Taking a break during a heated argument can protect your relationship, but only if you know how to come back. Drawing on my clinical experience, I explore the mistakes couples often make when using timeouts, why emotional withdrawal can become a problem, and how to reconnect after conflict.
Criticism often carries an emotion or unmet need that has not found a clearer way to be expressed. Learn how to distinguish criticism from a complaint, understand what may be underneath it, and interrupt the criticism-defensiveness cycle.
Learn how couples can recover from criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling through emotional regulation, responsibility, and genuine repair.
