Dating
As a therapist specializing in relationships, I spend a lot of time discussing dating patterns, intimacy and commitment. Many clients decide to enter therapy when they realize that their romantic life has felt unsatisfying for years. When a client expresses pain or frustration about difficulty finding love, it is often helpful to focus on the…
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Breakups are rough. Some rougher than others. And when the breakup happens suddenly, with no warning, the sting of what therapists often call a “cut-off” can feel as unsettling as the loss of the relationship. Cut-offs refer to important relationships that stalemate when one person refuses contact with another. In dating, the current popular term…
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Romantic relationships are complicated, intense, beautiful entities that can be challenging to nurture and sustain. Today’s persistent emphasis on high-speed solutions, high-tech communications, and ubiquitous social networking can compromise the development of a simple, organic union between two like-minded people hoping to find love. For those who struggle with sexual addiction, a long-term committed relationship…
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Most of us experience some form of social anxiety. We may feel nervous before a social gathering or slightly agitated during group activities. In the extreme, social anxiety compromises the ability to connect to another person in an intimate relationship. Jean-Pierre Ameris’ 2010 French film “Les Emotifs Anonymous” is a comedic but meaningful study of what happens…
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A painful breakup is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy. Breakups are almost never easy, and almost never mutual. Most people going through a breakup say they wish they could reverse their situation back into a relationship. However, as much as losing a relationship can hurt, breakups also carry the opportunity for…
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As a therapist working with adults in their twenties, thirties and forties, many of whom are single, I frequently discuss the way that technology affects dating and relationships with my clients. I often wonder what the future will look like, and how much farther the internet revolution will infiltrate and impact the human experience of…
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Ben Stiller, 2013, 114 minutes The intersection of dating and technology is an inevitable topic for single adults in therapy. Whether discussing questions about the choice to pursue on-line dating, or how Facebook, Instagram and texting shape the modern relationship landscape, technology has a profound influence over the process of seeking romance and connection. Directed…
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Written and Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 90 minutes, 2013 Internet porn has changed relationships and marriages in more ways than a couples therapist can count. Questions on the pornography front are quite common. Is it okay to watch together? Is it okay to watch it alone? If so, how much is too much? These questions…
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(2007, Zoe Cassavetes, 93 minutes) When you are single, it can seem like absolutely everyone is in a relationship. It can also seem like everyone expects you to find a relationship. People can say and do the most hurtful and insensitive things to convey the message that you are somehow less than those who are…
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(2013, Nicole Holofcener, 93 minutes) In his final film, James Gandolfini is extraordinary. For years, Gandolfini mastered the portrayal of the ultimate bad-boy that women fell for against all better judgement. In Enough Said, a new film by Nicole Holofcener, Gandolfini portrays Albert, a warm-hearted, middle-aged, television historian. With his large and gentle heart, this anti-Tony Soprano embodies the ultimate…
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