Forget fair fighting, what you and your partner should aim for is win-win problem solving. According to psychologist Dr Susan Heitler, If you can learn to investigate and share the deep-seated emotions behind a particular argument, the two of you can emerge stronger and more connected as a couple.

In this week’s episode, Andrew and Susan explore how childhood patterns can be replicated in adult relationships, and discuss a case-study in which a couple is able to overcome a disagreement over food waste that had brought them to the brink of divorce. 

Dr Susan Heitler is a Harvard-educated clinical psychologist with a doctorate from NYU. She has authored multiple self-help books, plus books for therapists on treatment techniques. She aims to show how to handle life's bumps—the conflicts, difficult interactions, negative feelings, traumas, and tough decisions—in ways that sustain a sense of well-being. Dr Heitler’s articles on Psychology Today have received over 24 million reads.

Subscriber Content This Week

If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:

⭐️What can marriage counselling do that individual work cannot?

⭐️Three things Susan Heitler knows to be true.

⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

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Visit Susan Heitler’s websites: prescriptionswithoutpills.com and therapyhelp.com

Read Susan Heitler’s books, including Prescriptions Without Pills and The Power of Two: Secrets to a Strong and Loving Marriage.  

Read Susan Heitler’s articles for Psychology Today 

Watch Susan Heitler’s TEDX talk on Lift Depression With These Three Prescriptions - Without Pills. 

You might also enjoy Andrew’s interviews with Avrum Weiss on Couples and Anxiety; or with  Tonya Lester on How to Have Healthy Conflict. 

Get Andrew’s advice on building a stronger relationship in his book The Happy Couple’s Handbook: Powerful Life Hacks for a Successful Relationship. 

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall