Loving people vs. people pleasing

Loving people vs. people pleasing

A common struggle among those I work with is people-pleasing. They spend a lot of their lives trying to keep those around them “happy.” These constant people-pleasing behaviors leave them feeling exhausted, anxious, bitter, resentful, frustrated, and lonely among...
When your partner isn’t ready for couples counseling

When your partner isn’t ready for couples counseling

So, you know your relationship could benefit from couples counseling, but your spouse isn’t willing or ready? All hope is not lost! I had a client tell me the other day, “you are the only person that offers hope for my relationship.” Once someone is in a marriage, I...
Why do I experience disappointment in my relationships?

Why do I experience disappointment in my relationships?

As I have been sharing more and more about relational disappointment, I thought it might be helpful to take a step back and try to answer the question, “Why do I experience disappointment in relationships?” The easiest answer is that some of what we experience here on...
How to Love Someone Who Disappoints You

How to Love Someone Who Disappoints You

The longer I do this counseling work, the more I realize how different our human stories are, yet how similar we all are as well. One of the themes and struggles I have seen in my office so much over the last couple of years is how many women, and men, are in...
When your partner isn’t ready for couples counseling

Relational Disappointment

This month, the blog has focused on discussing relationships. Let’s get real, what do we do when our relationships disappoint us? If there is one fact we can count on in life, it’s that people will disappoint us. This post is not going to have all of the answers, but...