It is bad enough to lie to someone else, worse yet to lie to oneself.  Alvean and Doug talk about the ways in which we can deceive ourselves even though that may not be our intention, and how we can spot these tendencies if or when they emerge.  For a full transcript, click here: LL15.

To love openly and honestly requires vulnerability creating the potential for heartbreak if a relationship founders.  In this episode, Alvean and Doug talk about the grieving process that occurs when a relationship ends and talk about the ways in which one can use the experience to learn and grow stronger.  For more and a complete transcript, click here:LL14

In this episode, Alvean and Doug follow last week's post 'Surviving Infidelity' with a discussion on the ways in which couples can work together to prevent cheating, and create a relationship based in trust and transparency. For a full transcript of the episode, click here:LL13

It is one of the hardest trials to overcome, when someone with whom you are in relationship violates trust and cheats.  Can love survive this offense or is everything poisoned forever?  Alvean and Doug talk about the redemptive power of forgiveness and the steps one must take to find a way back to a loving, honest and abiding relationship. For a full transcript, click here: LL12

Alvean and Doug dish about the best advice they each have received over the years.  Some surprising counsel is on hand in this episode and complete transcript of which can be found here: LL11

Whether it's a difference of race, religion, nationality or any other cultural divide, relationships can get more interesting and sometimes more complicated when the partners come from different backgrounds.  Alvean and Doug talk about the hurdles and the ways in which they can be surmounted in this episode.  For more and a full transcript, click here: LL10

When children are involved relationships get more complicated and especially when those children are from a prior marriage.  How and when to blend two families is a critical question deserving of patience and tact--especially if there are exes involved who are birth parents.  In this episode, Alvean and Doug take on the many issues surrounding blended families and offer some counsel about how to approach it.  For more and a full transcript, click here: LL09

Many of us were raised in a traditional family structure and are used to the idea that the man in the family is the breadwinner. In today's world that assumption can be a presumption as women take their rightful place in the working world and attain positions that compensate them at levels that may be more--even a good deal more than their partner.  In a perfect world that should not be an issue but it can result in some friction if it is not addressed early and both partners have a healthy sense of self esteem. In this episode Alvean and Doug explore the ways in which couples can navigate this arrangement successfully.  For more and a complete transcript click here: LL08

Maybe you've heard a friend say it, or perhaps said it yourself:  Why can't I find a good man, a good women?  Are they all taken, or are your requirements simply too picky?  Alvean and Doug unpack the question in this episode and explore the reasons we find some people attractive and others not so much--and how we can sometimes sabotage ourselves by finding faults that may or may not exist even before a relationship has a chance of getting started.  For more and a full transcript click here: LL07

Breaking up a relationship is never easy and it shouldn't be, after all at one time you both were in love or thought you were.  Regardless of the reasons for ending it, there is a right and a wrong way to go about it.  In this episode Alvean and Doug offer some insight and suggestions about how to minimize the pain for both of you.  For more and a full transcript, click here: LL06