What Healthy Couples Know That You Don't: Relationship Advice and Respect

Rhoda Sommer LCSW

Relationships matter. Do you want to know the nitty gritty of what makes a relationship work? Get your answers to relationship questions. Learn how to keep respect alive & well, because lack of respect is why people get divorced. Learn what builds trust & how to recover from infidelity, drama or codependency. Advice from psychotherapist Rhoda Sommer based on over 35 years of working with couples. www.therapyideas.net

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174 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes174

Newest first

Dec 4, 2024 · 43 min
Navigating Common LGBTQ+ Challenges: Solutions for a Better Future
We delve into the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, focusing on the common challenges faced and the innovative solutions that are paving the way for a brighter future. Whether you're a member of the LGBTQ+ community, an ally, or someone looking to deepen your understanding, this episode promises to offer valuable insights and actionable advice.
Nov 19, 2024 · 54 min
Compulsive Behaviors including Sex Addiction & Pornography: How to Make Progress in Recovery
Both pornography & sexual addiction are very challenging issues for couples. There can be real communication challenges because porn use & sex addiction can make communication about intimacy and sexual preferences impossible. Individuals may find it difficult to discuss their feelings or concerns openly, fearing judgment or rejection. Shame makes this difficult to admit, even to therapists.
Oct 30, 2024 · 58 min
Key Couples Skills for Lasting Love
Relationships take work, like anything worthwhile. This episode is going to help you develop skills as a couple. Just like the work of flossing your teeth is better than just brushing, there are skills one or both of you can learn to improve your relationships. Building trust is not an act of magic, it is built on being honest about disagreement and transparency. Creating a solid foundation that helps both of you feel like you are a team is a huge accomplishment.
Oct 16, 2024 · 46 min
Stress Less: Strategies to Soothe Your Brain and Find Balance
Stress, is the ever-present companion for most of us in our daily lives. Chronic or excessive stress can take a toll on our physical and mental well-being. Your Brain can be an extremely useful tool in reducing stress. Relieve stress and you will enjoy life & live longer. In today's episode, we delve into the fascinating relationship between stress and the brain, exploring how this intricate dance shapes our mental and physical well- being.
Oct 1, 2024 · 1 hr
Low Sexual Desire & What To Do About It
Sexual well being can relieve stress & contributes to bonding with your partner. Yet it's so easy to give up and not even try to begin talking about it. It's the lack of communication about sex that is the real problem. Pleasure is the measure according to Emily Nagoski. Learn how to improve your sex life.
Sep 9, 2024 · 58 min
Unlocking Emotional Intelligence: Improving You & Your Relationships
Understanding our own emotions is a whole lot of work, much less understanding someone else's. Understanding our own emotions is a whole lot of work, much less understanding someone else's. The process of successful communication and negotiation are closely linked to high levels of EQ. The good news is you can improve your emotional intelligence.
Aug 20, 2024 · 47 min
Navigating Relationships: Understanding Expectations and Projections
Listen to understand projections & expectations which impact all of our relationships. We all have selfish expectations that cloud our perceptions. If we lack self-awareness then there is even more at stake. We all project aspects of ourselves onto other people, especially the parts of ourselves we don't take ownership of…which easily contaminates relationships.
Jul 31, 2024 · 46 min
Thriving Together: Relationship Fun Essentials
Fun is something that is all too often missing in relationships.Over several decades when I've asked couples, what do you want to do for fun as a couple, not as a family? The response is often blank looks or a downcast glance at feet. It was Plato who said, you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Jul 10, 2024 · 54 min
Attachment Anxiety: Tackling Insecurities for Healthy Relationships
Attachment anxiety. Tackling insecurities for healthy relationships. Insecurities can rob us as individuals and in relationships. Insecurities feed everything from a shopping addiction so you look good on the outside or a secret life of porn because real people are confusing and too messy. Fighting our insecurities is a battle all of us share.
Jun 19, 2024 · 34 min
MORE FORGIVING LOVE
Learn how to be more forgiving in love. Whether you are discouraged about dating or questioning whether your relationship is good enough, we've got some great answers in our interview today. Love sets up a lot of expectations beginning with our own fantasies of what love is supposed to be. When the truth is real love is deciding to do the work of being a better person because you love somebody else.
Jun 4, 2024 · 50 min
BUILDING STRONGER CONNECTIONS WHEN YOUR PARTNER WANTS MORE
Connection is a tricky business. Creating and maintaining genuine connections within relationships is a multifaceted challenge that holds profound importance in our lives. The intricate dance of understanding, empathy, and communication often proves to be a mystery to all of us. Miscommunications, differing perspectives, and the complexities of individual personalities can leave us confused as to what happened.
May 20, 2024 · 51 min
Healing from Within: Understanding Self-Forgiveness
Self-Forgiveness is an essential aspect of personal growth and well-being, as it enables individuals to move forward, heal, and cultivate a positive relationship with themselves. Forgiving oneself is important because it allows individuals to break free from the shackles of self-blame and regret. We all make mistakes, experience failures, and engage in behaviors we later feel really bad about.
May 1, 2024 · 56 min
Breaking Down Barriers: Overcoming Challenges in Sexual Intimacy
Our sex lives are too easy to leave behind. It's so easy to make excuses & dismiss opportunity with "I'm too tired." Going without sex for long periods of time creates feelings of hurt & rejection that pile up to destroy connectedness. If a couple is unable to talk about sex then negative assumptions are silently stashed.
Apr 16, 2024 · 49 min
Communication Breakdown: Overcoming Challenges in High-Conflict Relationships
Everybody can get stuck in repeating patterns of ugly disagreement. Frustrations run high & solutions seem impossible. Communication can so easily break down for so many reasons. The intensity of the unhappiness that never gets resolved leads to a familiar stickiness that neither feels able to dig out of... The good news is it is possible!
Mar 26, 2024 · 27 min
Feelings Unleashed: Understanding & Harnessing Emotions
Emotions are messy and confusing - they can so easily take us for a ride. Loneliness can carry us into bad relationships. Our fears can keep us isolated. Our shame can ruthlessly feed self-doubt & self-torture. Our resentments & anger can keep us stuck. We are unable to communicate decently if we don't have emotional balance. Listen & learn what to do about this difficult business of emotions.
Mar 5, 2024 · 50 min
Shame's Stranglehold On You & Your Relationships
Shame strikes at the core of an individual's self-worth. When individuals feel ashamed, they believe that they, themselves, are bad, rather than simply acknowledging that they have done something wrong, which is why shame can be a massive roadblock to healing for so many people.
Feb 8, 2024 · 54 min
DENIAL & SELF-DECEPTION DAMAGE RELATIONSHIPS
Accepting reality and acknowledging one's strengths and weaknesses is essential for personal development. By denying or distorting reality, individuals may miss opportunities for growth, self-improvement, and reaching their full potential. So lying to ourselves definitely stunts our growth.
Jan 16, 2024 · 47 min
How Couples Can Win with Finances
Money & how to manage this difficult subject as a team instead of ignoring the problems or constantly fighting. Money is a powerful force that touches every aspect of our lives, and when it comes to romantic partnerships, it can be a source of unity or division.
Jan 2, 2024 · 18 min
In Pursuit of Wellness: Finding Your Best Therapist Match
Therapy is a process that has to be honest…it is both an art & a science in my mind. It is impossible to grow if both of your feet are in comfort & support. You need to straddle the line between support, safety & being challenged or uncomfortable. Therapy requires that you be uncomfortable to learn new ways to look at yourself.
Dec 5, 2023 · 49 min
From Clashes to Connection: Using Disagreement to Deepen Relationships
Agreement and harmony are too often celebrated as the cornerstones of strong relationships, it is only in the presence of healthy disagreement that truly adds depth, resilience, and growth to these bonds. Disagreement, when approached constructively and respectfully, can foster better understanding, promote critical thinking, and lead to enhanced empathy and connection. When people stop avoiding hard conversations and plunge in to the risk of disagreement there is a deep richness to the more honest conversation.

