Resource center
Relationships, Couples, Intimacy, and Family Wellness Hub
Plain-language guides on couples communication, emotional safety and intimacy, and family conflict, from a licensed clinical psychologist in Michigan.
Relationships are where many of the hardest and most important parts of life happen. This hub collects plain-language guides for adults who are trying to understand a pattern with a partner or family member, decide what kind of help fits, and know what to ask before they start. The articles are educational. They are not a substitute for an assessment with a licensed clinician.
The guides follow three pathways. Couples and communication covers recurring arguments, distance, trust, and how to tell whether meeting together or working on your own makes more sense (see couples therapy and relationship concerns). Intimacy and sexual concerns looks at how emotional safety, stress, and communication shape closeness, and when a medical provider should be part of the picture (see intimacy and sexual concerns). Parenting and family conflict is for parents and adult family members when the same conflict keeps coming back (see parenting and family-conflict support).
If anyone in a relationship feels unsafe, safety comes before any conversation about communication. Call 911 in an emergency, or call or text 988 in a mental health crisis, and see the resources page for local options.
Guides
When Should Couples Consider Therapy?
Signs a couple may benefit from therapy, why earlier is often easier than waiting for a crisis, and when meeting together is not the right first step.
Read the guideIndividual Therapy vs. Couples Therapy: Which Setting Fits the Concern?
How to decide between individual and couples therapy for a relationship concern, when one setting fits better, and when individual support comes first.
Read the guideHow Emotional Safety and Communication Affect Intimacy
Why feeling emotionally safe and being able to talk openly shape closeness, how stress and distance build, and when a medical provider should be involved.
Read the guideParenting When Family Conflict Feels Stuck
Why family conflict repeats, what parents can change on their own side, how to handle disagreements between parents, and when outside support may help.
Read the guide
From Dr. Lehmann
Dr. Laura Lehmann, PLLC
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