All photos are courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

When Parents Have Conflict: What About the Kids?
By Terry Gaspard, LICSW Couples argue. This is a given. And yet some parents escalate to destructive levels of conflict that can be damaging to their kids. In a perfect world parents wouldn’t disagree in front of their children. But in the real world it happens every...

5 Ways to Recognize and Cope With a Narcissistic Partner
By Terry Gaspard, LICSW Ashley, thirty-seven, sat on the coach at my office and described the challenges in her relationship with her husband Kevin, age thirty-nine. They’ve been married for ten years and have two daughters, ages four and six. Ashley puts it like...

5 Ways to Break Out of a Gridlock in Relationships
By Terry Gaspard, LICSW What can you do to improve your marriage or relationship when you struggle to manage arguments and feel you’re stuck in a negative pattern of relating? While this is a common problem, the solutions are far from ordinary. During a recent couples...

How You Can Learn to Compromise and Save Your Marriage
By Terry Gaspard, LICSW What is the meaning of the word compromise? It’s a settlement by which each side makes concessions. And while this doesn’t sound romantic, if you decide you want to save your marriage, you have to learn to negotiate – which is the essence of...

5 Ways to Deal With Guilt and Rejection After Divorce
By Terry Gaspard, MSW, LICSW When a marriage dissolves, it’s a natural to experience feelings of guilt or rejection. Guilt can arise when a parent feels responsible for bringing pain to their children or for their behavior toward their ex-spouse. On the other hand,...

Co-parenting During the Holidays
The holidays are quickly approaching, and while for most people it is one of the best times of the year, for those who are co-parenting it can create some challenges. Navigating the holidays while also co-parenting can be difficult and may leave you with feelings of...

Transforming Relationships with Mature Love
Even before we enter the world, our brains and hormones are wired for connection. Our first relationship begins in our mother’s womb, where we recognize her voice and respond to her moods through hormones and stress responses. Later, her smell and touch become...

Coparenting and Custody Changes During the Holidays
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But for those dealing with a difficult co-parent, it can be easy to have a stocking-half-empty outlook on the holiday season. Below are a few tips that may benefit those navigating the holidays while sharing custody. Make your...

Coping with The Holidays And Missing Your Kids After Divorce
By Rosalind Sedacca, CDC When the holiday season comes along, parents can be overwhelmed with stress. For divorcing or divorced parents, the stress is often compounded by emotional as well as physical challenges. This especially impacts parents who are finding...

6 Surefire Ways to Apologize to Your Partner
By Terry Gaspard, LICSW There are many reasons why you or your partner may have difficulty apologizing to one another. For instance, you might equate apologizing with weakness and it’s widely believed that if you apologize to someone, you’re making yourself too...