What Healthy Couples Know That You Don't: Relationship Advice and Respect

Navigating Common LGBTQ+ Challenges: Solutions for a Better Future

Compulsive Behaviors including Sex Addiction & Pornography: How to Make Progress in Recovery

Key Couples Skills for Lasting Love

Stress Less: Strategies to Soothe Your Brain and Find Balance

Low Sexual Desire & What To Do About It

Unlocking Emotional Intelligence: Improving You & Your Relationships

Navigating Relationships: Understanding Expectations and Projections

Thriving Together: Relationship Fun Essentials

Attachment Anxiety: Tackling Insecurities for Healthy Relationships

MORE FORGIVING LOVE

BUILDING STRONGER CONNECTIONS WHEN YOUR PARTNER WANTS MORE

Healing from Within: Understanding Self-Forgiveness

Breaking Down Barriers: Overcoming Challenges in Sexual Intimacy

Communication Breakdown: Overcoming Challenges in High-Conflict Relationships

Feelings Unleashed: Understanding & Harnessing Emotions

Shame's Stranglehold On You & Your Relationships

DENIAL & SELF-DECEPTION DAMAGE RELATIONSHIPS

How Couples Can Win with Finances

In Pursuit of Wellness: Finding Your Best Therapist Match

From Clashes to Connection: Using Disagreement to Deepen Relationships