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couple exercises to improve communication: The Power of Two Workbook Susan Heitler, Abigail Heitler Hirsch, 2003 This step-by-step guide is for couples who want to enhance their communication skills and maximize their relationshipís potential for mutual support and growth. Troubled spouses will discover how to hear without becoming defensive, clean up after verbal toxic spills, and convert moments of anger into opportunities for growth. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couples Therapy Workbook Kathleen Mates-Youngman, LMFT, 2014-10-01 Couples Therapy Workbook is a series of guided questions to promote meaningful couple conversations and build ongoing, connected communication. The core of this unique guide is 30 guided conversations of the most critical relationship struggles. For each of the 30 topics, there is an introduction, goal-setting strategies and 10 scripted questions to ask each other - all presented in an easy-to-use mindful style. Set in a weekly format over 30 days but can be tailored to any timeframe. Designed to be used to couples, and also by therapists working with couples (bonus clinician prep included with each conversation). Week 1- Who Are We? Falling in Love, Friendship, Caring, Acceptance, Empathy, Emotional Intimacy, Rituals Week 2 - Who Am I? Childhood, Family Origin, Temperament, Influences, Spirituality, Values, How I Think Week 3- How do we work? Communication, Conflict, Defensiveness, Intimacy, Trust, Fidelity and Boundaries, Parenting, Staying in Sync Week 4 - What do we want? Romance, Joy and Gratitude, respect, Apologies and Forgiveness, Challenges, Relationship Savings Account, Past, Present & Future, Keeping Connected Reviews: “What a unique resource! A treasure-trove of guided conversations to increase intimacy and friendship. Therapists often ask me for good homework assignments. This book does the thinking for you. Keep it on hand and whether its values, sex, conflict or other challenging issues, you'll have a ready-made way to help your clients make immediate progress.” -- Ellyn Bader, Ph.D, Founder/Director The Couples Institute This is a valuable resource for anyone working with couples. Any couple can profit greatly if they are willing to take Kathleen Youngman's challenge to explore these important topics and discuss these wonderful questions. -- Milan and Kay Yerkovich, Authors of best-selling How We Love series “Instead of offering analysis, advice or theory, The Couples Therapy Workbook offers just that, a set of questions to stimulate conversations that help couples deepen their engagement with each other and reconnect. All couples will find this an exceptional guide, and all therapists will find it an effective instrument to supplement the therapeutic process. I highly recommend it and complement the author on her creativity and attention to the core details of a connected relationship.” --Harville Hendrix, Ph. D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph. D.; Authors of Making Marriage Simple and Getting the Love You Want. |
couple exercises to improve communication: The Couple's Workbook The School of Life, 2020-02-06 Therapeutic exercises to help couples nurture patience, forgiveness and humour. Here is a workbook containing the very best exercises that any couple can undertake to help their relationship function optimally; exercises to foster understanding, patience, forgiveness, humour and resilience in the face of the many hurdles that invariably arise when you try to live with someone else for the long term. Couples are guided to have particular conversations, analyse their feelings, explain parts of themselves to one another and undertake rituals that clear the air and help recover hope and passion. The goal is always to unblock channels of feeling and improve communication. Not least, doing exercises together is – at points – simply a lot of fun. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Emotional Fitness for Couples Barton Goldsmith, 2011-07-11 This book offers you a step-by-step progam you can use to hone your relationship skills to championship levels-in just ten minutes a day. You can use the book alone, or you can try the exercises with your partner, going through the book in order or choosing those chapters most relevant to your particular goals. Each chapter is short-about two or three pages-and succinct. They combine easy exercises and tools with concise, snappy commentary on issues. Topics include: what the word love really means; the importance of physical touch; how to date your mate; how to achieve emotional balance; ways to deal with finances; tricks for stopping an argument before it starts; goal-setting strategies for couples; ways to deal with being apart; tips for coping with hurt before it turns into resentment; and much more. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Communication Miracles for Couples Jonathan Robinson, 2012-08-23 New York Times Bestseller! ─ Restore Your Relationship, Enhance Your Marriage Cultivate effective communication and a lasting relationship. Communication Miracles for Couples by psychotherapist, popular professional speaker, and bestselling author Jonathan Robinson has helped hundreds of thousands of couples repair their relationships and their marriages. Continuously in print since 1997, Communication Miracles for Couples has sold over 100,000 copies. Whether you are looking to enhance your relationship or want to resolve existing conflict, successful techniques taught by Jonathan Robinson can help you develop effective communication and a lasting relationship with a spouse or partner. Honeymoon gift, anniversary gift, or just a gift for him or her. Create lasting harmony and keep love alive with Jonathan Robinson's powerful and effective methods for relationship communication. He has reached over 250 million people around the world with his practical methods, and his work has been translated into 47 languages. Learn how to enhance your relationship by learning to communicate with less blame and more understanding. Find a deeper happiness in your relationship: • Feel totally loved • Never argue again • Have your partner really hear you • Repair broken trust If you have read books such as 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication in Love, Life, Work─Anywhere; The 5 Love Languages; Mindful Relationship Habits; Communication in Marriage; or Couple Skills; you will love what Jonathan Robinson’s Communication Miracles for Couples does for your relationship. |
