Couples Therapy In Seven Words

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/therapist-is-a-quack/ . Is your therapist a quack? We’ve talked about how to know if you should leave a relationship—what about a relationship with a therapist? What are the signs that you should dump them? As you’ll hear in this episode, thinking about that led us to talk about when diagnoses, such as ADHD or narcissism or Borderline P...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/angelo-santiago/. How can men be better husbands and partners? Our guest in this episode is Angelo Santiago, a Marriage and Relationship Coach with a specialization in helping men become better husbands. Angelo had me (Bruce) on his podcast, “Better Husband,” and we were delighted to return the favor. Angelo’s website is https://www.ang...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/quits-in-40-year-marriage/ . A listener question prompted this episode: “Fred” wrote to us asking how to know when to end a 40-year marriage. Judy and I talk about this dilemma from several angles. How do couples get to that point after so many years of relative stability? What’s the role of intimacy in a couple? Are there ethical issue...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/jonathon-aslay/ . Our guest in this episode, Jonathon Aslay, is a relationship coach who works especially with people (most often women, but some men) in mid-life. We talk about the particular issues that arise for people at that stage of life, and how Jonathon helps them navigate them. It’s a lively discussion—we had fun! Jonathon’s we...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/brian-hite/. Our guest in this episode, Brian Hite, has quite the blend of experiences to offer: he’s a Hollywood stuntman with over 100 credits, a Ph. D. in Organizational Psychology, and a sports performance coach. In his speeches and trainings, Brian challenges some conventional assumptions about pressure, motivation, and performance...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/jenn-kennedy/. What are some of the issues that come up for older adults in sex therapy? Our guest in this episode, Dr. Jenn Kennedy, tells us how  she helps older couples navigate the changes and challenges of maintaining and improving their sexual connection. Dr. Kennedy’s website is https://pleasureproject.us/ . Do you have ideas for...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/kelly-ghweinem/. Many therapists who work with couples are uncomfortable talking about sex with their clients—and therefore miss the opportunity to help them deal with those issues. Our guest in this episode, Kelly Ghweinem, tells us about how she helps couples with sexual issues, and how she and her colleague train therapists to equip...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/laurel-roberts-meese/ . LGBT couples and straight couples share many of the same issues, but there are also some characteristic differences. And our guest in this episode, Laurel Roberts-Meese, tells us not only about those differences, but about ways straight couples (and their therapists) can learn from LGBT couples. Laurel’s website...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/mr-jay/ . Why is recovering from betrayal so difficult? Our guest in this episode, Mr. Jay, talks about what betrayal trauma is, why it’s different from other kinds of trauma, and how he helps couples recover from it. Mr. Jay’s website is https://mrjayrelationshipcoach.com/ . Do you have ideas for topics or guests for our podcast? Go to...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/no-good-cheating-jerk/ . We’ve been getting a lot of reaction to my book Betrayal and Forgiveness. One of the common ones has been people expressing a combination of doubt and horror at the idea that someone who betrayed you was, in some way, doing the best they could. So we talk about that and related ideas. Along the way, Judy and I t...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/bev-mitelman/. What is attachment style, and why is knowing your own attachment style important in a relationship? Our guest in this episode is Bev Mitelman, a Certified Attachment Practitioner, who helps her clients understand their attachment styles and helps them in their journey toward a secure attachment style that facilitates bett...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/steven-radowitz/ . Our guest in this episode is Dr. Steven Radowitz, who is the Chief Medical Officer of a program that uses ketamine and other psychedelic therapies to treat a wide variety of issues. Dr. Radowitz tells us how he helps people with psychedelics, and how that work can benefit couples as well as individuals. You can find o...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/robert-j-hunt/ . What is accountability, and why is it important both in work relationships and in couples? Our guest in this episode is Robert J. Hunt, who has co-written a book about why accountability is important and how to embrace it. Robert’s website is https://nobodycaresbook.com/ . Do you have ideas for topics or guests for our...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/catherine-auman/ . What is tantra? How can sex be a spiritual experience, more than simply a way to give and receive pleasure? What is transpersonal psychology, and how does it differ from traditional psychology? Our guest in this episode, Catherine Auman, is a psychotherapist with advanced training in both traditional and spiritual psy...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/anneke-elmhirst/ . Interested in the possibilities of polyamory? What are those possibilities? What can go wrong? Our guest in this episode, Anneke Elmhirst, helps people explore those questions. Polyamorous herself, Anneke talks about how she works with people to help them discover their own path. We also talk with Anneke about her exp...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/cant-be-intimate-and-freaked-out/ . What single ability solves all relationship problems? What does that have to do with intimacy and couple relationships? And how does that relate to politics? In this episode, we (Bruce and Judy) reveal it all—an ability that anyone who’s listening to a podcast—that’s you!—already has. Do you have idea...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/joshua-coleman/ . Are you estranged from a family member? About a quarter of Americans are. Maybe you’re cut off from a parent or adult child or sibling. The one universal about estrangement is that it’s painful. And it’s on the rise. Our guest for this episode is Dr. Joshua Coleman. He’s been through it himself, and has become a world-...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/paula-cope/ . How can a sixteen-year-old manage to survive, and even thrive, after her mother abandoned her leaving no other adults to care for her? And can you forgive a mother who did that? Our guest in this episode, Paula Cope, shares her story with us. Warning—have tissues handy! Do you have ideas for topics or guests for our podcas...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/my-sister-stole-my-boyfriend/ . Betrayal, cutoff, and decades of family drama. How would you handle it if your sister stole your boyfriend and then went on to marry him? Now it’s 30 years later, and you’ve been in therapy, and you see things a lot differently. You want to reconcile with your sister, but she’s having none of it. What do...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/susan-morgan-taylor/ . Are you a woman in a couple, and your sexual desire seems to have vanished? Are you a man in a couple with one of those women? What’s going on? What can you do about it? Our guest in this episode, Susan Morgan Taylor, specialized in helping couples dealing with this sort of desire discrepancy. And she learned how...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/my-wife-died-and-was-having-an-affair/ . What if you found out your recently deceased wife had been having an affair for years? How can you handle the shock of betrayal? And what should you do about telling the adult kids or not? In this episode we talk about the letter we received from Les, whose wife of 45 years had died suddenly, lea...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/shelley-lewin/. Our guest for this episode, Shelley Lewin, was a successful international model when she realized that her life wasn’t working for her, especially when it came to relationships. So she embarked on a journey of personal growth and training which led to her becoming a relationship coach, offering help to individuals, coupl...

For the video of this episode, go to https://brucechalmer.com/owen-marcus/ . It turns out men and women are different. And therapy tends to be women’s territory, even with male therapists, as I (Bruce) can certainly attest: after all, it’s women who want to come to therapy, and men who usually resist. Our guest in this episode, Owen Marcus, has developed programs that provide the kind of environme...

The video of this episode is at https://brucechalmer.com/phyllis-leavitt/ . How might the insights of psychology help heal our country? How does unhealed trauma lead to the polarization and discord we’re experiencing? Our guest in this episode, Phyllis Leavitt, has applied her knowledge and experience as a psychotherapist for three decades to those issues, and written a book, America in Therapy: A...

The video of this episode is at https://brucechalmer.com/sharon-costanzo/ . When our guest in this episode, Sharon Costanzo, got married and had children, she encountered a common problem, no less vexing for being so common: she found she was carrying a disproportionate load of household responsibilities even as she worked outside the home full-time. Her experience, often painful, of working throu...