of Love’s First Moments

Infatuation feels great. Enjoy it. Just be sure though to go beyond initial chemistry to a thoughtful decision before you agree to say “I do.” Read More

Does Gratitude Matter in Marriage?

More thanks, praise and appreciation make for a more gratifying relationship. Here’s how and why. Read More

Marriage: 8 Dangerously Wrong Conventional Wisdoms

Mistaken advice about marriage can have potent impacts. Beware especially of these relationship-wreckers. Read More

Valentine Day’s Thoughts on Love and Marriage

Smartmarriages founder Diane Sollee shares some of her favorite quotes on love and marriage. There’s no time like Valentine’s Day to think about what you can do to make your love relationship all the more positive. Read More

Baby Come and Light My Fire…

Striking a match can light a candle. Initial sparks can help to kindle a blaze. So too with lighting sexual fires, which in turn help to keep marital affection warmly loving. What mutual actions can couples take to ignite their sexual energies? Read More

Is Your Relationship Toolkit Sufficient?

Studies continue to show that marriage education courses significantly upgrade a couple’s chances of enjoying a long and strong relationship. With effective apology, emotional self-regulation, communication and conflict resolution skills, couple partnerships are more likely to thrive. Read More

Self-Diagnosing Your Marriage Problems? Beware!

Eric Clapton’s famed song suggests “Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.” To diagnose and fix problems that come up in your marriage, sit down and look inward instead of pointing fingers at your spouse’s errors. Read More

How Effective Is Your Marriage Therapy?

If you and your spouse have had some tough times and turned for help to a couples counselor, how can you assess if the therapy is genuinely helping? Many folks in couples counseling are uncertain as to what to use as a measuring stick. Whether the therapist is “a nice person” is not sufficient. Try this quiz instead. Read More

Emotional IQ Alone Is Not Enough For Marriage Success

Emotional IQ is to marriage what athletic talent is to sports. Emotional IQ indicates talent in the realm of relationships. Talent helps. But talent alone does not lead to great performance as a husband or wife. You also need to develop strong marriage communication and conflict resolution skills. Read More

The Woman Who Saved Marriage

One woman’s dedication to the idea of marriage education reversed America’s rising divorce rates and may have saved the institution of marriage. Read More

From Thin-Skin to Win-Win: How Couples Counseling Helps

Are you and your loved one living the opposite of happily ever after? If your partnership is yielding fear, resentment or anger, maybe it’s time to reverse the trend. Couples counseling can help. How do therapists convert a relationship that generates fear and frustration to one that feels safe, supportive and enriching? Read More