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It's often said that marriage takes work. The Stronger Marriage Connection podcast wants to help because a happy marriage is worth the effort. USU Family Life Professor Dr. Dave Schramm and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Liz Hale talk with experts about the principles and practices that will enhance your commitment, compassion, and emotional connection.
More than ever before, marriages face obstacles, from the busyness of work and daily hassles to disagreements and digital distractions. It's no wonder couples sometimes drift apart, growing resentful, lonely, and isolated.
The Utah Marriage Commission invites you to listen and discover new ways to strengthen and protect your marriage connection today!
165 Episodes
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Dr. Jeffrey Du shares groundbreaking research identifying four key factors for a stronger marriage: commitment, protectiveness, shared religious attendance, and regular date nights. These factors emerged from data collected from over 2,000 individuals across the United States, focusing specifically on elements within couples' control. • Commitment means intentionally prioritizing your spouse and marriage amid busy lives • Protectiveness involves emotional safeguarding, loyalty, and consisten...
We welcome Les and Leslie Parrott to unpack how preparation, empathy, and practical tools create stronger marriages, from the origins of SYMBIS to the launch of the four-minute Heart Chart. We explore healthy conflict, invisible rule books, and thought patterns that quietly shape connection. • SYMBIS origin story and why premarriage prep matters • moving from traits to state for real-time insight • the invisible rule book and expectations • how to fight a good fight without harm • empathy as...
We explore how emotional safety fuels connection and why consent, validation, and nervous system awareness transform tough talks. Shane Burkle shares RLT’s “truth with love,” a six-hour intensive model, and a simple exercise couples can use today. • connection seekers vs safety seekers and the push-pull loop • what emotional safety looks like in practice • validating language, curiosity, and accountability • consent in conversations and setting parameters • timeouts, check-ins, and nervous s...
We explore how to design a fair, secure-functioning relationship that protects both partners, repairs fast, and prevents repeated harm. Dr. Stan Tatkin explains why instinct fights intimacy and how governance, PEPPER, and daily presence keep love strong under stress. • human nature as difficult and self-protective • difference between difficult and too difficult • clean repair and real apology without excuses • attachment biology, pair bonding and threat memory • the ...
We sit down with Susanne Alexander to explore unity as a daily practice and walk through research-based tools that help couples merge hearts and minds. Small habits, virtue-based praise, and playful rituals turn conflict into clarity and make friendship the backbone of marriage. Susanne M. Alexander is a relationship and marriage educator, coach, author, and publisher with her company Marriage Transformation®, www.marriagetransformation.com. She meets with clients globally via the internet fo...
We explore how sexual intimacy becomes joyful and life-giving when anchored in self-honesty, personal responsibility and spiritual growth. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife shares practical ways to move beyond rigid roles, foster freedom and desire, and build a marriage that can hold two full adults. • linking sexuality and spirituality as sources of joy • defining intimacy as being seen and known • reframing eroticism as life force, not performance • spotting how roles hide the self and stall desire ...
Dr. Dave Schramm and Dr. Liz Hale sit down with Dr. Julia Garcia to explore how hope becomes a daily habit that strengthens love, repairs conflict, and restores self-worth. We map the five habits of hope and show how one small word—maybe—can interrupt despair and create momentum. • defining hope as practice not positivity • Julia’s journey from hopelessness to healthy habits • five habits of hope: reflection, risk, release, receive, repurpose • the sound of hope and processing feelings • cur...
We talk with therapist and author Marc Cameron about how childhood bonds shape adult love and how anyone can “earn” secure attachment through story, skills, and practice. Practical tools like boundaries that invite connection and the Comfort Circle help couples move from reactivity to responsiveness. • what avoidant, pleaser, vacillator, and disorganized styles look like in childhood and adulthood • how a coherent narrative links emotions to needs • why empathy, validation, and clear languag...
We dig into holiday spending habits with Amanda Christensen and show how couples can protect peace and pocketbooks. From impulse triggers to simple tools and a revolving savings plan, we share practical steps to keep joy high and stress low. • impulse buying traps and how to slow down • agreeing a shared goal for the season • setting a total budget and four key categories • choosing cash for high-risk spending areas • using price trackers to time purchases • organizing gifts with lists and s...
