Healthy Love and Money Blog

The secure attachment style is characterized by being able to trust others while also trusting oneself enough not to need constant reassurance from others. 

You know what your boundaries are and generally don't worry about whether someone else will cross them unless you've given them permission to.

How a Secure Attachment Style Develops

A secure attachment style develops when a child is raised in an environment where they feel loved and cared for. 

A mother’s responsiveness to...

People with an avoidant attachment style are more comfortable with independence and autonomy than others. 

These individuals tend to feel uncomfortable in close relationships, which can have a negative impact on their partners and children. They find it difficult to trust others.

Although they want emotional closeness or intimacy, they are easily overwhelmed and so they push it away. 

Having an avoidant attachment style is not a disease and is not a lack of character. It’s...

An anxious attachment style is characterized by a need for constant reassurance, control, and dependency. Anxious people are always scanning the environment looking for clues that their needs will not be met. They have trouble trusting others and often find themselves feeling stressed or worried when things go wrong.

Having an anxious attachment style is not a disease and is not a lack of character. It's an adaptive way that you learned to cope with your upbringing.

How an Anxious...

It impacts every area of your life. It's formed in early childhood due to your earliest experiences with your primary caregivers. The attachment behaviors that result then become a template by which you try to get your needs met in all of your other relationships as an adult. There's a strong relationship between attachment and your happiness and satisfaction in adult relationships. 

What Is Attachment Style?

Counseling and coaching are quite similar, and yet they fulfill somewhat different needs in helping with relationship issues.

When seeking help as a couple it's important to understand the difference between a coach and a counselor so that you can make the choice that's best for you and your partner.

Coaching tends to be action and goal-oriented which looks at how current behaviors impact the future. Counseling tends to be a bit deeper, looking at past influences on present behavior, and...

Online couples therapy and marriage counseling are just as effective as traditional therapy sessions and in-person counseling according to research studies. Online relationship therapy has many advantages including convenient therapy appointments, affordability, and increased choice of counselors.

With COVID-19 keeping most people at home over the past year the thought of online therapy and coaching has become more and...

Marriage counseling can be a highly effective way to help solve relationship issues. One study found that 48% of couples had improved relationships or recovered completely 5-years after therapy. Other studies suggest certain therapies are up to 75% effective in improving relationships. 

Maybe you've experienced increased amounts of conflict with your partner, disagreement about core values, decreased marital satisfaction, poor communication...

      Gift-giving is a part of romantic relationships. Sometimes they are material gifts like jewelry, flowers, or a trip to a favorite vacation spot. Other times they may be non-material gifts such as emotional closeness, improved physical health, or financial wellbeing. I discussed these gifts and the benefits of giving them, in my recent LinkedIn article, Love and Money are in the AIR: IT'S Valentine’s Day.

      When you incorporate these three things...

      In relationships, giving gifts is important. By offering a gift to your partner you are showing your appreciation for what they bring to your life. It shows them how you value them and want to please them. Whether small gifts or large ones, they are all investments in your relationship. 

     While showing your love and appreciation is meaningful and important, what happens when you miss the mark? It happens to us all at some point, but what can you do...

      Valentine’s Day has passed. Hopefully, you made it through the stress of picking that “perfect gift” that touched your partner’s heart. Or maybe you missed the mark. I understand, choosing that gift can be challenging. Either way, I have a suggestion. Take the opportunity to have a re-do. 

     The entire month of February (or any month for that matter) can be a time to celebrate the romantic connections we have with our...