couple exercises to improve communication: In Quest of the Mythical Mate Ellyn Bader, Peter Pearson, 2013-05-13 In Quest of the Mythical Mate presents a valuable and fertile developmental model for diagnosing and treating couples that is flexible enough to incorporate a wide variety of intervention strategies, yet purposeful enough to give a clear sense of direction to couples in distress. As such, this volume provides a powerful therapeutic approach for all professionals who treat couples. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Communication in Marriage Marcus Kusi, Ashley Kusi, 2017-07-31 How to Communicate with Your Spouse Without Fighting - EVEN If You Have a Difficult Spouse; Do you find it difficult communicating with your spouse? Are you tired of arguing and fighting with your spouse whenever you try to communicate? Have you ever wanted to cry in frustration after yet again another fruitless or useless argument with your spouse? Is your spouse not talking to you anymore? You are not alone. Many couples (including us) have had to deal with these communication problems at some point in marriage. And it’s not fun! The yelling, shouting, anger, frustration, rejection, resentment, interrupting, blaming, insults... It can definitely be overwhelming. It could even destroy your ability to not only communicate effectively with your spouse but also enjoy your marriage. The lack of communication in your marriage can even lead to a divorce. But don't worry. No matter what communication problems you struggle with, you can learn how to communicate effectively with your spouse today. Whether you feel you are not being heard, cannot hear your spouse, or want to communicate better with your spouse without fighting or yelling, this book will show you how. For the past 7 years, we have used these proven communication skills to go from arguing and fighting whenever we communicated to communicating effectively without fighting, calling each other names, and being disrespectful. As a result, we now have a better marriage. In this Communication in Marriage book, you will learn: 1. How to communicate effectively with your spouse without fighting. 2. Why trust is essential for effective communication in marriage. 3. Clearly understand why we all communicate differently. 4. How to improve communication in your marriage. 5. How to communicate through conflict, even with a difficult spouse. 6. Our tested, simple and proven step-by-step plan for effective communication in 7 days or less. 7. How to communicate through difficult emotions. 8. How to prevent communication problems with your spouse. 9. Why your past experiences affect the way you communicate with your spouse. This book will show you proven communication skills married couples need to communicate effectively with each other. We have tested and continue to use these effective communication skills in our marriage every single day. And they work! Whether you feel like you cannot communicate with your spouse, or improve communication in your marriage, you can become a better communicator in your marriage by reading this book today. You don't need another fight or argument! You can communicate better with your husband or wife. How would your marriage be different if you had no communication problems? Buy your copy of this communication in marriage book for couples today. ---------------------------- Keywords related to this book: Communication in marriage, communication in marriage book, how to communicate with your spouse, how to communicate with your wife, how to communicate with your husband, how to communicate with your spouse without fighting, communication book for couples, communication skills, communication problems, effective communication skills, communication skills for married couples, marriage books, newlyweds book, books for couples, marriage help books, relationship help books, relationship books, books for couples, books for married couples, |
couple exercises to improve communication: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work John Gottman, PhD, Nan Silver, 2015-05-05 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Over a million copies sold! “An eminently practical guide to an emotionally intelligent—and long-lasting—marriage.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman’s unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide couples on a path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Straightforward yet profound, these principles teach partners new approaches for resolving conflicts, creating new common ground, and achieving greater levels of intimacy. Gottman offers strategies and resources to help couples collaborate more effectively to resolve any problem, whether dealing with issues related to sex, money, religion, work, family, or anything else. Packed with new exercises and the latest research out of the esteemed Gottman Institute, this revised edition of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential. |
couple exercises to improve communication: How to Read People Like a Book James W Williams, 2020-03-17 Do you want to learn how to read people? Do you want to walk into a room and instantly have a good idea of what the people around you are really thinking? James has always been captivated with body language and how it affected communication. Shows like CSI or The Mentalist or Lie to Me have always fascinated him because these shows talk about body language, how people communicate verbally, and how knowledge of these things can lead to having a slight edge in life. You will understand how unconscious decisions of people turn into conscious predictions and conclusions by people who know exactly what to look for. It's easier than you think, and it is definitely fascinating. In How to Read People Like a Book we will go deep into exploring body language not just to understand people - but to also connect with them. After all, why do we find the need to interpret and understand what people say and do? Because we want to connect with them, create relationships, and be part of a community. How to Read People Like a Book will teach you to better understand people through verbal and non-verbal reading skills, thereby allowing you to better function as a part of a growing community. Here are some of the things you will discover: How exactly will reading body language help you, and how accurate is it really - The myths and facts so you'll know exactly what to look for going in. The different personality types and how they affect behavior - Not everyone has the same mannerisms, gestures, and characteristics when outside. You will become aware of the existence of these different personality types in order to adjust to their various temperaments. The differences between an extrovert and an introvert - The basic personality characterizations that you need to know about and will predict how you can best communicate with these people. The different communication styles and what should you be using in different settings - Remember, you always want to create just the right amount of impression when meeting someone, whether new or old. The secret factors that motivates people into doing things - This small, unseen and unfelt motivation is the primary moving factor for people's behaviors. If you can decipher that, then you can figure out the messages their behaviors are trying to tell you. Verbal communication and how to dig deeper or read between the lines. The art of thin-slicing - Allowing you to make accurate judgments based only on thin slices of a pie. Exploring YOUR personality and how YOU, uniquely, can make connections with people and forge relationships without veering away from who you really are. And much more... Being connected with people and forging strong friendships is one of the hallmarks of a successful life. This book will show you how to be able to grab life by the horns and achieve your full potential when it comes to people - forging friendships and social ties that will last for a life-time! So if you're ready, click Buy now and learn how YOU can read people like a book too! |
couple exercises to improve communication: What Are the 5 Love Languages? Gary Chapman, 2015-06-10 Simple ideas, lasting love—all in a short read In this abridged version of the New York Times bestseller The 5 Love Languages®, relationships expert Dr. Gary Chapman offers a trimmed-down explanation of his transformational approach to love. People express and receive love in 5 different ways, called love languages: quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. The sooner you discover your language and that of your loved one, the sooner you can take your relationship to new heights. And with this summary version of the award-winning book, you don't have to read long to find out. With disarming wit, clear explanations, and inspiring storytelling, Dr. Chapman only needs a moment of your time to transform your love life. |
