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  It’s summertime! Time for sun, time for water, time for vacations, time for family, and a great time to nurture your marriage or relationship. Prioritizing spending quality time with one another on a regular basis is important for your relationship. But how can you go about nurturing your relationship this summer? It’s not always enough just to be together in the same space. It’s also important to connect purposefully. Planning a weekly date where you can have that meaningful connection without all the added distractions of kids, family, work, and outside stress is one way to create a space for meaningful connection. This summer, make your marriage a priority. Set aside time to go on dates, build your friendship, and truly enjoy one another. How to plan meaningful dates When you sit down to plan your next date, try thinking about what type of connection your relationship really needs at the moment . What have you been missing? Do you need time to talk about the things you...

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  As couples therapists, we work with people who are focused on improving their relationships. While important work is done during our sessions, it’s limited to 50 minutes every 1-2 weeks. If you aren’t attending regular couples therapy sessions, but still want to work on your relationship, there are many books available to help couples learn new ways to examine and strengthen their relationships. These books describe philosophies, tools, and techniques that couples can also practice between counseling sessions. Here are 4 of my top picks of books to help you improve your marriage or relationship. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert By John M. Gottman PhD & Nan Silver John Gottman is a total rockstar in the couples counseling world and has done such extensive research that he has been able to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is...

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  These days, planning for a wedding is a big deal, and the amount of money that goes into a the big day can be quite a lot! While many couples make it a priority to spend money on engagement parties, great food, flowers, music, a fancy Austin wedding venue, and more, they often overlook premarital counseling. It’s not really thought of as a necessary wedding planning expense. It’s funny... the whole reason you’re having a wedding in the first place is because of your relationship. You love each other, have committed to one another, and plan to spend your lives together. Above all else, the relationship is the most important piece. Yet, it gets overshadowed by all of the other tasks that come along with wedding planning. If you want a long-lasting marriage, premarital counseling is a reasonable and essential wedding planning expense. “Attend premarital counseling” really is a box that needs to be checked on that long list of wedding planning tasks. But instead of thinking of ...