Relationships are difficult enough to maintain, much less to improve or repair. In ‘The Love Prescription,’ relationship therapists John Gottman and Julie Gottman provide practical advice on overcoming common hindrances to marital stability through marriage and couples therapy.
Here are lessons from the book that help make happy couples.
1. Understand Your Emotions to Create Deeper Connections
John Gottman and Julie Gottman highlight emotional intelligence as a key component of healthy relationships. It enables one to understand one’s emotions, as well as others’, which helps one recognize and regulate one’s emotions for more effective communication, especially during conflicts.
The greater emotional intelligence a person has, the better their relationships can be, as they can create deeper connections with their partners.
2. Create Deep and Meaningful Connection For a Strong Relationship Foundation
Another takeaway from the book is the importance of creating deep and meaningful connections in relationships. Through shared activities, intimacy, and effective communication, couples can improve their communication and increase intimacy. These help couples build a strong foundation for the relationship, one based on mutual security and trust.
3. Be Kind and Compassionate to Create a Supportive and Loving Relationship
The authors also discuss how kindness and compassion help build and maintain healthy relationships. Small acts of kindness can have a big impact on the overall health of a relationship.
Acts of kindness and compassion partners show can help foster connection, increase intimacy, and repair damaged relationships. And when couples prioritize kindness in their relationships, it’s easier to build a culture of respect and create a supportive and loving environment that promotes happiness and well-being.
4. Avoid Unresolved Conflicts, and Handle Conflicts in a Healthy and Productive Way
Conflict is inevitable in any relationship. But how couples deal with it determines the health of a relationship. The authors talk about the importance of resolving relationship conflicts, and warn against the dangers of unresolved conflicts, as they can lead to a breakdown in communication and harm the relationship.
The book provides strategies for resolving conflict healthily, such as through effective communication, problem-solving, and finding common ground. It’s also important to have a positive and constructive manner during conflict resolution, so couples can improve their relationship and strengthen their bond.
5. Repair What Has Been Damaged in the Relationship
Sometimes, relationships get damaged by conflict or issues like infidelity, miscommunication, and emotional distance. These result in hurt, and people find it difficult to trust their partners. This reaction is normal, but it shouldn’t stop two individuals from being happy and successful couples.
According to the authors, couples can repair a relationship by learning to overcome hurt feelings and restore trust in each other after a conflict or issue. They can do this by improving on their communication, managing their emotions, and finding common ground.
Marriage and Couples Therapy For A Healthy and Fulfilling Relationship
It’s normal to encounter relationship challenges in our bids for connection and affection. What allows happy couples to have thriving relationships is the constant effort to improve the relationship.
A great way to do that is by seeking guidance from relationship experts to help you form lasting relationships and healthy marriages.
At Keil Psych group, we have couples therapists and Gottman-Trained Therapists who offer marriage and couples therapy, as well as Gottman therapy, for research-based strategies that help unwed and married couples build strong relationships and healthy marriages.Contact Keil Psych Group at (714) 334-5497 to learn more about our marriage and couples therapy services and how we can help improve your marriage and relationship.
