Although relationship science has shown that relationship health is as real as mental and physical health, and that relationship health has powerful effects on mental health, physical health, and the health and welfare of children, relationship healthcare remains decades behind dental and physical healthcare. This is especially true when it comes to regular preventative care and early intervention. Like all the systems within our bodies, our relationships require attention in order to thrive. The Marriage Checkup (MC) is one way clinicians can create spaces where partners can, for a moment, leave the busywork of daily life behind and reenter the intimate space between them with loving attention. The MC is a short, two-session, assessment and feedback marital health check designed to help couples confront their problems on an annual basis. It provides partners with a regular forum in which to examine that for which they are most grateful and that about which they are genuinely concerned. Designed to foster and deepen intimacy, the MC provides couples with feedback from which they can discover new ideas about how to best serve the health of their marriage and the intimacy of their connection. In this book, James V. Cordova describes how clinicians can encourage partners to maintain their marital health by attending to their strengths, managing their areas of conflict gracefully, and regularly providing the relationship with loving attention. He also shows how to prevent marital health deterioration by attuning partners to corrosive patterns in their relationship. Useful early interventions are described and illustrated generously with case examples. Therapists working with partners who are already severely distressed when they present for their Marriage Checkup will learn how to motivate them to seek out more extensive tertiary care.

The Marriage Checkup is designed to help couples assess the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship and to develop strategies for strengthening its health. Like physical health, the health of a relationship can be developed to greater levels of fitness and resilience to illness. Thus, even healthy couples can benefit from a marital health perspective by developing exercises for optimizing their health and fitness. This book primarily serves couples interested in improving the health of their relationship. Counselors and therapists may recommend that their couples-patients use the book. Additionally, the book may be of interest to professors of marriage and family counseling.

"The Marriage Checkup" provides a perfect tuneup for all married couples: those happily so, those who seldom think about their marriage and those who simply deny that problems exist and never discuss possible ways to improve the way they relate to one another. This interactive tool includes a marriage history, communication inventory, marital satisfaction assessment and much more! This is more than another how-to marriage book. It's an interactive journey that helps couples diagnose the health of their marriage, test their marriage with a self-guided quiz and tools to show them the strengths and weaknesses of their marriage.

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.

The Marriage Checkup Questionnaire uses a Q and A format to help couples "take the temperature" of their marriage, discover its pluses and confront areas that may need more work. An excellent resource for pastors and counselors to streamline the counseling process or use in marriage enrichment seminars. This is the first marriage inventory available over the counter, no prescription necessary. It also helps make counseling easier and faster and includes a couple's history questionnaire for communication and marital satisfaction assessments, and much more.

Ryan and Selena Frederick were newlyweds when they landed in Switzerland to pursue Selena's dream of training horses. Neither of them knew at the time that Ryan was living out a death sentence brought on by a worsening genetic heart defect. Soon it became clear he needed major surgery that could either save his life--or result in his death on the operating table. The young couple prepared for the worst. When Ryan survived, they both realized that they still had a future together. But the near loss changed the way they saw all that would lie ahead. They would live and love fiercely, fighting for each other and for a Christ-centered marriage, every step of the way. Fierce Marriage is their story, but more than that, it is a call for married couples to put God first in their relationship, to measure everything they do and say to each other against what Christ did for them, and to see marriage not just as a relationship they should try to keep healthy but also as one worth fighting for in every situation. With the gospel as their foundation, Ryan and Selena offer hope and practical help for common struggles in marriage, including communication problems, sexual frustration, financial stress, family tension, screen-time disconnection, and unrealistic expectations.

Are You Planning a Wedding or Preparing for a Marriage? Like most engaged couples, you’re researching venues, trying on dresses and picking out tuxedos or suits, tasting sample dishes, dreaming of honeymoon destinations, and doing everything to ensure your wedding day is the event of a lifetime. But as more seasoned couples will tell you, there’s more to a marriage than a wedding. A lot more. How do you build a marriage that you’ve dreamed of? Dr. Greg Smalley, vice president of marriage at Focus on the Family, and his wife, Erin, along with 14 marriage experts, serve as your marriage guides as you prepare for life beyond the wedding day. From how to handle those everyday conflicts to how to better connect on a spiritual level, they’ll show you how to get ready for a lifetime of commitment. When the flowers have faded and the last morsel of cake has been eaten, you’ll stand with your new spouse, ready to face life together. Equip yourself for a marriage that lasts by learning: How to leave your parents (while still honoring them) and cleave to your spouse Why spiritual intimacy is key to a lasting relationship Why the language of love is communication (and how to build it) How to manage conflict in a healthy, God-honoring way Why sexual intimacy in your marriage will be the gift that keeps on giving Invest in a marriage that will last for decades. Are you ready?

"How to Counsel a Couple in 6 Sessions or Less" makes it easier to counsel couples over a brief period of time, but also addresses major marital issues of communication, family issues, decision making and more. This highly practical resource for pastors - or anyne in ministry - can be used with "The Marriage Checkup Questionnaire" or as a stand alone tool for quickly diagnosing problems and referring couples to a professional, as necessary.

RELIGION & BELIEFS. It's Time for a Relationship Checkup! Getting routine physicals and dental checkups is essential to your health. And your car needs a regular oil change. But what about your relationship? Dating and married couples rarely, if ever, do a checkup on their relationship. But the sooner you identify problems and find ways to resolve them, the easier it will be to create a strong future. And the sooner you discover your relationship strengths and build on them, the deeper and more intimate your relationship will be. Each chapter of The Remarriage Checkup explores one of the key qualities of happy remarriage relationships. Like a GPS device for your relationship, this book has a CPS (Couple Positioning System) and built-in discussion questions that can help you and your partner discover where you are, where you'd like to be, and how to get there.

Grounded in extensive research and clinical experience, this indispensable book addresses the "whats," "whys," and "how-tos" of conducting effective marriage and relationship education. Leading authority W. Kim Halford reviews a range of contemporary models and provides an in-depth description of his own approach, Couple CARE. Session-by-session guidelines for therapists show how to help groups or individual couples—including those facing major life changes or stressors—foster closeness and communication, manage conflicts, and prevent common relationship problems. The book also explains how to use commercially available online assessment tools to help each couple develop their own relationship goals. It includes 35 reproducible handouts and forms.