couple exercises to improve communication: A Couple's Guide to Communication John Mordechai Gottman, 1976 This book is designed to help couples with communication and that in turn will help their relationship both socially and sexually. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couples Communication Guide to Love and Happiness Olivia Lisenchi, 2016-09-24 Enjoy your time together! Do you communicate with your partner as much as possible?Do you like to discuss with him/her everything? ...Bills, kids, shopping, your past, your future, your sex, your love...'Are you able to talk with your partner about your needs? Discover the joy that lies hidden in your relationship With this book you will learn how to:- Get love and intimacy back- Stop conflicts forever- Create healthier & sexier connection- Keep the happy relationship The most common communication mistakes and how to overcome them. Want to know more? Please download the book and we hope you find it helpful. This book is beautifully simple and pragmatic. I encourage everyone to try to follow these advices.- Jane Hoffman It really opens eyes and gets the closeness back. Not everything is easy, but if you try it really works! - Francesca DonninottiUsually I don't like all those weisenheimers you know... but the cover is really cool... so I started reading and it really makes sense.- Peter ZhivickaOlivia Ocean is a psychologist living in Prague, Czech Republic. She is 38. She is happily married for 16 years, has two children (15 and 8 years old). This is her first book and most probably not the last one, because she has a lot of experience and knowledge to share. We do hope it will help you enjoy every moment of communication with your spouse, overcome mistakes and disappointments and create happier relationship. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Creating Relationship Wellness Stephanie Wijkstrom, 2021 Mindfulness for your marriage is a tool book to be used by couples who want to gain the skill of relationship wellness. Each chapter offers evidence-based, and therapist verified techniques to gain insight into yourself and your partners world. Mindfulness for your marriage offers skills-based interventions that draw upon the fields of mindfulness and behavioral psychology, both recognized as pathways to enrichment. Each segment of this text builds upon the previous in an effort to lead the reader toward a mastery of relationship wellness. Divorce, separation, or disconnection do not always need to be the solution, a new approach to your problems will empower your path to reconnection. Prepare to break down specific methods of mindfulness and apply them during each chapter’s exercises as you practice to enhance your relationship. Each segment ends with practical exercises to do together or independently. In this unique text, you are offered thoughtful meditations that make relationship improvement understandable and easy. The writer houses an intimate understanding of human emotions and connections that she intersects in a meaningful way. It is not necessary to wait to improve your love until it is ailing, but here and now, relationship enhancement is offered as a preventative strategy in the attainment of interconnected wellbeing. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Love Cycles, Fear Cycles David Woodsfellow, Deborah Woodsfellow, 2018-03-27 Love Cycles, Fear Cycles teaches readers the most important idea in all of couples therapy. This idea gives readers a new understanding of what’s been going wrong in their marriage – and a new way to make things right. The key idea is changing a couple’s negative cycle back into their positive cycle. Most relationships start in a positive cycle, where both people feel wonderful and respond lovingly. There are four words that describe each couple’s positive cycle – one for each person’s good feeling, and one for each person’s loving response. However, as challenges arise, people instinctively respond with some type of fight or flight. Over time, these responses spiral together into a negative cycle where each person feels bad and responds defensively. There are four words for each couple’s negative cycle – one for each person’s worst feeling, and one for each person’s defensive reaction. Many couples get trapped in their negative cycle and their relationship spirals deeper into hurt and loneliness. To have a good marriage, a couple needs to find a way out of their negative cycle and back into their positive cycle. Love Cycles, Fear Cycles teaches readers how to do that. From his decades as a couples therapist, Dr. Woodsfellow has distilled this one most-essential component of all successful marriage counseling. He now presents this to the general public in a way that is easy to understand and easy to use. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Time for a Better Marriage Jon Carlson, Don C. Dinkmeyer, 2002 The return of a classic! A systematic, practical model for building marriage skills, newly revised and updated. Invaluable tools to help make marriages more rewarding, effective, and satisfying by showing couples how to encourage each other, resolve conflict, communicate effectively, maintain equality in the relationship, and make better choices. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couples Communication Workbook Monica Travis, 2021-03-26 Have You Lost Your Spark? Are You Having Trouble Communicating? Do You Want To Rekindle Your Relationship's Fire? If you are reading this, you have made the first step towards improving your communication in marriage; you have detected a problem. You and your partner have stopped spending quality time together. You talk but you never communicate. Your love life has gone down the hill. And you end up sitting on a couch, watching TV shows while scrolling through your smartphones for something that will spark your interest. The lockdown, the pandemic, work-related stress, household chores, and social circumstances can take a toll on your relationship. The clock is now ticking for your relationship. Here's How You Can Improve Your Communication Skills, Increase Intimacy, And Resolve Any Conflict! This eye-opening couples communication workbook will take you by the hand and give you an in-depth understanding of your problems as well as simple tips and tools to overcome your relationship's obstacles. Monica Travis, the author of this game-changing couples therapy workbook, has worked with couples for years and has distilled her knowledge, experience, and skills into an easy-to-read and simple communication skills workbook that will enable you and your partner to: ✅ Learn How To Communicate Better & Share Your Dreams, Goals, And Fears Without Any Second Thoughts ✅ Increase Both Physical And Emotional Intimacy By Re-Connecting On A New Foundation ✅ Resolve Those Conflicts That Have Been Simmering For Years And Ruining Your Chances Of Happiness But Wait... That's Not All! By the end of this couples counseling workbook, you will be able to ✔️ Discover Common Interests And Spend More Quality Time Together ✔️ Remove Gender Stereotypes Holding Your Relationship Back ✔️ Goals Together And Learn How To Fix Your Marriage Don't Hesitate! Invest In Your Relationship Today - Scroll Up And Click Buy Now! |
couple exercises to improve communication: The CBT Couples Toolbox John Ludgate, 2018 |
