Relationships can be challenging to navigate. When you add kids into the mix, they quickly become downright complex. Understanding the right time to introduce your kids to your significant other, and potentially meet his/her kids as well, is a very personal decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. While there is no hard and fast rule about when this should occur, here are some important considerations as you navigate the dynamics of this important introduction.

Kids must remain #1

If introducing your kids to your new partner might result in them feeling like they are secondary, or take too much attention away from them, consider waiting. Oftentimes, single ...

We hear a lot of buzz about codependency as a common relationship dynamic. However, there are several other types of dependency in relationships, and determining yours can provide valuable insight into the health of your partnerships.

Both interdependency and independency are other forms of relationship interaction along the dependency continuum. When you can better understand how your relationship is built, or your general tendencies – codependency, independency, or interdependency – you can make more mindful and aligned choices as you strengthen your present and future relationships in your life.

Codependency

This dependency pattern stems from a childhood of having to meet caregiver’s needs for the individual’s needs to be ...

In my work as a relationship therapist in Denver, Colorado, clients often question whether their partner is the best possible match and try to determine whether to keep looking for a better fit. Often this consideration is coupled by a broader “fear of missing out” (FOMO) as clients wonder whether they are settling or if there might be an even better, more “perfect” or “ideal” relationship out there.

If you too contemplate this question related to dating and commitment, consider these dynamics as you evaluate whether to commit or continue looking for a more ideal partner.

Nothing is perfect

From our earliest childhood expectations comes the idea that ...

While often the end of a relationships is a time marked by grief, sadness, and regret, it can also be a time of discovery, learning, and maybe even a sense of liberation. 

In my work as a relationship therapist, I see individual therapy clients who struggle with breakups and heartache regularly, and refocusing their energy on the lessons and potential growth during this time of grieving can be a particularly effective way to grow and learn from the experience. If you too are struggling with healing, here are some key learnings in any relationship to focus on in the time following a break up.

Consider what you learned ...

In my work as a relationship therapist, specializing in attachment theory, one phenomenon I often see is overcommitted women and men struggling to stay on top of competing priorities, resulting in complete exhaustion and burnout.

If you feel depleted, overwhelmed, burned out, or inundated, it might be time to revisit the commitments in your life and restructure where needed. The challenge in overcoming the tendency to take on too much is understanding the unique reasons you overcommit. In order to get a better handle on how you spend your time and developing strategies for communicating with others in your life to better manage your time, it’s important to start ...

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of a new relationship. You easily get swept away in the fun of learning all about a new person and experiencing the “firsts” together – first time holding hands, first kiss, the first time he/she calls you “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. During this thrilling time of infatuation, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the energy of new love and make an early, premature investment during this foggy infatuation phase, which is strongest in the first two to three months, but for some can last beyond six months.

This tendency is all the more true if you tend to experience ...

In the age of information overload, it’s common to want to evaluate a relationship with a long list of pros and cons, or do online research about “signs of the right relationship” instead of simply trusting your intuition, or inner compass when it comes to evaluating the health of your romantic partnerships.

Because you have so many tools at your fingertips, it’s easy to be paralyzed evaluating relationship wish lists, and judging your partners in light of these lists, or missing opportunities to meet good people due to them. Another common experience is over-thinking the quality of your relationship, or experiencing a fear of missing out ...