Is your relationship lacking the intimacy it once had? With the pressure of a busy schedules, economic stress, and the multiple roles we all fill, it is only expected that we are all stressed and exhausted by the end of the day. With our energy levels tapped, our intimacy levels drop too. Carla Rosinski believes that a lack of sexual intimacy can be a symptom of a lack of intimacy in other areas.

Carla Rosinski, founder of Rosinski Therapy and Consultation in Raleigh, NC, has been focusing on counseling families, individuals, and couples for over 10 years. Carla is a licensed professional counselor with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. When Carla isn’t working with couples she enjoys traveling and spending time with her pup at the dog park. To find out more about Carla Rosinski and Rosinski Therapy and Consultation you can visit her website or call 919-724-1181 for an appointment.

Find yourself at odds with your spouse about how to spend your hard earned money? Although no one likes to admit to being materialistic, we all are. How can we not be? Our entire society runs off one thing…money. We need it to put a roof over our head, food in our bodies and function in this world. With something like this playing such a huge role in our lives it is bound to come up in our relationships.

Jessie Sell, a marriage and family therapist with a private practice in Durham, NC believes in using an interpersonal approach with her clients, meaning the better relationship between her and the client, the better the success. Over the last 12 years Jessie has worked in a variety of settings including higher education and non-profit agencies. Now she works with couples hoping to overcome issues in their relationships. To find out more about Jessie Sell you can visit her website or call 919-225-3478 for an appointment.

Ever feel like your spouse isn’t listening? Some people think that dating and getting to know someone can be the hardest part of a relationship. It requires a great amount of effort on both parts to keep things progressing. However, the hardest part of a relationship is actually the stage that most largely encapsulates a relationship, the “comfortable phase”. We know our partner so well we could tell you their schedule without hesitation. We know all of their stories and have heard all of their jokes. It’s at this point in a relationship that a lot of people tend to tune the other spouse out and begin navigating on autopilot. This lack of effort can lead to feelings of disconnection with your spouse. Our guest today believes that mindfulness is what can will help to keep your relationship fresh and to keep you heard.

Dr. Jessica Barry of Wynns Family Psychology in Cary, NC joins us today. Jessica earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University in Washington D.C. Jessica predominantly works with children, teens, couples and families that have difficulty coping with a wide range of social, emotional and behavioral issues. Jessica’s doctoral dissertation, which will prove especially useful today, was written about the use of Mindfulness techniques. When Jessica isn’t busy working with couples she enjoys spending time hiking, drawing, and cooking with her fiancé. To find out more about Dr. Jessica Barry you can visit the Wynns Family Psychology website or call 919-467-7777 for an appointment.

Are baby blues hurting your family and spouse? Some of us have spent our entire lives dreaming of what life would be like once we were all grown up. We planned out our weddings, our ideal mates, and our perfect nuclear family with 2.5 children. It is when life does not go exactly according to plan that we begin to panic and loose control of our lives. Childbirth can be one of those hazy moments in life. We plan for months about a new addition to the family, but once we welcome this new little bundle into the world, life doesn’t always become the sunshine-filled dream we expected.

Dr. Sara Rosenquist is a specialist in the field of dealing with postpartum depression in women, and couples. Sara’s book, After The Stork: The Couple’s guide to Preventing and Overcoming Postpartum Depression, deals explicitly with these issues. Sara has a very extensive global background, which has allowed her to communicate easily with others. Over her lifetime Sara has lived in Tunisia, Argentina, Uruguay, Thailand, and El Salvador before coming back to the United States to study at Duke University, where she received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. To find out more about Dr. Sara Rosenquist you can visit her website or call 919-872-4648 for an appointment. Sara’s book, After The Stork: The Couple’s guide to Preventing and Overcoming Postpartum Depression, is available on Amazon.com.

Is constant interference from your in-laws killing your marriage? We’ve all seen a football game where everything went from fantastic to devastating in mere minutes. It looks like a clear win; your team is ahead, defeating all obstacles in their path. Then BOOM, out of nowhere interference by the other team turns the game around entirely. What was once an easy game turns messy and complicated very quickly. A good relationship can overcome a lot of obstacles that the world throws at it, but constant interference from an outside source can create larger rifts that are hard to overcome.

