Search Results for: lisa firestone/feed/2009/11/fear-of-intimacy

How to Tell if You’re in the Wrong Relationship

…laming or attacking your partner? 2. Defensiveness – are you closed off to feedback from your partner? 3. Contempt – are you rolling your eyes, mocking or pushing your partner away? 4. Stonewalling – are you shut down in your interactions with your partner? Is your underlying tone and body language stand-offish or withdrawn? These four behaviors are all characteristics of relating in a fantasy bond as my father, Dr. Robert Firestone delineated in…

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Video: Dr. John Norcross on couple’s therapy

…d say, “I’m not feeling close. The communication isn’t there. The sense of intimacy and agreement on how we deal with the kids isn’t there.” The husband says, “I think we’re doing fine in that area.” and then pick another area, be it finances, discipline, sex, that he believes. So they literally miss each other in terms of stages of change and then not surprisingly, blame the other rather than assuming responsibility themselves. LF: And what do yo…

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VIDEO: Dr. Allan Schore on Therapeutic Alliance and Emotional Communication

…s use in intimate contexts. And again, let’s remember with these patients, intimacy is terrifying. Right? It’s strange, it’s foreign, it’s terrifying, etc. So it’s that system, which again would heighten the idea that the inter-subjective, the relational, is central to the treatment. The ability to empathically resonate with someone else’s subjectivity is very different than giving another person advice or telling them what to do or how they shoul…

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PsychAlive Testimonials

…mative! I like the idea of dividing it up into the specific areas of self, intimacy and parenting…I particularly enjoyed the workshop and began a unit, entered a journal sample and again appreciated the quality of the content…Personally this is a site I will spend a lot of time on and recommend it to all colleagues and friends – along with community mental health at our local hospital… Great work, excellent and very valuable resource…Congrats and…

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After the Honeymoon

…u ready for marriage.” He says successful marriages involve growing and an intimacy-based approach emphasizing “tone” and “depth of connection.” I know, I know. You want to enjoy the honeymoon, at least, before you’re forced to entertain such sobering truths. But, couplehood precedes marriage, so even before the honeymoon begins, there may be some need to take stock and assess – dare I say, to prepare for a post-wedding reality. Schnarch says that…

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Online Dating Profiles: Fact or Fiction

…ies between the actual and ideal self are linked to feelings of dejection. Intimacy is linked to feeling understood by one’s partner. Therefore, if participants aspire to an intimate relationship, their desire to feel understood by their potential mates will motivate self-disclosures that are open and honest as opposed to deceptive. But how can we know for sure? Online self-presentation is more malleable and subject to self-censorship than face-to…

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The High-Conflict Couple

…A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Guide to Finding Peace, Intimacy and Validation. Alan E. Fruzzetti, Ph.D. Relationships have the power to stir up many emotions. When these emotions become too intense or too hard to handle or control, there are therapeutic methods to alter our behavior and resolve conflicts. By learning how to calm down and regulate emotions, couple who truly care for each other can learn to lead a peaceful, intimate co-existence….

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Rekindling Desire

…elps people understand why this transition has occurred and helps them to bring physical affection and sexual closeness back into their lives….

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The Bachelorette Season 8

…is being forced to open up his heart without really engaging in true open intimacy. Honesty and Integrity: Honesty builds trust between people, which is necessary for a relationship to flourish. Without honesty, there is no real communication, resulting in an emotional disconnect between partners. The drama and competition in The Bachelorette creates an environment where the guys will do anything to get the girl, including lying, cheating, and in…

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gratitude

A Time to be Grateful

…you feeling loved and cared about (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). Feelings of intimacy and closeness will be enhanced by your perception of your partner’s responsiveness to your wishes and needs (Algoe, Gable and Maisel, 2010). Just as gratitude inspires self-awareness and self-acceptance, it inspires those same attitudes toward your partner. Focusing on your partner’s positive qualities will also make you more attuned to your partner’s needs and wis…

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