Zach is a bit annoyed with his auto dealer. Laura is downsizing her car to a much bigger vehicle.

They go on to discuss the importance of positive collusion with your partner to better yourself and your relationship. They offer a number of personal examples as well as some tips and tricks to see growth in any marriage.

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Zach and Laura welcome Dr. Jessica Higgins to the podcast. They discuss the importance of acknowledging and expressing emotions, modeling vulnerability, and using language that promotes curiosity and understanding in communication. They emphasize the need to slow down, bring awareness to interpretations, and create space for regulating emotions during interactions.

Learn more about Dr. Higgins and her work at https://drjessicahiggins.com/

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Zach and Laura discuss the role of Wordle in their lives. Laura had a fun conversation with her kid after he walked in on her and her husband. 

In a roundabout way, this reminds Zach of a tool he's been using in his practice to help couples make meaning of their decisions and experiences. 

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Zach and Laura discuss their New Year's goals. They reflect on a kind listener's email offering some critique.

In the spirit of new beginnings, they offer a ton of insight into what to do when you are feeling stuck or you feel like your partner is keeping you stuck.

Sponsor:

Paired. Download the PAIRED app at https://www.paired.com/MTR

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Zach and Laura hear from Dr. Nick Sotelo about his work helping men manage their anger. Nick has a fascinating background that gives him a unique perspective on unmanaged anger. He has developed many helpful resources for men to address this in their lives.

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Laura wasn't really feeling the Christmas spirit this year.  Zach started his Christmas morning around 11. Laura accidentally stole half of a sign. 

They reflect together on Christmas cards and how to be authentic but also remind each other that we are OK.  They talk a bit about broken hearts and early relationships and spend time reflecting on this last year and their hopes for the new year. 

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Zach and Laura reflect a bit on making it to 300 hundred episodes and what they hope listeners have gained along the way.

Zach tells Laura how he has learned from her in the different way that she approaches thinking and talking about sharing fondness and admiration. It leads to a great conversation about how to appreciate your partner and love them the way they want to be loved.

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Zach reflects on some of what he heard at a recent therapist conference. It leads to a wonderful discussion of the different parts of ourselves that we bring to our relationships and how we can access those parts for the improvement of our marriages and partnerships. 

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Zach and Laura get to the topic they teased last episode. It is an exercise that couples can use to safely discuss the unspoken topics in their relationship. If done well, it will lead to greater intimacy, understanding, and maybe some makeup sex :)

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Zach and Laura's kid kind of sing a song together. Laura discusses toilet time with your partner, leading to a great discussion about different types of intimacy. She hoped to work out an exercise she's been doing with her clients, but she and Zach got distracted.

At the end of the episode, Laura shares an important update about what she is doing to support her son's recent diagnosis.

Sponsors:

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