Dr. Nicole Imbraguglio is Clinical Director at Lepage Associates in Durham, NC where she provides counseling and evaluation services to individuals of all ages. She is experienced in individual, couples, and group therapy and specializes in couples issues. She holds her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Interpersonal Dynamics, as well as a Master’s degree in Community and Clinical Psychology. To find out more about Dr. Nicole Imbraguglio you can visit the Lepage Associates website or call 919-572-0000 for an appointment.

Is your friendship with your child hurting your marriage? Only a few shorts years ago, or so it seems, we were all children ourselves; laughing and playing with our friends, disobeying our parents, and tormenting the family pet. Before we knew it we were adults who were getting married and having children of our own. When time seems to fly and get away from us, we often forget that we, ourselves, are not children anymore. This can be especially hard when dealing with our own children and a parent’s natural desire for acceptance and love. Sometimes it may seem that the easiest path is to be a friend, rather than a parent but these actions could be harming your marriage.

To give us more insight into the situation we have Dr. Laura Green of Wynns Family Psychology in Cary, NC.  Dr. Greene specializes in child and family therapy and child evaluations. Before joining Wynns Family Psychology, Dr. Greene received her Bachelor’s degree from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Psychology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. She has worked in a variety of settings, ranging from outpatient mental health centers to school systems. To find out more about Dr. Laura Greene you can visit the Wynns Family Psychology website or call 919-467-7777 for an appointment.

“Relationships aren’t destroyed by cataclysmic arguments. They are eroded by the little things that happen over time. We’re all excited when a relationship starts. We watch what we do. We edit our actions and mind our words. We gloss over the details because we love the dream of what could be. We sacrifice the now for what we want in the future. As our relationship grows, we get comfortable. We stop editing ourselves and return to our old habits… Respect is eroded through the forgetful actions that make you feel as if you don’t matter like you once did…. Yes, relationships usually end in cataclysmic fight, but that is not where they are torn apart”. This insider view of the deterioration of a relationship comes from author Jeff Cannon who believes that meditation is the solution to resolving this age-old dilemma.

Jeff Cannon is the author of the book The Simple Truth: Meditation and Minfulness for the Modern World. Jeff was a fast-track entrepreneur with a portfolio of successful businesses, multiple book publishings, produced documentaries and ran his own public relations agency. Then it all came to a crashing halt at the end of 2009. That day he woke up on a hospital bed recovering from a ten-hour surgery that removed six of seven brain tumors. A long time devotee of the marital arts and yoga, Jeff used meditation to reboot and retrain his brain. He learned firsthand how the brain is hard wired just as it had been 40,000 years ago. More important he learned how it could be reprogrammed through such practices as meditation and mindfulness. Jeff’s book is now available on Amazon.com. To find out more about Jeff Cannon you can visit his website online.

The current economic deficit has placed a significant strain on our wallets, our jobs, but most importantly, our relationships. Divorce rates are an unsettling 51% today, which means half of all marriages are ending in divorce. What is even more disturbing is that out of the couples getting divorced, approximately 80% of them attribute their failed marriage to disputes over finances. While these statistics may seem daunting, there is hope. There are ways to reduce the burden that financial difficulty has on marriage, and by enacting some of these techniques, your marriage will have a better chance for success.

Dr. Tina Lepage, founder of Lepage Associates in Durham, NC, specializes in couples and marriage therapy and helps to rebuild marriages on a daily basis. She has a master’s and doctorate in Clinical Psychology and an additional master’s in Management, degrees which prove exceptionally helpful for this topic. Financial stress effecting a relationship is more common than most would be believe. To help those dealing with this situation Lepage Associates have prepared an article, Managing Your Budget and Your Marriage: The Key to a Healthy Relationship.

To find out more about Dr. Tina Lepage you can visit the Lepage Associates website or call 919-572-0000 for an appointment.

Anxiety is reaching epidemic proportions with nearly 50% of Americans meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. We worry about money, our health, safety, car accidents, whether or not people like us, traveling, work, and more. All this worry takes a huge toll-wasting an enormous amount of time and energy that would be better spent elsewhere. An often overlooked area of concern is the impact of anxiety on our close relationships. Dr. Christine Korol is a cognitive-behavioral therapist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and sees the consequences of untreated anxiety on the relationships of many of her patients.

