Buffalo seasons Awareness in life
Remaining Curious: The Third Pillar of Dialogue Therapy for Couples.
New love can feel like a cotton-candy meadow—sweet, playful, and full of possibility. Over time, every relationship shifts and changes. You grow together and apart, discovering that love is not a static feeling but a living process that asks for attention, compassion, and courage.
Conflicts inevitably arise. How you navigate them—how you speak, listen, repair, and stay open—determines whether your relationship deepens or drifts. In couples therapy, we work together to understand the patterns that keep you stuck and to create new ways of being that foster trust, intimacy, forgiveness, and joy. The first pillars of Dialogue Therapy invite couples to learn to speak for themselves and listen mindfully. The third asks something equally important and perhaps more difficult over time: Can you remain curious?
Listening Mindfully: The Second Pillar of Dialogue Therapy.
If speaking for yourself is the discipline of self-responsibility, mindful listening is the discipline of restraint. It asks us to suspend the reflex to correct, defend, interpret, or counterattack. It asks us to stay. It is rooted in a contemplative stance similar to what Thich Nhat Hanh called “deep listening”—listening not to fix or persuade, but to understand suffering.
Speaking for Yourself: A Core Practice in Dialogue Therapy for Couples.
One of the most quietly radical ideas in couples therapy is also one of the simplest: speak for yourself. In Dialogue Therapy, this principle is not merely a communication skill—it is the ethical and emotional backbone of the work. Many couples arrive in therapy locked in a familiar loop. One partner speaks about the other (“You always…,” “You never…”), while the other becomes defensive, withdrawn, or counterattacks. Dialogue Therapy interrupts this cycle by asking partners to return to their own inner ground.
Tips for Parenting Behind the White Walker Wall.
Co-parenting, a collaborative arrangement in which both parents actively participate in raising their children despite not being in a marital or romantic relationship, is becoming increasingly common in today's society. According to recent statistics, approximately 50% of children in the United States will experience their parents' divorce, and a significant number of these families will transition to co-parenting arrangements. The importance of effective co-parenting to children's well-being cannot be overstated. Research consistently shows that children who grow up with cooperative co-parents tend to exhibit better emotional, social, and academic outcomes compared to those in high-conflict or single-parent households. Researchers provide robust data supporting the benefits of co-parenting, highlight how positive co-parenting relationships contribute to a stable and supportive environment, fostering resilience and healthy development in children.
This article provides tips on how to co-parent.
Putting Your Kids First: The Art of Co-Parenting
Co-parenting, a collaborative arrangement in which both parents actively participate in raising their children despite not being in a marital or romantic relationship, is becoming increasingly common in today's society. According to recent statistics, approximately 50% of children in the United States will experience their parents' divorce, and a significant number of these families will transition to co-parenting arrangements. The importance of effective co-parenting to children's well-being cannot be overstated. Research consistently shows that children who grow up with cooperative co-parents tend to exhibit better emotional, social, and academic outcomes compared to those in high-conflict or single-parent households. Researchers provide robust data supporting the benefits of co-parenting, highlight how positive co-parenting relationships contribute to a stable and supportive environment, fostering resilience and healthy development in children.
This article provides tips on how to co-parent.
Feedback loops 101: Anchors, Waves, & Islands
In this blog post, I talk about attachment styles, and how we can learn about whether we are an Island, Anchor, or Waves. Understanding our attachment style enables us to related better in our relationships with partners, children, and co-workers.