Relationships

10 Tips For Getting The Most Out of Couples Counseling

How do you know if you’re getting the most out of your couples counseling, marriage counseling, or relationship guidance sessions? These are Ritual’s top 10 tips.

How to Prepare for Your First Relationship Guidance Session

Attending your first relationship guidance session can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to! Here are 10 tips to help you prepare for your first couples therapy/relationship guidance session.

Why marriages fall apart (and what you can do to save yours)

Marriage is a beautiful journey, but it's no secret that even the strongest bonds face turbulent times. Here, we uncover the hidden reasons behind failing relationships and arm you with actionable strategies to steer your marriage away from destruction and towards enduring happiness.

How to use empathy for forgiveness

Do we need boundaries in a loving relationship?

Love is often seen as the absence of boundaries, but is that really what makes for a healthy relationship? Here we explore why boundaries are especially important for couples and how they can make your connection stronger.

6 Unsexy rituals for better sex

Much attention is given to sex in our relationship. So we often use sex as the relationship health barometer. Are we having it? Is it good? Are we having it enough? If I don’t want it, is that normal? Then we place values on the answers to these questions - determining and interpreting things about ourselves, our partner and our relationship - based on sex. But here’s the thing, the way we understand sex, is actually not personal.

6 tips to keep the long-term spark alive

Routine, security, and stability are all virtues of a long term relationship. The down side of these wonderful gains can sometimes be dullness, numbness, and stagnation. B o r i n g. We believe that long term relationships can be absolutely thrilling, with endless possibilities, adventures, and excitement.

5 Tips for a Playful Relationship

Infusing play in your relationships is like breathing life into it - like breathing air into a deflated balloon, a good dose of play can revive any stale relationship. It’s no wonder that that Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, compares play to oxygen - we don’t realize how important it is, until we don’t have it. Play activates the executive functioning in our brain in a way that invites vitality, curiosity, innovation, problem solving - plus it’s FUN.

Stay in the Heat

Getting great doesn’t happen overnight, and the same goes for relationships. It takes time and effort, and basically, a really good workout regime. Ask yourself how have you been approaching your relationships? Have you been a fan on the bleachers? Or are you out there bringing your A-game? Are you practicing, committing, and showing up how you want to be? Or is there somewhere that could use some more of your attention and focus?

Your relationship feels like work?

Professionally, we strive for growth and opportunity. We read leadership books and listen to all the podcasts. We hire business coaches, and run side gigs galore. We want to climb the ladder, and we’re willing to learn, work overtime, dedicate our weekends, and prioritize work over our personal lives for the sake of our professional future. But, do we invest as much in our relational future?

Ready, set, start the damn car!

We’ve inherited so many things from our family which influence our core beliefs, behaviors, and our relationships - big time. But unlike our genes, becoming aware of our core beliefs and how they influence our behavior can help us reflect on whether they serve or limit us. And then we can choose to make a change.

I want to thank you, for allowing me to meet myself

Have you ever shared a challenge with your partner and been met with a “don’t worry, you’re great.” While our partner may mean to support us or cheer us up, this response can often end up making us feel alone and unseen. Here’s a Ritual reframe on what actually happens in those moments, and how we can turn them into deeply intimate moments of growth, between you and your partner, and you and you.

10 Signs You and Your Partner Need Couples Support

How do you know if you need relationship help? These are the 10 signs you and your partner should speak with an expert.