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...
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...
Dr. Jason Whiting explores honesty, emotions, and relationship repair as foundational elements for building trust and connection in committed partnerships. • Honesty is universally valued but challenging to maintain consistently in relationships • Research shows people tell an average of three lies in ten minutes when first meeting someone new • Emotions strongly influence how we perceive our partners and can turn them into "enemies" rather than allies • Editing words to find truth rather th...
Relationship coach Monica Tanner returns to discuss her new book "Bad Marriage Advice: 15 Myths That Are Keeping You Miserable" and challenges conventional wisdom that may be damaging marriages. She explores how common advice like "happy wife, happy life" and "don't sweat the small stuff" creates imbalanced relationships, poor communication patterns, and prevents couples from addressing issues before they become serious problems. • "Happy wife, happy life" places too much responsibility on w...
Dating requires intention and skill, whether you're looking for fun or seeking a lifelong partnership. Marriage and family therapist Stacey Hubbard joins us to share her Gottman-based approach for singles navigating the relationship landscape. • Building friendship first is crucial when dating - take things slowly and watch for signs of trustworthiness • The honeymoon phase typically lasts 6-18 months with feel-good chemicals making us more trusting • Understanding the three phases of relati...
Dr. Talal Al-Saleem breaks down the complexities of infidelity from definition to recovery, offering hope through his specialized Systematic Affair Recovery Therapy approach. He challenges common misconceptions about infidelity causes and provides practical guidance for both healing after betrayal and safeguarding relationships against it. • Understanding infidelity as a breach of the unique exclusivity contract between partners • Recognizing that infidelity stems from three categories: rela...
Lisa Valentine Clark shares her extraordinary journey of love and resilience through her husband Christopher's battle with ALS, offering profound insights on how their marriage was strengthened through humor, sacrifice, and intentionally seeking joy amid terminal illness. • Starting as friends performing in a comedy play at BYU—Lisa as a chicken, Christopher as Satan—created a foundation of laughter and friendship for their 25-year marriage • Humor played a crucial role in their relationship...
Dr. Steve Harris joins us to explain discernment counseling, a specialized approach helping couples gain clarity about whether to work on their marriage or move toward divorce. • Developed at the University of Minnesota after research showed 30% of divorcing couples had at least one person who didn't want the divorce • Differs from traditional couples therapy by focusing on decision-making clarity rather than relationship improvement • Designed specifically for "mixed-agenda couples" where o...
Chad Ford returns to share powerful insights from his new book 70x7, exploring how fear drives conflict and how radical forgiveness can transform our marriages and relationships. His work as an international conflict mediator brings unique perspectives on moving from destructive to constructive conflict patterns. • Understanding that conflict is natural and inevitable in marriage—the goal isn't eliminating conflict but handling it well • Recognizing common conflict styles: avoidance (burying...
How do you transform relationship challenges into opportunities for growth? What does it mean to truly flourish together beyond mere happiness? When hardship strikes, what separates couples who crumble from those who emerge stronger? Dr. Nathan Lenhart, assistant professor at Brigham Young University and author of "The Science of Virtue," tackles these profound questions with refreshing clarity. He introduces the concept of "capital R Resilience" versus "lowercase r resilience" – distinguish...
Dr. Alexandra Stockwell shares her journey from physician to intimacy coach and reveals how couples can create passionately intimate marriages through authenticity rather than compromise. She offers transformative insights on cultivating everyday eroticism, communicating with kindness, and deepening emotional connection to enhance sensual experiences. • Developing "everyday eroticism" by making conscious choices to embody sensuality in daily activities • Distinguishing between "nice" communi...
Julie Blackburn shares her expertise on helping couples maintain strong relationships during the challenging transition to parenthood, drawing on her experience as a registered nurse, midwife, and Bringing Baby Home educator. • 67% of couples become unhappy with each other during the first three years of their baby's life • The greatest gift you can give your baby is a happy and strong relationship between parents • Parenting differences stem from our upbringing and personal experiences • Th...
Greg Denning shares his journey from a troubled childhood to creating an extraordinary marriage and family life while traveling to over 60 countries with his wife and seven children. His positive energy and unique ability to inspire others stems from his personal transformation after leaving home at 16 and experiencing homelessness before discovering the secrets to creating a happy life. • Making marriage the true priority by saying no to anything that competes with the relationship • Using ...
Struggling to understand what makes a relationship flourish over time? In this eye-opening episode with Dutch-American psychologist Julie Sharon, we uncover the science-backed secrets that separate thriving marriages from those that falter. When couples find themselves locked in the same frustrating conflict patterns, the answer might be surprisingly physiological. Julie reveals how a racing heart (over 100 BPM) signals we've entered "fight or flight" mode—a state where productive communicat...
Dr. Ryan Seedall draws on his 20+ years of experience as a therapist to share insights about relationship conflict patterns and the role of attachment in marriage dynamics. He provides practical pointers to strengthen marriage connections, including how to navigate the demand-withdraw cycle and use anger productively. • Healthy marriages require not just absence of negative interactions but presence of positive ones • Couples need to recover from conflict, not just learn how to argue better ...
Mary Kay Cocharo shares how Imago therapy helps transform relationship conflicts into opportunities for healing childhood wounds through a structured dialogue process that fosters safety, understanding, and deep connection. • Imago theory suggests we're unconsciously attracted to partners who possess both positive and negative traits of our childhood caretakers • Relationships typically move from a romantic stage (lasting about two years) to a power struggle phase where childhood wound...
Dr. Brian Doss shares a science-backed digital resource called Our Relationship that helps couples identify relationship challenges and implement effective solutions through a structured framework. • Our Relationship program has been continuously funded by the NIH for 15 years and helped tens of thousands of couples • The DEEP framework helps couples understand Differences, Emotions, External stress, and Patterns of communication • Surface emotions like anger often mask hidden emotions like ...
Connection forms the foundation of mental health and happiness, with disconnection from ourselves, others, the world, and something greater underlying virtually every psychological struggle we face. • Four types of connection: with self (authenticity), others (relationships), the world (nature/art), and something greater (awe/spirituality) • Modern distractions like social media, FOMO, and constant digital interruptions actively prevent meaningful connection • Self-connection provides the fo...