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Want to stop having a dead end dialogue about the mental load? Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP talk about the mental load because the mental load is always present and often tough to talk about as parenting partners. Here is a way to never have the same old conversation again and actually get somewhere as a couple on this topic.
Disconnection is normal in every parenting partner relationship. Want to know how to make feeling connected normal too? Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP will tell you how.
It is not uncommon for parents to be critical of one another's parenting. Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss what might be behind some of the challenges we face as parents and how talk with one another about them.
The Cycle of Disappointment and Disengagement is one of the most common cycles in parenting partner relationships. Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how to break this cycle in parenting partner relationships.
Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how parenting partners can get on the same page and make the changes they both want to have a more connected relationship.
The holidays can be a wonderful time of feeling connected and together as a family. They also are stressful and many couples find that their relationship feels worn out and strained after all the festivities are over. Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how you and your partner can come out of the holidays feeling connected.
What is an apology and why is it so hard to apologize in your parenting partner relationship? Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP give you a "cheat code" for how to apologize in your couple relationship.
If you and your partner want to stay connected and you want to build a sense of safety for your kids...You should tell more stories. Stephen Mitchell, PhD and Erin Mitchell, MACP talk about how you and your partner can strengthen your relationship and help your kids feel safe by telling one another stories.
Parenting is a new endeavor for a couple. Each pregnancy, each kid bring with it scenarios and situations that are unique and uncharted territory for a couple. So, in this process of parenting both partners are going to have ideas about how to parent, make “mistakes” that they need to learn from, and have certain blindspots in their parenting that need to be brought into view. Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how parenting partners can collaborate with one another and offer one another feedback about what is going well and areas for growth.
The idea that everyone needs praise, affirmation, or encouragement can be counter to what our society teaches and what we learned in our own family of origin. Our culture says, "Be independent, be your own confidence." Your family of origin might have convinced you it is weak or silly to need anything from anyone. Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how and why every parenting partner needs encouragement and how to give it.
You've heard it and maybe you have even felt it as a parenting partner. "We are just roommates." What can couples do, especially in the first year postpartum, to stay connected. Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP offer some practical steps couples can take to stay intentional about connecting as parents.
"We feel stuck!" How do you change patterns of communication in your parenting partner relationship. So many couples feel like they have the same tired conversations, the same conflicts, and end up feeling the same feelings of invalidation and frustration. Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP identify 4 common patterns of stuck communication in parenting partner relationships and how to get unstuck.
Everyone copes differently with stress. But when your partner copes with stress differently it can get messy. The difference can get parenting partners in a tug of war that says, “If you would respond to stress the way I do you would feel better.” But what partners are really saying to each other is, “If you would respond to stress the way I do I would feel better.” Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP address this all too common dynamic for parenting partners and give 4 tips for working through this conflict.
Parenting changes a couple's world. Yet, the change is not equitable. This is one of the most profound areas of conflict, dismissal, and pain for parenting partners. Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss how inequity between parenting partners is real, has to be discussed for the health of the couple relationship, and how to navigate this important and ongoing conversation.
How has the global pandemic impacted your parenting partner relationship? Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP discuss the importance of couples understanding their stress response to the pandemic and how it has shaped their couple relationship.
It's February and many parenting partners will be thinking about Valentine's Day. Sometimes it's the special days that can bring the most pressure to meet your partner's expectations and can leave many couples disappointed when expectations are not met. However, these "big" days can simply be a reflection of how parenting partners communicate about expectations in their day-to-day. In this episode Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP talk about how to discover what your expectations are, how to communicate them, and how to get out of the cycle of conflict that unmet expectations can create.
It happens all the time for parenting partners, you hear what your partner is not saying. They say, "I'm tired" you hear them say, "I'm more tired than you." Why does this happen for parenting partners and what can they do to stop hearing what their partner is not saying? In todays episode Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP give parenting couples a clear strategy for actually hearing what your partner is saying.
Parenting is a massive transition and change that can stir up fears for partners. Fears about failure, losing someone you love, feeling confused, feeling alone etc. Many times couples don't know how to talk with one another about these fears because they are afraid it will sound foolish, make their partner angry, or they just don't know what to say. This can lead to a feeling of disconnection. In this episode we talk about how partners can talk with one another about their fears and stay connected.
What happens when you hear your partner snap at your kid? Many couples find that this scenario leads to conflict and disconnection in their couple relationship. In this episode we explore some of the deeper psychological factors that are at play in this scenario and give couples practical scripts to use to reduce conflict and enhance communication.
The contextual pressure cooker of pregnancy and postpartum can challenge a couple's capacity for coping with stress. As each partner struggles individually with stress, they can miss their partner's experience. This can be felt in countless little moments of feeling overlooked, misunderstood, or invalidated by one another, and these little moments can grow into big feelings of resentment between partners. How can partner's work through resentment that was birthed in pregnancy and postpartum and still impacts their relationship weeks, months, and years later? Dr. Stephen Mitchell and Erin Mitchell, MACP have lived this experience and helped countless couples navigate resentment birthed during pregnancy and postpartum. Hear their story and what they have learned from helping other couples overcome resentment. For more from Stephen and Erin check out their website createyourcouplestory.com and follow them on Instagram @couples.counseling.for.parents