Dr. Christine Korol is a psychologist specializing in anxiety and stress in adults and children and is currently practicing in Calgary, Alberta. She has worked for many years, in both private practice and in hospital settings, and is a former lecturer at the University of British Columbia. Christine is also a cartoonist and author of the blog Wired to Worry and is currently working on an illustrated guide on anxiety management. To find out more about Dr. Korol you can visit her site, Therapy Works.

They say that once trust is lost that it can never be regained. The ultimate betrayal of trust in a relationship is, without a doubt, an affair. People often don’t realize the consequences of their actions until after the act has been committed. Undoubtedly, the hardest part of an affair is when you come to the point where you need to tell your spouse exactly what has happened. Like anything else, there is a right and a wrong way to break this heavy news to your spouse.

Dr. Janet Savia joins us to discuss the effects that an affair can have on your relationship and how to break the news to your spouse. Janet practices in Durham, NC with Lepage Associates, where she helps couples repair marriages damaged by trust issues on a daily basis. She has a master’s and doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Savia works with helping people with general stress and life transitions, and personal growth pursuits. To find out more about Dr. Janet Savia you can visit the Lepage Associates website or call 919-570-000 for an appointment.

Is your constant bickering ruining your relationship? We’ve all been in a relationship where the fights just never seem to end. We bicker about the little things, the big things, and the things that would matter to no one but us. What does all of this constant fighting do to our relationships? Acclaimed author Laurie Puhn joins us to discuss how fighting affects your relationship, as well as how to overcome the endless fighting cycle.

Laurie has a Bachelor’s and law degree from Harvard University. Formerly a corporate attorney, she is now a recognized expert in the field of couples mediation and conflict resolution. Laurie has a private practice in couples mediation in Manhattan. Her empowering, fast and simple mediation approach for keeping relationships strong and healthy is what sets her apart from other relationship experts. She is the author of the national bestseller “Fight Less, Love More: 5-Minute Conversations to Change Your Relationship without Blowing Up or Giving In”. When Laurie isn’t busy writing books she is often featured as an expert guest on shows such as Good Morning America, The Early Show, Fox News Channel, Weekend Today, 20/20, and CNN. Her relationship communication advice has been featured in Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Redbook, Newsday, and The New York Times. Lastly, Laurie is also a syndicated columnist and Huffington Post blogger.

To find out more about Laurie or her book you can visit www.fightlesslovemore.com. Laurie’s book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for purchase.

Ever felt like ending your marriage after a bad argument or affair? There could be a better solution. Marriage is one of the best and worst things you will ever go through in life. From arguments, lifestyle changes, children and even infidelity; there never seems to be a rule on how exactly you should handle each of the different events that life throws at you.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a “go-to” couples who’d be through it all before?

Jason and Debby Coleman have been happily married for 22 years. They’ve been through it all. They’ve dealt with infidelity, lifestyle changes, children, and anything else that life could throw at them. Instead of giving up and walking out they decided to work through their issues and record their solutions into a book called Discovering Your Amazing Marriage, now available on Amazon.com. To find out more about Jason & Debby Coleman you can visit their website at www.youramazingmarriage.com.

Should you stay married or not? Are the issues in your relationship big enough to warrant a divorce. No matter how perfect a relationship may seem to the outside observer, there are always issues within a relationship that put stress on each of the partners. Although we may love our spouse, we can find ourselves questioning the relationship. It could be the annoying habit of one spouse or a lack of communication and respect. Several problems could leave us wondering if the relationship is really worth all of the effort. Unless the problem is acknowledged and resolved, this could spell a split, or even a divorce, for some.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Robin Siebold has worked with individuals and organizations imparting the skills, insights and strategies that make life more manageable and meaningful. She specializes in divorce and relationship issues, communication skills, and codependency. Robin is a licensed mental health counselor and maintains a private practice in Florida. Robin has recently published a book called To Divorce or Not: Reflections of the Self, which is now available on Amazon. To find out more about Robin you can always check out her website at www.robinsiebold.com.

They say that hindsight is 20/20. We often never see the real problems in a relationship until after they have exploded. With couples divorcing at an alarming rate, it may be time to call on a new relationship expert- someone who deals with divorce. There is no better way to learn than from your mistakes; or even better, the mistakes of others. Judge Lynn Toler has worked with divorcing couples for years. She has seen couples at their worst and has been able to use this experience for the good of all relationships.

