Welcome to my Blog
Thank you for stopping by. This space is where I share research, reflections, and practical tools drawn from my experience as a marriage and family therapist.
Are you a couple looking for clarity? A professional curious about the science of relationships? Or simply someone interested in how love and resilience work? I’m glad you’ve found your way here. I can help with that.
Each post is written with one goal in mind: to help you better understand yourself, your partner, and the hidden dynamics that shape human connection.
Grab a coffee (or a notebook), explore what speaks to you, and take what’s useful back into your life and relationships. And if a post sparks a question, or makes you realize you could use more support, I’d love to hear from you.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
~Daniel
P.S.
Feel free to explore the categories below to find past blog posts on the topics that matter most to you. If you’re curious about attachment, navigating conflict, or strengthening intimacy, these archives are a great way to dive deeper into the research and insights that I’ve been sharing for years.
- Attachment Issues
- Coronavirus
- Couples Therapy
- Extramarital Affairs
- Family Life and Parenting
- How to Fight Fair
- Inlaws and Extended Families
- Intercultural Relationships
- Marriage and Mental Health
- Married Life & Intimate Relationships
- Neurodiverse Couples
- Separation & Divorce
- Signs of Trouble
- Social Media and Relationships
- What Happy Couples Know
5 ways you’ll know you’re ready to start couples counseling
Couples therapy can be expensive, exhausting, educational, and exhilarating. you might even want to prepare for it.
If you’ve been kicking around the idea …how do you know if you’re actually ready to start couples counseling?
Here are 5 ways…
10 Toxic behaviors that will gradually become bigger marital issues
Research is now uncovering a distinct set of behaviors that chip away at trust and confidence in gradual and subtle ways.
These behaviors slowly become looming marital issues…here’s what they are…
How high-functioning psychopaths and sociopaths slip into power unnoticed…
Research indicates that high-functioning psychopaths and sociopaths, who also possess high IQs, are adept at concealing their true nature.
This ability sheds light on how individuals who exhibit dangerous, risk-taking behaviors can successfully infiltrate powerful management positions.
Understanding Psychopathy: Primary vs. Secondary Psychopaths…
Psychopathy is a complex personality disorder characterized by callousness and unemotional traits.
While these traits are central to all psychopaths, Research from the Journal of Management tells us that there are distinct differences between the two main types: primary and secondary psychopaths…
Let’s jump in!.. carefully…
Narcissism and decision-making: the counter-factual thinking deficit…
Toxic, debilitating narcissism presents a complex interplay of traits that can significantly influence decision-making processes and executive functioning.
Recent research has delved into the nuanced dynamics of narcissism, particularly focusing on the concept of a deficit in counter-factual thinking and its implications.
What is Counter-Factual Thinking?
What is the Illusion of Truth?
Psychologists call it ‘the Illusion of Truth’ and politicians and advertisers are all deeply versed in it.
What is the Illusion of Truth Effect?
Many studies have found that simple repetition is one of the best persuasion methods… whether the idea is true, or not…
What’s the essential difference between healthy self-esteem… and Narcissism?
The distinction between being a narcissist and possessing high self-esteem is crucial yet often misunderstood.
While both may involve feeling good about oneself, the underlying dynamics and behaviors are distinct…
10 Critical signs that couples therapy is long overdue…
Perhaps, for you, couples therapy is long overdue…
Does making an appointment with a marriage counselor seem like a good idea right now?
Here are 10 critical signs that couples therapy is long overdue for you…
How often do couples fight?
The frequency of fighting is no reliable guide to marital bliss.
Some strong, vibrant couples are very volatile and clash readily.
And then there are conflict-avoidant couples that avoid fighting …right smack into a crisis...
Let’s learn more…
Is there hope for my marriage after separation?
An Ohio State University study discovered that nearly 80% of separated couples ultimately divorce.
Some therapists have set up small cottage industries specializing in drafting separation agreements.
At the risk of sounding flip, a couples therapist who specializes in crafting separation agreements is like a surgeon who brags that they own a chain of funeral parlors…
The problem of contempt in marriage
Contempt is, in the words of the 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, “the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.”
It is the most corrosive and destructive behavior in intimate relationships…
Second marriage failure rate explained by neuroscience
Science-based couples therapists are convinced that America doesn’t have to have such a high second marriage failure rate.
This research explains why…