couple exercises to improve communication: The High-Conflict Couple Alan Fruzzetti, 2006-12-03 You hear and read a lot about ways to improve your relationship. But if you've tried these without much success, you're not alone. Many highly reactive couples—pairs that are quick to argue, anger, and blame—need more than just the run-of-the-mill relationship advice to solve their problems in love. When destructive emotions are at the heart of problems in your relationship, no amount of effective communication or intimacy building will fix what ails it. If you're part of a high-conflict couple, you need to get control of your emotions first, to stop making things worse, and only then work on building a better relationship. The High-Conflict Couple adapts the powerful techniques of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) into skills you can use to tame out-of-control emotions that flare up in your relationship. Using mindfulness and distress tolerance techniques, you'll learn how to deescalate angry situations before they have a chance to explode into destructive fights. Other approaches will help you disclose your fears, longings, and other vulnerabilities to your partner and validate his or her experiences in return. You'll discover ways to manage problems with negotiation, not conflict, and to find true acceptance and closeness with the person you love the most. This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives. |
couple exercises to improve communication: 50 Communications Activities, Icebreakers, and Exercises Peter Garber, 2008 Have fun presenting these activities and build your employeesOCO communication skills in just minutes. Communication plays such a big part in our lives today. Yet sometimes we get busy and forget just how important communication is to our success, relationships and happiness. 50 Communication Activities, Icebreakers and Activities is a great way to: Increase participantsOCO awareness of how they communicate; Help them to build expertise in a variety of essential skills and competencies; Prepare them to deal effectively with the many types of communication challenges they face every day. Each activity focuses on some facet of communication and includes a description, time guideline, purpose, resources, presentation, debrief, difficulty rating and variations to make implementation easy. Each individual activity takes only minutes to complete. Together this collection contains a wealth of insight, tips and guidance to prepare employees to become confident communicators who enjoy stronger relationships and greater success and satisfaction on the job. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Improving Communication in Your Marriage Gary Rosberg, Barbara Rosberg, 2010-08-01 Sure, we're talking, but are we communicating? To understand and be understood, that's real communication. And it takes more than words. In fact, we sometimes say the most when we speak the least. Communication has the power to make or break relationships. Help your marriage by improving the way that you and your spouse communicate. Using this study as a guide, gather with some friends and discover how to: [[Recognize the barriers that sometimes keep you from understanding each other [[Fight fair when conflict comes [[Support each other through the trials of life Invest six weeks in your marriage by learning together the art of true communication. After all, talk is cheap, but communication is priceless. Start the improvement today and watch your understanding and love grow. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Love More, Fight Less: Communication Skills Every Couple Needs Gina Senarighi PhD, CPC, 2020-07-28 Learn to communicate effectively, meaningfully, and lovingly with your partner--even in tense situations. Conflict is part of every relationship, even the healthiest ones. The key to a long-lasting relationship isn't avoiding fights, but rather seeing them as opportunities to work together. In her book, Gottman-certified relationship coach Dr. Gina Senarighi gives us the tools and strategies we need to communicate effectively, rebuild trust, and repair past hurts. Love More, Fight Less features: 30 COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND ACTIVITIES for building self-awareness, identifying and interrupting emotional reactivity, eliminating judgment, separating thoughts from feelings, and more 29 COMMON PITFALLS IN RELATIONSHIPS around issues of intimacy, career, finances, family and home matters, and friendships with other people--and how to navigate them STEP-BY-STEP GUIDANCE AND EXPERT INSIGHT to help you transform your relationship's conflict patterns by integrating effective communication skills This relationship workbook is for couples who want to learn new skills and build a solid foundation for working through conflicts and moving forward in ways that strengthen their bonds. |
couple exercises to improve communication: It Takes One to Tango Winifred M. Reilly, 2017-04-04 With a focus on self-empowerment and resilience, this refreshing and witty relationship guide has a reassuring counterintuitive message for unhappy spouses: you only need one partner to initiate far-reaching positive change in a marriage. Conventional wisdom says that “it takes two” to turn a troubled marriage around and that both partners must have a shared commitment to change. So when couples can’t agree on how—or whether—to make their marriage better, many give up or settle for a less-than-satisfying marriage (or think the only way out is divorce). Fortunately, there is an alternative. “What distinguishes Reilly’s book is that she says a warring couple don’t have to agree on the goal of staying together; it takes one person changing, not both, to make a marriage work” (The New York Times). Marriage and family therapist Winifred Reilly has this message for struggling partners: Take the lead. Doing so is effective—and powerful. Through Reilly’s own story of reclaiming her now nearly forty-year marriage, along with anecdotes from many clients she’s worked with, you’ll learn how to: -Focus on your own behaviors and change them in ways that make you feel good about yourself and your marriage -Take a firm stand for what truly matters to you without arguing, cajoling, or resorting to threats -Identify the “big picture” issues at the basis of your repetitive fights—and learn how to unhook from them -Be less reactive, especially in the face of your spouse’s provocations -Develop the strength and stamina to be the sole agent of change Combining psychological theory, practical advice, and personal narrative, It Takes One to Tango is a “wise and uplifting” (Dr. Ellyn Bader, Director of The Couples Institute) guide that will empower those who choose to take a bold, proactive approach to creating a loving and lasting marriage. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Communication Workbook for Couples Christian Silverman, 2020-10-22 If You Want Your Spouse To Stop Arguing All The Time And Understand What You Really Mean... Read This Book Together! Do conversations with your spouse often go in the wrong direction? Do you keep hurting each other with uncontrollable emotional outbursts? Do you wish there was a way to fix your misunderstandings for good? Good communication is the key to any successful relationship - and definitely the foundation of a happy marriage. However, once the honeymoon phase is over, most of us notice that our communication skills need improvement. All of a sudden, every conversation has the potential to escalate into a full-blown argument, and every attempt to solve your conflicts only creates more conflicts. But what if it didn't have to be this way? This book will help you save your relationship by using dialectical behavioral therapy, a scientifically proven method used in marriage counseling. Here's what you'll find in this book: Simple therapeutic techniques to get your marriage back on track The right questions to ask each other if you want to save your marriage Strategies for boosting your conflict resolution skills A comprehensive guide to difficult conversations And much more! As you go through the questions in the book, you'll have some very honest and emotional discussions with your partner. Even though these conversations may feel scary at first, they'll help you see the real cause of your misunderstandings - and work together to eliminate it. Are you ready to take the first step towards saving your marriage? Buy Now and Get Your Copy Now! |
