THERAPY, RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGES, TRUST IN RELATIONSHIPS

Unfortunately, the idea of using a professional to help encourage communication and deal with issues between two individuals in a relationship is frightening to some. However, it can be a great tool that — regardless of stigma and stereotype — is even for healthy, balanced couples.

If you are asking yourself, "Is he cheating?" you probably sense something is off in your relationship. Learning to trust yourself and instincts is the key to your self-esteem. Too often women doubt themselves in favor of accepting a cheater's lies. But "Is he cheating?" is a brave question to ask. It means you are trusting your own instincts instead of the lies he's offering.

Laura Dern, Mike White, Diane Ladd, and Luke Wilson are back for another season of HBO's "Enlightened"—and I'm thrilled to have one of my favorite casts of narcissistically-challenged characters return. So much material, so little time!

"Don't talk to single people at parties."  "Mention within the first five minutes of a conversation that you have a partner."  "Don't notice other attractive people when you're with me." Do you have rules for your partner?  When one half of a couple makes rules for the couple, look out!  Parents make rules for children, so the person who's making the rules has cast him or herself as the parent and the partner as the child. Why would either partner find this satisfying?

Do you find yourself very often inexplicably drawn to a project guy – a guy with some serious personal problems, emotional, financial, or physical, that you think you can help? Maybe it's the guy that just can't seem to hold a job, or the guy who drinks too much or has drug dependencies. The end result is that you typically find yourself in a relationship where you are caretaking for a partner, and feeling responsible for his wellbeing in one or more areas of his life. You may even be enabling his dependencies without even realizing it.

Do you have feelings for your therapist? If so, you may be wondering how you should handle the situation.

Do you find it nearly impossible to work things out with your partner? Does it seem like there's no way to fix your relationship? If so, Dr. Tina Tessina is here to help.

The controversy surrounding whether or not a person suffers from a sexual addiction will continue for a long time. The inclusion of hypersexual disorder in the DSM-5 will not diagnose everyone with a sexual problem, as many fear, but it will give legitimacy to the problem and allow people to get help.

A new study published by Christine Milrod and co-author Ronald Weitzer analyzes 2,442 postings written by people who pay for sex on an online discussion board that reviews sex providers and their services. Approximately one-third of the posts discussed emotional intimacy between sex workers and their clients.

Hope Springs is a great jumping off point to discuss relationships. I agree with most everything that has been written about the movie. From my perspective as a Mental Health Counselor, there are a few things that I would like to add which gives more depth and authenticity to couples counseling. I want to point out this is not an evaluation of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones acting abilities.  They did a fabulous job conveying the vulnerability and complexity of the relationship between Kay and Arnold.

My therapy work is guided by a couple of principles. 1. First, I believe that every person deserves to be understood. 2. Secondly I believe that whatever concern brings a person to therapy usually has a long history and a development.