Mary Ellen Goggin
A powerful alternative to traditional weekly marriage therapy is a marriage retreat. For couples in crisis, this format can offer an intensive, highly effective start to a sustainable healing journey. Selecting a Therapist Selecting a therapist is an important process for anyone considering psychotherapy. Sometimes the “first impression” of the process can leave a lasting…
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Infidelity changes you. It just does. The betrayed, the betrayer, the marriage — everything morphs. Surviving long-term infidelity, however, is particularly exacting. From admission or discovery to atonement to acceptance, the long-term affair is an inevitable call to action. As if a “moment of indiscretion” or “lapse in judgment” isn’t bad enough, long-term infidelity is…
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Depression affects 1 in 6 people at some point in their lives. And it affects every aspect of their lives. If an unhappy marriage leads to depression in one spouse, the marriage itself is considered depressed. In an indirect way, depression is actually contagious. Because depression in marriage can be caused by emotional distancing, avoidance,…
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Marriage is supposed to be that one sacred place where you can be yourself and speak freely. But when you’re afraid to communicate with your spouse, your relationship and home life can feel more like a prison. It’s not uncommon for one or both spouses in a marriage to have difficulty being assertive in their…
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Two issues top the list of reasons couples divorce: infidelity, followed by finances. Knowing how to communicate with your spouse about finances, then, could do more than ensure the mortgage gets paid on time. It could actually save your marriage. A survey by Ramsey Solutions found that nearly two-thirds of couples start their marriage in…
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If you take your eye off the prize, the demands of daily life can hijack your happiness — and before you know it — you’re in an unhappy marriage relationship. Most often it happens without warning. The thrill of infatuation gives way to the regularity of daily routine. That is normal. But then gradually a…
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If a confidential survey asked, “Are you in a happy marriage?” would you have an immediate answer? What if it asked, “Are you in an unhappy marriage?” Would you be able to answer “yes” or “no” confidently…and explain your answers? Sometimes the middle ground sounds something like, “Sure, we’re happy….Well, we’re not unnnhappy….” If you’re…
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Marriage and couples’ therapy is a unique and specialized niche in the world of psychotherapy. And the marriage retreat-with-counseling is an even more specialized niche within the realm of marriage and couples’ therapy. While individual therapy may be ideal when working through your personal history and issues, if your relationship is what ails you, a…
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