If every relationship goes through harmony, disharmony, and repair, an affair can be to the relationship like taking a hammer to a piece of ceramic – completely shattering everything that the couple has known their relationship to be. And, to be clear, there’s a long road of repair ahead for the couple who decides to work on the relationship, so it’s understandable that not every couple chooses to.

Shamon and I recently had the opportunity to attend a Kintsugi workshop. Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese art of putting broken pieces of pottery back together with gold. Surprisingly, the put-back-together piece ends up being stronger than the original piece. This is a metaphor that I use often with couples who come in for affair recovery, so I was eager to actually EXPERIENCE it.

If you’re feeling emotionally disconnected or struggling with communication in your relationship, you might be considering couples coaching. Relationship coaching offers a powerful way to strengthen your connection, work through conflicts, and foster emotional growth. However, it’s important to understand what relationship coaching truly entails. Whether you’re dealing with ongoing conflicts or simply looking to deepen your emotional intimacy, relationship coaching can be a transformative experience.

Whether you’re experiencing conflicts, emotional disconnection, or communication difficulties in your relationship, coaching can be a valuable resource to help you and your partner reconnect and build healthier dynamics. However, these myths often prevent couples from exploring coaching as a viable option for support.

If you’re facing frequent conflicts, emotional disconnection, or communication challenges in your relationship, you might be wondering whether relationship coaching is the right step for you. You are not alone—many couples experience similar difficulties, and relationship coaching can offer practical tools and guidance to help you create a healthier, more fulfilling relationship.

At Harper Therapy, we use the Relational Life Therapy (RLT) model for couples coaching and couples therapy. This model for working with couples is a fantastic framework. Working with relationships can be very complex work. It often requires more than just basic therapeutic skills.

As a person navigating the complexities of life and relationships, you understand how crucial emotional intelligence, personal development, and open communication are to a healthy partnership. Yet, when faced with frequent conflicts, emotional disconnection, or struggles in communication with your life partner, it can feel like all the knowledge in the world isn't enough to bring you closer. If this resonates with you, you're not alone—and now might be the perfect time to consider couples coaching to help rekindle the connection in your relationship.

Containing boundaries are helpful when we are reactive and when we are acting in ways that are outside of our values and our best selves.

Psychological boundaries are different.  They are an internal boundary that separates our mind from the minds of others literally in our own heads.

There are four kinds of boundaries that Shore teachers, external, psychological, containing, and physical.  External boundaries are between you and other people, psychological and containing boundaries are inner boundaries that support external boundaries.  Physical boundaries can be both internal and external.

When you think about how most women are raised, we are raised to consider our own needs second or third if at all.  So the idea of setting boundaries can feel selfish or unkind and this can make it difficult to have boundaries.

Thank you for considering our Relationship Bootcamp Workshop. We believe in transparency and want to ensure that our program is the right fit for you and your partner. While our workshop is designed to help many couples strengthen their relationships, it may not be suitable for everyone. Here’s a brief overview of who might not benefit fully from this experience.