INSIGHTS
Does Divorce Among The Wealthy Differ From a Middle Class Divorce?
The internet was burning up last week with the announcement of billionaire and CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos’ divorce from his wife MacKenzie Bezos. As someone who has experienced divorce first hand and written about it extensively, I couldn’t help wondering whether...
Change Or Improve Your Relationship
How To Use The Power Of Empathy To Revive, Change Or Improve Your Relationship What Is Empathy? Simply put, empathy is understanding: the sensing of another person’s underlying feelings, wants, and emotional dynamics – looking at the world through their lenses – “What...
Post-divorce Aloneness – Part 1
Your divorce has thrown you into a very lonely place full of conflicted feelings of rejection and longing, love and hate, remorse and rage, not to mention sadness and relief. While you used to have a counterpart to help you through hard times, now you are on your own...
Post-divorce Aloneness – Part 2
In my clinical practice, a very common reaction to the loss of a partner is “I don’t know who I am anymore.” Sound familiar? One of my clients aptly referred to his post-divorce aloneness as the “panic of the I.” He compared his feelings to those of a toddler who...
What Have You Done For Your Partner Lately?
As part of my professional training, I spent many years studying psychoanalytic theory and technique. In short, my job was to help my clients examine past relationships for the purpose of understanding their present ones. The goal of the therapy was to develop...
Dysfunctional Relationships
Would You Know If You Were In A Dysfunctional Relationship? Definition The terms “toxic,” “dysfunctional,” and “codependent” are used to describe relationships that are not working. Although experts decipher differences in their meanings, the terms are often used...
Boundaries In Romantic Relationships
A boundary is something that marks a limit. Think of psychological boundaries as guidelines that preserve your individuality from your partner’s. They comprise your uniqueness – your history, experiences, interests, personality, and values….your “you-ness.” Setting...
How To Be Separate And Together
Introduction People are always asking me "How can I can make room for both my needs and my partner’s needs in our relationship?" They go on to say that, more often than not, one or the other gets their way, which inevitably leads to resentments. What they are really...
How Will I Benefit From Divorce Counseling?
Introduction Ask anyone who has been through a divorce and they will tell you it rocks the foundation of your being, leaves you feeling lonely, flawed, undesirable, enraged, and hopeless, to name a few emotions. During my divorce twenty-seven years ago, I was in...
How Do I Know If I Need Divorce Counseling?
Introduction Divorce challenges the basic sense of who you are, who you’ve been, and who you’ll become. Healing from a divorce is not like getting over the flu where one rests, drinks lots of fluids and comes out the other side good as new. Surviving a divorce is much...
Helping Children Cope With Heartbreak
The Need to Advocate for Children of Divorce Introduction With the recent publication of Mike Mastracci’s excellent book Stop Fighting Over the Kids; Resolving Day-to-Day Custody Conflict in Divorce Situations, I found myself focused on the overwhelming struggles that...
What Are Clients Really Looking For In A Divorce Attorney?
When it comes to choosing a divorce attorney, I have heard people say, “I want the meanest, toughest attorney I can find. I need a fighter, someone who’ll take out that shark my spouse hired.” That attitude always makes me shudder. A talented attorney doesn’t have to...