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Couples Conversations™
Free articles
Short reads for the questions couples actually ask.
Written by Dr. Sytner for his practice site and collected here by theme. Each one is a ten-minute read, and most end with one thing to try tonight.
Communication and conflict
Having a Couples Argument in Your Own HeadWhy the rehearsal you run before the real conversation is the part that does the damage.
Stop a Fight From EscalatingKitchen-sinking, snowballing, and the three moves that bring a fight back down.
The Gottman Soft StartupThe first three minutes predict the rest. Here is how to open.
How to Start Difficult Conversations With Your PartnerThe sentence that gets the hard thing said without starting a war.
Communication Problem or Friendship Problem in MarriageMost communication problems are not. They are friendship problems wearing a disguise.
When Your Spouse Is Always LateA small, recurring annoyance and what it is really about.
Connection and intimacy
Bids for ConnectionThe tiny reaches for attention that decide whether a marriage feels close.
Lonely in a Decent MarriageNothing is wrong, and you are lonely anyway. Why that happens and what to do.
Date Nights Won’t Fix a Weak Relationship FoundationWhat to build before you book the restaurant.
Affair Recovery: Gottman’s 3-Phase ApproachAtone, attune, attach. The research-backed path back.
Money, time, and the daily load
Mental Load in MarriageThe invisible list one partner carries, and how to put it on the table.
Money Conversations in Marriage: Beyond the NumbersEvery money fight has a childhood in it.
Your Schedule Is Killing Your RelationshipBusy is not neutral. What a full calendar quietly takes.
Transitional Moments in MarriageNew baby, new job, new city. The moments a marriage is most likely to slip.
Articles open on asytner.com, Dr. Sytner’s practice site.
Reading is good. Talking is better.
Turn any of these into a conversation tonight.
The free workbook gives you nine guided conversations and the one skill that makes them land.