How lessons from couple’s therapy can help you have better conversation with your relatives during the holidays. That’s this week’s Tune Up Tuesday – a little nugget you can use to tune up your relationships.
So, I’m specifically thinking about this in terms of political discussions that may come up. You know that in a healthy relationship, you can’t get too hung up on who’s right. You can’t build a strong relationship while constantly trying to win the latest argument.
Now consider this in terms of our country’s political divide. What if it could be helped with some good, old-fashioned marriage counseling? What if therapy techniques like “I” statements, or mirroring with things like.. “What I’m hearing you say is” – what if that could diffuse a tense conversation or prevent it from getting tense to begin with? What if instead of trying to change or shame your political opposites, you instead listened to understand where they’re coming from. If that sounds a little hippy-dippy, it might be. But consider this — no relationship can survive in a state of mutual contempt, believing the other is nothing but evil.
In addition to hosting mornings on B105.7, Sean Copeland is studying to be a therapist.
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