Judge Lynn Toler is a graduate of Harvard University and The University of Pennsylvania Law School. She has elected and served as judge on the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court. Lynn has hosted such shows as Power of Attorney, Divorce Court, and Decision House. Lynn is also a frequent guest on the NPR show News and Notes. With all of this going on, Lynn has somehow managed to write two books. Her first, My Mother’s Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius, as well as Put It In Writing, a book that gives readers concrete, conflict-free solutions to difficult situations that arise.  To find out more about Lynn, please visit www.JudgeLynn.com. You can catch Judge Lynn in action on Divorce Court, airing weekdays in syndication nationwide. To find out where to watch, check your local listings or go to www.divorcecourt.com.

When we watch the interaction that occurs between the sexes we are often left wondering why such a huge communication gap still exists between men and women. Popular media has made the world conscious of this idea that women speak in a code that very few men have the ability to decipher. This imbalance can prove disastrous in dating and married life. Lucky for us, we are joined this week by dating and relationship advisor Kiai Kim.

Kiai, also known by her writing alias “Wing Girl Kim”, is author of the book Alpha Dog: A Man’s Guide to Dating. This book centers on Kiai’s foundation of leadership principles and the Jungian personality type theory. When Kiai isn’t helping others via her book, Twitter, or blog- she writes for an online men’s magazine, The Rugged.

Ever feel like you can never say or do the right thing in your wife’s eyes? Do you aim to impress and end up only causing her stress? We have the keys to making the special woman in your life smile! From remembering the little things, like anniversaries and birthdays, to planning a romantic getaway. We have the secrets that you’ll need to make your other half happy.

Dr. Steevie Jane Parks currently runs her own private practice in Carrboro, NC and has been helping couples with issues for more than 20 years. Equipped with a degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maine, Dr. Parks shares with us the secrets of making your wife happy. You can find out more about Steevie by visiting drsteeviejaneparks.com.

Does it seem like your fights with your spouse turn explosive on a regular basis? Do you often find the argument reach the “point of no return”? Kristin Wynns, Ph.D., returns to the show to talk about how to avoid the critical mass in a relationship and keep the arguments from getting explosive and hard to resolve.

Dr. Wynns has a private practice in Cary, NC and specializes in therapy for children, adolescents, and families. You can find out more about Dr. Wynns practice and services at her website,www.wynnsfamilypsychology.com, or by calling her office at 919.805.0182.

The biggest hurdle to fixing a relationship plagued by conflict is acknowledging the problem, but how do you resolve the underlying disputes without falling into old habits and fighting even more? Will strategies designed for both spouses be effective when only one spouse is willing to work toward solving the problem?

Paul Shaffer returns to the show to share five tools you can start using today to disarm hostile and repetitive conflicts.

Paul has been a professional counselor for almost 25 years and currently owns his own practice, Right Choices Counseling, in Huntersville, NC. You can find out more about Paul and his practice at RightChoicescounseling.com, or by calling 704.578.2725. You can also purchase Paul’s books, Conflict Resolution for Couples, and Conflict Resolution for Christian Couples from Amazon.com, or by visiting the publisher directly, at AuthorHouse.com

Do seemingly insignificant problems cause outbursts from you or your spouse? Are even the simplest problems impossible to resolve because of flaring tempers? Dr. Julia Messer joins us to discuss what differentiates normal, healthy anger from a chronic problem that impacts not just your marriage, but all your relationships, as well as some of the common root causes for anger issues and how to begin repairing a relationship at risk from unhealthy anger.

Dr. Messer is a licensed psychologist practicing with Orenstein Solutions in Cary, NC, where she specializes in anger management, depression, and family issues. You can find out more about Dr. Messer at OrensteinSolutions.com, or by calling her office at 919.428.2766.

Have you yourself constantly keeping score of the things your spouse has done that upset you? Does it feel like your spouse should know when you feel that something is unfair if he or she really loves you?  Dr. B. Janet Hibbs joins us to discuss why our ideas about fairness often differ from those of our spouse and what steps you can take today to fix issues of fairness and equality in your marriage, as well as sharing advice from her book, Try To See It My Way: Being Fair In Love And Marriage.

