In The News: Couple and Family Therapy Program
While it may not be an ordinary Christmas this year, many across the UK are as usual planning to spend the festive season celebrating with their extended family members.
Christmas can be one of the most uplifting times of the year...in theory. In reality, tensions can run high and arguments aren’t restricted to the cast of Eastenders. This is true for families, but we often underestimate the pressure that the festive season can have on our relationships. Dr Katherine Hertlein, lead therapist at Blueheart, addresses some of the most common issues Christmas can create for couples and explains how to overcome them.
You are likely well aware of how to maintain a healthy body and functional mind – with a daily dose of exercise, a good nights’ sleep, and a balanced diet, right? – but what about the one topic you’ve been avoiding? The one that keeps resurfacing under the sheets that can hold you back from being intimate with yourself and others? When your sex drive is dwindling and you are unable to rise to the occasion, it can feel embarrassing and isolating, but you are not alone.
Guys, do you find yourself getting a little testy lately? Maybe with your colleagues at work? Perhaps while ordering take-out from someone who just can’t seem to understand that you don’t want onions on your salad?
Be patient with yourself. Divorce or separation is a significant life event. In addition to the change in schedules, living situation, and other physical changes, the emotional changes can be difficult and wash over you at times you might not expect. Be patient with yourself and recognize the massive change unfolding before you.
At the start of the first lockdown back in March, those who were coupled up and living together may have thought that the extra time together would be a blessing.
When Sachin Raoul, 27, encountered a sexual issue following a break-up three years ago, it led to him feeling "distressed".
As we challenge the stigma surrounding mental health and seeking out therapy, more people than ever are starting relationships counselling and sex therapy. Therapists say that it's not just couples who've reached crisis point who are reaching out. In fact, more young couples than ever are starting therapy in order to prevent major issues down the line in their relationships. They are looking to have and maintain the healthiest possible relationships. And of the most useful techniques sex therapists will teach couples is Sensate Focus. This technique is all about mindfulness and can increase your intimacy and ultimately make your sexual experiences (and relationship) more pleasurable.
After all, our collective mental health has suffered and we’ve been told to avoid contact with other people unless absolutely necessary – and now ordered to stay away from sex altogether, unless we are in an ‘established’ relationship.
When the UK went into lockdown, single people were forced to press pause on their love lives. Flourishing flirtations were cast aside; random hookups became a distant memory. Romance, as it was known, screeched to a halt. Seven months later, it’s still not clear when it will get moving again.
Just started dating someone new? Then most of us can relate to feeling nervous about taking things to the next level. But what happens if you have been married for years and you suddenly start to feel sexual anxiety? Turns out, these feelings can develop at any time. And, you can’t simply get over it by spicing things up with one of the best vibrators or acting out a sexual fantasy with your partner. Expert advice is key. But, the good news is we’ve asked a sexuality educator for their best tips on how get a handle on sexual anxiety.
When Nicole Moore, the CEO and owner of Love Works near San Diego, started her relationship coaching business nearly a decade ago, the issue of politics seldom if ever came up with her clients. Then came 2016, the election year that changed everything. These days, one’s political affiliation is guaranteed to be brought up — passionately.