couple exercises to improve communication: The Couple's Activity Book Crystal Schwanke, 2020-09-22 Ready to strengthen your relationship? Start with a little fun Whether you're just starting your romantic adventure or celebrating years of marriage, The Couple's Activity Book can help you enhance your connection with playful, interactive games and activities. Through moments of shared laughter, physical reconnection, and meaningful conversation, you'll discover new and engaging ways to relate to one another. Feeling adventurous? Creative? Silly? Each chapter of this relationship book for couples is centered on a specific mood, so you can pick an activity that intrigues you both and jump right in, or you can work through the book together from cover to cover. The games in The Couple's Activity Book range from fun fill-in-the-blanks and word scrambles to more involved activities, like themed date nights, DIY day spas, and becoming tourists in your own hometown. Some can be done spontaneously. Others need a little preparation for a truly special experience. Unlike other relationship books for couples, the activities are designed to be carefree and entertaining without the added pressure of journaling or deep reflections. Build a stronger, loving bond with this big activity book for couples and have fun along the way. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Eight Dates John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, Rachel Carlton Abrams, 2019-02-05 Whether you’re newly together and eager to make it work or a longtime couple looking to strengthen and deepen your bond, Eight Dates offers a program of how, why, and when to have eight basic conversations with your partner that can result in a lifetime of love. “Happily ever after” is not by chance, it’s by choice– the choice each person in a relationship makes to remain open, remain curious, and, most of all, to keep talking to one another. From award-winning marriage researcher and bestselling author Dr. John Gottman and fellow researcher Julie Gottman, Eight Dates offers an ingenious and simple-to-implement approach to effective relationship communication. Here are the subjects that every serious couple should discuss: Trust. Family. Sex and intimacy. Dealing with conflict. Work and money. Dreams, and more. And here is how to talk about them—how to broach subjects that are difficult or embarrassing, how to be brave enough to say what you really feel. There are also suggestions for where and when to go on each date—book your favorite romantic restaurant for the Sex & Intimacy conversation (and maybe go to a yoga or dance class beforehand). There are questionnaires, innovative exercises, real-life case studies, and skills to master, including the Four Skills of Intimate Conversation and the Art of Listening. Because making love last is not about having a certain feeling—it’s about both of you being active and involved. |
couple exercises to improve communication: ACT with Love Russ Harris, 2023-06-01 Build more compassionate, accepting, and loving relationships with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Let’s face it: Picture-perfect storybook romances don’t exist in real life. Couples fight. Feelings of love wax and wane through the years. And the stress and tedium of everyday life and work can often drive a wedge between even the most devoted couples. So, how can you reignite passion and intimacy in your relationship, cultivate greater understanding and compassion between yourself and your partner, and bring the joy back to your love life? In this fully revised and updated edition of ACT with Love, therapist and world-renowned ACT expert Russ Harris shows how developing psychological flexibility—the ability to be in the present moment with openness, awareness, and focus, and to take effective action in line with one's values—can help you and your partner strengthen and deepen your relationship. Also included is new information on attachment theory, powerful mindfulness and self-compassion techniques, and assertiveness and boundary-setting skills. ACT with Love will show you how to: Let go of conflict, open up, and live fully in the present Use mindfulness to increase intimacy, connection, and understanding Resolve painful conflicts and reconcile long-standing differences Act on your values to build a rich and meaningful relationship If you’re looking to increase feelings of intimacy, love, and connection with your partner, this book has everything you need to get started—together. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage John Gottman, PhD, Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD, Joan DeClaire, 2007-06-26 In Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage, marital psychologists John and Julie Gottman provide vital tools—scientifically based and empirically verified—that you can use to regain affection and romance lost through years of ineffective communication. In 1994, Dr. John Gottman and his colleagues at the University of Washington made a startling announcement: Through scientific observation and mathematical analysis, they could predict—with more than 90 percent accuracy—whether a marriage would succeed or fail. The only thing they did not yet know was how to turn a failing marriage into a successful one, so Gottman teamed up with his clinical psychologist wife, Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, to develop intervention methods. Now the Gottmans, together with the Love Lab research facility, have put these ideas into practice. What emerged from the Gottmans’ collaboration and decades of research is a body of advice that’s based on two surprisingly simple truths: Happily married couples behave like good friends, and they handle their conflicts in gentle, positive ways. The authors offer an intimate look at ten couples who have learned to work through potentially destructive problems—extramarital affairs, workaholism, parenthood adjustments, serious illnesses, lack of intimacy—and examine what they’ve done to improve communication and get their marriages back on track. Hundreds of thousands have seen their relationships improve thanks to the Gottmans’ work. Whether you want to make a strong relationship more fulfilling or rescue one that’s headed for disaster, Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage is essential reading. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couple Skills Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning, Kim Paleg, 2006-12-01 Love takes work, but, when it comes to relationships, it pays to work smarter. Couple Skills, Second Edition, revised and updated from the therapist-recommended classic, will show you how to work smarter in your relationship. You'll learn to improve communication, cope better with problems, and resolve conflicts with the one you love in healthy and creative ways. Each chapter teaches you an essential skill that supports greater relationship satisfaction and deeper intimacy. New to this edition is a chapter on using acceptance skills, developed from the revolutionary new acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). These new approaches will help you to accept your partner's feelings (and your own emotions) without judgment. Using these techniques will help you decide what you really value in your relationship and then commit to acting in ways that further those values every day. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Communication for Couples Dale King, 2020-02-23 Don't know how to handle conflict and emotions in your relationship/marriage? Is communication an issue in your relationship/marriage? Knowing how to communicate effectively requires you to have the information around what effective communication is; a clear understanding of how to apply it, and a great deal of practice. Most times, poor communication skills are a result of bad habits and simply not knowing any better. It is rare that a person truly intends to communicate poorly with their spouse, or anyone else. After all, knowing the negative impact that poor communication can have on a relationship is reason enough to want to do better. That being said, practicing effective communication will require you to both learn new habits and break old ones. Because you are looking to communicate better specifically with your spouse, it can be beneficial for you to read this book together with your spouse. When you are both working on these techniques together, it is easier for you both to have compassion for each other and patience for the lessons that you are learning together. It is also a good way to remind each other to practice better communication skills if you notice that your partner is practicing an old bad habit. Furthermore, learning new things and growing together with your partner is a wonderful way to increase intimacy in your relationship. This happens by developing a layer of respect, which creates a sense of safety, which builds a feeling of trust, which nurtures the evolution of intimacy. When you spend time focusing on these four aspects together, as you will throughout this book, it is easier to improve the quality of your marriage in a way that is sustainable and lasting. Communicating in your marriage is not always going to be easy. It is likely that if you are reading this book that your communication may have already reached a noticeable state of trouble. As a result, you may have healed that needs to be done in addition to improved communication. In this case, make sure that you are extra patient with each other and that you incorporate the healing that needs to be done into learning how to communicate with each other. This will support you both in healing the pain and creating a resolution that will help you prevent future hurt from taking root in your relationship. Another reason why you may struggle with communication is that of the very intimacy that you share with your partner. Telling them about difficult or vulnerable pieces of information or dealing with conflict in a marriage can be challenging. Here are the topics mentioned: The importance of communication in the couple and how to improve it Work on yourself first Ego in a relationship Why do couples need to focus on communication? How to deal with serious problems? Practical exercises to try with your partner to improve communication Communication in marriage Grow together ... AND MORE! CLICK AND BUY NOW!!! |
couple exercises to improve communication: What Makes Love Last? John Gottman, John Mordechai Gottman, Nan Silver, 2013-09-10 One of the foremost relationship experts at work today offers creative insight on building trust and avoiding betrayal, helping readers to decode the mysteries of healthy love and relationships-- |
couple exercises to improve communication: The Five Love Languages Gary Chapman, 2009-12-17 Marriage should be based on love, right? But does it seem as though you and your spouse are speaking two different languages? #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse's primary love language-quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationship. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together. Gary Chapman hosts a nationally syndicated daily radio program called A Love Language Minute that can be heard on more than 150 radio stations as well as the weekly syndicated program Building Relationships with Gary Chapman, which can both be heard on fivelovelanguages.com. The Five Love Languages is a consistent New York Times bestseller - with over 5 million copies sold and translated into 38 languages. This book is a sales phenomenon, with each year outselling the prior for 16 years running! |
couple exercises to improve communication: Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy: A Therapist's Guide to Creating Acceptance and Change, Second Edition Andrew Christensen, Brian D. Doss, Neil S. Jacobson, 2020-09-15 The definitive therapist manual for Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT)—one of the most empirically supported approaches to couple therapy. Andrew Christensen, codeveloper (along with the late Neil Jacobson) of Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, and Brian Doss provide an essential manual for their evidence-based practice. The authors offer guidance on formulation, assessment, and feedback of couples’ distress from an IBCT perspective. They also detail techniques to achieve acceptance and deliberate change. In this updated edition of the work, readers learn about innovations to the IBCT approach in the 20+ years since the publication of the original edition—including refinements of core therapeutic techniques. Additionally, this edition provides new guidance on working with diverse couples, complex clinical issues, and integrating technology into a course of treatment. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Behavioral Couples Therapy for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Timothy J. O'Farrell, William Fals-Stewart, 2012-03-12 This eminently practical guide presents an empirically supported approach for treating people with substance abuse problems and their spouses or domestic partners. Behavioral couples therapy (BCT) explicitly focuses on both substance use and relationship issues, and is readily compatible with 12-step approaches. In a convenient large-size format, the book provides all the materials needed to introduce BCT; implement a recovery contract to support abstinence; work with clients to increase positive activities, improve communication, and reduce relapse risks; and deal with special treatment challenges. Appendices include a session-by-session treatment manual and 70 reproducible checklists, forms, and client education posters. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Marriage Fitness Mort Fertel, 2004 Revolutionary step by step system marriage success. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Hold Me Tight Dr. Sue Johnson, 2008-04-08 Strengthen and deepen your relationships with this much-needed (Harville Hendrix, PhD) guide that has sold over one million copies, through revelatory practical exercises, seven profound conversations, and sage advice from “the best couple’s therapist in the world” (John Gottman, PhD, bestselling author) Are you looking to enrich a healthy relationship, revitalize a tired one, or rescue one gone awry? We all want a lifetime of love, support, and companionship. But sometimes we need a little help. Enter Dr. Sue Johnson, developer of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and “the most original contributor to couple’s therapy to come along in the last thirty years,” according to Dr. William J. Doherty, PhD. In Hold Me Tight, Dr. Johnson shares her groundbreaking and remarkably successful program for creating stronger, more secure relationships. The message of Hold Me Tight is simple: Forget about learning how to argue better, analyzing your early childhood, making grand romantic gestures, or experimenting with new sexual positions. Instead, get to the emotional underpinnings of your relationship by recognizing that you are emotionally attached to and dependent on your partner in much the same way that a child is on a parent for nurturing, soothing, and protection. Dr. Johnson teaches that the way to enhance or save a relationship is to be open, attuned, and responsive to each other and to reestablish emotional connection. With this in mind, she focuses on key moments in a relationship and uses them as touch points for seven healing conversations, including: Recognizing the Demon Dialogues Finding the Raw Spots Revisiting a Rocky Moment Forgiving Injuries Keeping Your Love Alive These conversations give you insight into the defining moments in your relationship and guide you in reshaping these moments to create a secure and lasting bond. Through stories from Dr. Johnson’s practice, illuminating advice, and practical exercises, you will learn how to nurture, protect, and grow your relationship, ensuring a lifetime of love. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Dyadic Coping: A Collection of Recent Studies Guy Bodenmann, Mariana K. Falconier, Ashley K. Randall, 2019-09-25 Dyadic coping is a concept that has reached increased attention in psychological science within the last 20 years. Dyadic coping conceptualizes the way couples cope with stress together in sharing appraisals of demands, planning together how to deal with the stressors and engage in supportive or joint dyadic coping. Among the different theories of dyadic coping, the Systemic Transactional Model (STM; Bodenmann, 1995, 1997, 2005) has been applied to many studies on couples’ coping with stress. While a recent meta-analysis shows that dyadiccoping is a robust and consistent predictor of relationship satisfaction and couple’s functioning in community samples, some studies also reveal the significance of dyadic coping in dealing with psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety) or severe illness (e.g., cancer, diabetes, COPD, etc.). Researchers all over the world build their research on this or other concepts of dyadic coping and many typically use the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI) for assessing dyadic coping. So far, research on dyadic coping has been systematically presented in two books, one written by Revenson, Kayser, & Bodenmann in 2005, focussing on emerging perspectives on couples’ coping, the other by Falconier, Randall, & Bodenmann more recently in 2016, addressing intercultural aspects of dyadic coping in African, American, Asian and European couples. This eBook gives an insight into recent dyadic coping research in different areas and countries. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couples Therapy Workbook Theresa MILLER, 2020-11-28 Are you constantly quarreling and fighting with your spouse, feel like you want out, but also don't want to let what you had to go down the drain and are desperately looking to fix your marriage and make your connection even stronger than before? And are you looking for a guide that will help you uncover where you've been failing and what you can do to fix any problems in your marriage or long term relationship, without having to share your problems with anyone? If you've answered YES, keep reading... You Are About To Learn How You Can Turn The Anger, Resentment, Silent Treatment And Tension In Your Relationship Into Lasting Love Through Cultivating Honest Communication, Overcoming The Anxiety Within Your Relationship, And Creating A Strong Emotional Intimacy! All relationships needs nurturing, as without that, love, respect, emotional connection and intimacy will feel like a foreign concept! In fact, you don't have to wait until your marriage is on the rocks to start doing something about it. By virtue that you are here, it is clear you appreciate the importance of working on your relationship continuously to keep the fire burning, reinject trust, and ultimately make your relationship grow and thrive. Perhaps you are here looking for answers to all the questions going through your mind... How do we reconnect and build the spark that we had early on in our relationship? How do we deal with the anxieties that come so often and that threaten the peace and happiness in our relationship? How do we handle conflicts to ensure they don't tear us apart? What should you do more of and what should you reduce or stop doing to grow your relationship? What about the sex - how do we ensure it never becomes a problem in our marriage? If you have these and other related questions, you are in luck, as this book covers all that and much more to ensure you make things work between you, help you mend things in your relationship and restore love. This guide is carefully structured to target several difficulties that most couples face in marriage and how to solve these problems. More precisely, you will learn: How to connect emotionally, why it is vital in every marriage, and practical ways to boost it Exactly how to build honest communication in your relationship, why it important to do so, and the effects of poor communication skills on the relationship How to improve communication skills in a relationship and make your dialogues more honest an open Appreciation and gratitude and their role in building a strong relationship How to negotiate and sometimes compromise in your relationship and why it is important How to handle your relationship with friends after marriage The five love languages and how to express them The role of sex in marriage And much more... If you put the knowledge you acquire from this book into action, your marriage will definitely blossom and grow into the life long and beautiful union that it was meant to be. Even if it feels as if calling it quits is the only way out, this book will give you the hope you need to give your marriage another chance! So, what are you waiting for? Make your marriage healthy and beautiful like it was the first time you met! Scroll up and click Buy Now With 1-Click or Buy Now to get started! |
couple exercises to improve communication: Our Love Is Too Good to Feel So Bad Mira Kirshenbaum, 1998 We just don't know how to make each other happy any more. ''Sex used to be really good. Now it doesn't go right at all. You don't suddenly lose the ability to make scrambled eggs. So why would we forget how to make love? We can't seem to talk without fighting. How did we get into this? I know what we're mad about, but I don't know why things keep making us so mad. Many of us have had experiences like these. Something's wrong--perhaps seriously wrong--but it's a complete mystery why a once-healthy relationship is now in trouble. You're tired of working unproductively on it, you're tired of feeling so confused, and you're tired of solutions that seem complicated and irrelevant. You deserve to know what your real couples problem is and what to do to solve it. This book does something that no book has ever done before. It shows you how to sort through all the pain and confusion in your relationship, put your finger on exactly what's been causing all the troubles, and find the precise way to eliminate them. For the first time, psychotherapist and bestselling author Mira Kirshenbaum has identified ten love killers that cause all the pain and mysterious problems couples get into. By answering simple questions, you'll be able to diagnose your