Dr. Hibbs has 15 years of graduate teaching and has been in private practice for 25 years. For more information on Dr. Hibbs’ background and practice, visit DrBHibbs.com. You can find out more about Try To See It My Way: Being Fair In Love And Marriage at TryToSeeItMyWay.com, which offers helpful fairness tips and an online fairness quiz, or order a copy at Amazon.com

Is a separation looming on the horizon of your relationship? Ideally, a couple can recognize their problems and get help before divorce is considered an option, but all too often, couples will allow conflict and communication issues to fester until marriage counseling is seen as a last ditch effort on the way to divorce court. Liza Shaw returns to the show to take a look at what puts a couple so close to the edge and what can be done to put the marriage back on the right track.

Liza recommends using resources like MarriageFriendlyTherapists.com and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy to find a qualified professional to help you and your spouse.

Liza is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist with a private practice in Hickory, NC, where she specializes in couples counseling, family counseling, and grief therapy. You can find out more about Liza and her practice at PowerToThrive.com – or visit PowerToThriveRadio.com for interviews and podcasts. You can also call her office at 828.328.4673

Are the unresolved conflicts in your marriage less about an unwillingness to compromise and more about the differences in your families of origin and how you were raised? Is the all too common reaction of assuming that our own approach is right, so our spouse must be wrong making the rift bigger? Marilyn Harding joins us to take a look at what kinds of common arguments are likely caused simply by differences in expectations of how the family should operate and how to manage these differences constructively.

Marilyn Harding has been providing counseling services to the triangle for 20 years and holds specialized training in sex therapy and crisis and trauma therapy, as well as serving on the National Response Team for the American Association of Christian Counselors. You can find out more about Marilyn on the Life Care Counseling and Coaching website at LifeCareCC.com, or by calling 919.851.1527

When an argument is brewing, do you know exactly how it will play out before the first angry word is said? Are you constantly having the same argument over and over without ever resolving the root issue? Stephen Hawthorne joins us to examine why we avoid tackling the problems that cause us to have the same argument repeatedly and how to open up to your spouse and resolve these conflicts once and for all.

Stephen has been on the faculty of Duke Medical Center since 1977 and has operated his own private practice in Durham since 1981, where he specializes in psychotherapy services for adults, and children, ranging from chronic illness and depression, to sexual dysfunction and ADHD. You can find out more about Stephen by visiting his website at StephenHawthorneLCSW.com and by visiting his blog about his unique ABCTherapy at ABCTherapy.Wordpress.com

Do you find that personality differences between you and your spouse lead to constant arguements? Is your passive or agressive behavior fueling your spouse’s behavior as well? Liza Shaw joins us to discuss the perils of both passive and agressive behavior and how you can be assertive – voicing your opinion without being abrasive and without letting your spouse walk all over you.

Liza is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist with a private practice in Hickory, NC, where she specializes in couples counseling, family counseling, and grief therapy. You can find out more about Liza and her practice at PowerToThrive.com – or visit PowerToThriveRadio.com for interviews and podcasts. You can also call her office at 828.328.4673

Do you find yourself in endless fights with your spouse that never seem to resolve anything? Or perhaps you never discussing important issues and just letting them fester. Dr. Colleen Hamilton shares strategies for putting an end to destructive fighting and turning conflict into a process that is both constructive and beneficial to the marriage, as well as discussing how much fighting is too much, and whether fighting in front of the kids is always a bad idea.

Colleen practices with Lepage Associates in Durham, NC, where she specializes in interpersonal relationships, depression and anxiety, children’s therapy, and parent coaching. You can find out more about Colleen by visiting the Lepage Associates website, or calling her office at 919.572.0000

Apologizing can be a lot more difficult than it seems. Dr. Kristen Wynns joins us to discuss why some of us find it so hard to apologize to our spouses, the impact of always needing to be right on a marriage, why making your spouse believe your apology is for real can be difficult, as well as her 5 steps for a sincere and constructive apology.

Dr. Wynns has a private practice in Durham, NC and specializes in therapy for children, adolescents, and families. You can find out more about Dr. Wynns practice and services at her website, KristenWynns.com, or by calling her office at 919.805.0182. Kristen also has a brand new blog called Marriage and Parenting 101