We explore how to handle family “emotional storms” with practical, science-backed tools so parents can stay calm, help kids feel seen, and keep their partnership strong. Dr. Alyssa Jerud shares the ART and CARE frameworks, opposite action, and simple mindfulness moves that work in the real world. • why emotional agility matters for parents and partners • how ART helps accept, regulate, and tolerate emotions • everyday mindfulness as a fast acceptance tool • the CARE skills to lower arousal q...
We explore how the Enneagram, mindfulness, and personal values help couples understand patterns, reduce conflict, and build trust. Amanda Ford shares practical tools to translate differences into connection, redefine compatibility, and communicate requests with clarity and care. • Nine types as lenses for patterns and needs • Head, heart, body centers explained with examples • Using insights without labeling or blaming • Mindfulness as embodied awareness for self-regulation • Yoga practices ...
We sit down with Dr. Jordan Rullo to unpack why sexual desire often misfires, how brakes and gas shape intimacy, and why responsive desire is just as healthy as spontaneous desire. We share practical tools to manage mismatch, avoid pressure, and build trust through small rituals. • Brake and gas model of sexual function • Causes of low desire across biology, psychology, relationship, culture • Spontaneous versus responsive desire explained • Desire discrepancy as a perpetual problem and acce...
We explore how grief moves like a spiral through life, how it reshapes identity and marriage, and why presence matters more than platitudes. Alexandra Carroll shares her story, reframes the stages, and offers practical tools for self-kindness, attunement, and meaning. • stages as observations, not a rigid program • grief as spiral with triggers across the year • why each person grieves differently • words to avoid and what to say instead • talk less, listen more as core support • setting a p...
We explore why money triggers big feelings, how to spot the Four Horsemen in finance talks, and how to turn weekly check-ins into a simple habit. Money coach Dee Zimmerman shares tools for gentle startups, healthy boundaries, and practical next steps. • different money histories shaping expectations • money as emotional language, not just numbers • Four Horsemen applied to money conversations • antidotes: gentle startup, taking responsibility, repair • permission to pause with a promise to r...
We share Christina Morales’s story of moving from the brink of divorce to two decades of service with Retrouvaille, a couples-led program that turns communication into real change. Hope becomes concrete through a weekend intensive, post-sessions, and a community that protects confidentiality and growth. • what Retrouvaille is and who it serves • why lived experience creates safety and trust • communication tools that help partners finally hear each other • the weekend format plus post-sessio...
A tender, practical look at life after divorce: how to co‑parent without drama, date with intention as a single parent, and rebuild a calm family system where kids feel safe and seen. Amber shares the habits, boundaries, and mindset shifts that turned conflict into cooperation. • early marriage, cross‑state moves, new parent stress • choosing divorce to model a healthy life for children • co‑parenting routines that remove contention • group texting with ex and step‑parent for transparency • ...
We explore how Relational Life Therapy helps couples move from harshness to loving firmness, from accuracy wars to curiosity, and from quiet withdrawal to active repair. Kristy Gaisford shares personal lessons, the five dysfunctional patterns, and practical tools for daily change. • the five dysfunctional patterns: being right, controlling, unbridled self-expression, retaliation, withdrawal • start with self: sturdiness, humility, owning impact • customer-service rule: turn-taking and sequen...
Dr. Jeremy Bowden returns to discuss free marriage preparation resources available through the Utah Marriage Commission and Utah State University, including his newly created "Marriage Ready" and "Remarriage Ready" online courses. • Premarital education helps couples understand relationship science, navigate potential challenges, and discuss expectations • Free six-hour online courses fulfill Utah's requirement for a $20 marriage license discount • Courses cover commitment, communication, co...
Lindsay Kelly shares her powerful journey of resilience as she navigates being a caregiver for her husband with MS, raising six children, and becoming the family's sole provider. Through finding support and learning to embrace hard emotions, she transformed her struggle into strength and now helps thousands of people facing similar challenges. • Discovering her husband's progressive MS diagnosis that caused memory loss and mood swings similar to dementia • Transitioning from stay-at-home mom...
Conscious Relationship Coach Annmarie Chereso shares powerful insights on transforming conflict into deeper connection through mindfulness, vulnerability, and heart-centered awareness. She reveals how asking yourself "Where am I?" can identify whether fear or trust is driving your relationship patterns. • Conflict isn't a problem but a portal to deeper awareness and connection • Our relationship to conflict is conditioned by childhood experiences • The question "Where am I?" helps identify i...
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