individual case and identify the love killers responsible for your specific problems. We just don't know how to make each other happy any more. ''Sex used to be really good. Now it doesn't go right at all. You don't suddenly lose the ability to make scrambled eggs. So why would we forget how to make love? We can't seem to talk without fighting. How did we get into this? I know what we're mad about, but I don't know why things keep making us so mad. Many of us have had experiences like these. Something's wrong--perhaps seriously wrong--but it's a complete mystery why a once-healthy relationship is now in trouble. You're tired of working unproductively on it, you're tired of feeling so confused, and you're tired of solutions that seem complicated and irrelevant. You deserve to know what your real couples problem is and what to do to solve it. This book does something that no book has ever done before. It shows you how to sort through all the pain and confusion in your relationship, put your finger on exactly what's been causing all the troubles, and find the precise way to eliminate them. For the first time, psychotherapist and bestselling author Mira Kirshenbaum has identified ten love killers that cause all the pain and mysterious problems couples get into. By answering simple questions, you'll be able to diagnose your individual case and identify the love killers responsible for your specific problems. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Couple Power Therapy Peter L. Sheras, Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras, 2006 This shifts the paradigm away from the therapist's responsibility for success to the couple's responsibility, from the more negative emphasis of focusing on problems to a more positive goal of creating a fulfilling relationship, and from a quick fix to lifelong development skills.--Jacket. |
couple exercises to improve communication: Imago Relationship Therapy Mo Therese Hannah, 2005-03-11 Imago Relationship Therapy It's been more than three decades since Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt—the best-selling authors of Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Find—created Imago Relationship Therapy. Their concept of the conscious marriage introduced a new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of couples. Since that time more than two thousand clinicians in twenty-eight countries have adopted and implemented this highly effective form of couples therapy. This groundbreaking book offers an overview of the highly successful Imago Relationship Therapy (IRT) and the relationship of IRT with preceding schools of thought such as psychoanalytic theory, family systems theories, affect theory, and self-psychology. At the heart of IRT is a three-step process involving mirroring (reflecting) the partner's feelings, validating the partner's point of view, and expressing empathy toward the partner's feelings. Imago Relationship Therapy traces IRT's history and explosive growth and outlines the differences and similarities between Imago theory and other models of couples therapy. The book also presents some of the ideas of prominent Imago thinkers, such as the central role of connectivity and the problem of envy in committed relationships. A uniquely important book for the practitioner, which provides clinical wisdom and a rare look into the heart and soul of Imago Relationship Therapy. —Pat Love, Ed.D., author, The Truth About Love |
COUPLE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of COUPLE is two persons married, engaged, or otherwise romantically paired. How to use couple in a sentence. Is couple an adjective?: Usage Guide
Couple - definition of couple by The Free Dictionary
Define couple. couple synonyms, couple pronunciation, couple translation, English dictionary definition of couple. n. 1. Two items of the same kind; a pair. 2. Something that joins or …
COUPLE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
A couple is two people who are married or who are having a romantic relationship.
COUPLE | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
COUPLE meaning: 1. two or a few things that are similar or the same, or two or a few people who are in some way…. Learn more.
couple - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
May 13, 2025 · couple (plural couples or couple) A group of two ( especially living beings ; never three or more as in modern English ) : A couple ; two people joined in marriage .
What does CouPLe mean? - Definitions.net
To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another). To join in wedlock; to marry. To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate. Etymology: couple, Fr. copula, Latin. 1. A chain or tye that …
"Couple Of" or "Couple" - Difference Explained (+Examples)
We should use the term “couple” when we are strictly speaking about or describing two and only two people, places, things, etc. This is because the term “couple” refers to a pair – generally, …
Couple - Wikipedia
Couple, a set of two of items of a type; Couple (mechanics), a pair of force which are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction and separated by a perpendicular distance so that their …
Couple Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
COUPLE meaning: 1 : two people who are married or who have a romantic or sexual relationship; 2 : two people or things that are together pair usually used in the phrase {phrase}in …
Couple Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
Couple definition: Two items of the same kind; a pair.
COUPLE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of COUPLE is two persons married, engaged, or otherwise romantically paired. How to use couple in a sentence. Is couple an adjective?: Usage Guide
Couple - definition of couple by The Free Dictionary
Define couple. couple synonyms, couple pronunciation, couple translation, English dictionary definition of couple. n. 1. Two items of the same kind; a pair. 2. Something that joins or connects …
COUPLE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
A couple is two people who are married or who are having a romantic relationship.
COUPLE | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
COUPLE meaning: 1. two or a few things that are similar or the same, or two or a few people who are in some way…. Learn more.
couple - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
May 13, 2025 · couple (plural couples or couple) A group of two ( especially living beings ; never three or more as in modern English ) : A couple ; two people joined in marriage .
What does CouPLe mean? - Definitions.net
To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another). To join in wedlock; to marry. To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate. Etymology: couple, Fr. copula, Latin. 1. A chain or tye that holds …
"Couple Of" or "Couple" - Difference Explained (+Examples)
We should use the term “couple” when we are strictly speaking about or describing two and only two people, places, things, etc. This is because the term “couple” refers to a pair – generally, two …
Couple - Wikipedia
Couple, a set of two of items of a type; Couple (mechanics), a pair of force which are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction and separated by a perpendicular distance so that their line …
Couple Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
COUPLE meaning: 1 : two people who are married or who have a romantic or sexual relationship; 2 : two people or things that are together pair usually used in the phrase {phrase}in couples{/phrase}
Couple Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
Couple definition: Two items of the same kind; a pair.