Dr. Talal Al-Saleem breaks down the complexities of infidelity from definition to recovery, offering hope through his specialized Systematic Affair Recovery Therapy approach. He challenges common misconceptions about infidelity causes and provides practical guidance for both healing after betrayal and safeguarding relationships against it.

• Understanding infidelity as a breach of the unique exclusivity contract between partners
• Recognizing that infidelity stems from three categories: relationship factors, individual factors, and socio-environmental factors
• Acknowledging that good people can make awful mistakes like infidelity
• Setting the stage for healing by staying together (if safe), avoiding contact with affair partners, and protecting children from details
• Safeguarding relationships through introspection, clear partner "job descriptions," and weekly relationship check-ins
• Seeing infidelity recovery as an opportunity to make informed decisions about the future, whether together or apart
• Understanding that vulnerability to infidelity exists in all relationships, requiring ongoing vigilance

Check out Dr. Talal Al-Saleem's resources at systematicaffairrecoverytherapy.com for clinicians and Infidelity Counseling Center for clients. His books and YouTube channel "The Infidelity Doctor" offer valuable insights for both professionals and individuals dealing with infidelity.

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Dr. Jeffrey Du shares groundbreaking research identifying four key factors for a stronger marriage: commitment, protectiveness, shared religious attendance, and regular date nights. These factors emerged from data collected from over 2,000 individuals across the United States, focusing specifically on elements within couples' control.

• Commitment means intentionally prioritizing your spouse and marriage amid busy lives
• Protectiveness involves emotional safeguarding, loyalty, and consistently having your spouse's back
• Shared religious attendance creates deeper connection through joint spiritual experiences
• Regular date nights (at least twice monthly) significantly boost marital happiness
• Shared financial decision-making and joint bank accounts correlate with higher marital satisfaction
• Small, daily actions matter more for relationship health than occasional grand gestures
• Marriage requires intentionality – like a plant needing daily sunshine and regular water
• Premarital education provides couples with important foundations for success

For more information, visit the Institute for Family Studies website or contact Dr. Jeffrey Du directly at [email protected].

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Lisa Valentine Clark shares her extraordinary journey of love and resilience through her husband Christopher's battle with ALS, offering profound insights on how their marriage was strengthened through humor, sacrifice, and intentionally seeking joy amid terminal illness.

• Starting as friends performing in a comedy play at BYU—Lisa as a chicken, Christopher as Satan—created a foundation of laughter and friendship for their 25-year marriage
• Humor played a crucial role in their relationship, making each other laugh even through the darkest moments
• When Christopher was diagnosed with ALS in 2020, Lisa describes entering "go time" mode, committing fully to caregiving while he continued creating art until his final days
• During COVID lockdown, Christopher invited friends to entertain him through their living room window, creating unexpected moments of connection and joy
• The diagnosis shifted their marriage from equitable to sacrificial, with Lisa caring for Christopher and him focusing on leaving meaningful legacies for her and their five children 
• Christopher orchestrated a surprise 25th wedding anniversary celebration two days before his death, demonstrating his outward focus even when dying
• Lisa emphasizes loyalty to friendship as the key to a stronger marriage—seeing your spouse as your best friend and being their biggest cheerleader
• Being fully present in the moment allowed them to find unexpected joy even during the most difficult circumstances
• Lisa's advice for couples facing health challenges: "Go all in" on caregiving without worrying about consequences
• For those who have lost someone: "You don't honor love by ceasing to exist—you honor it by loving, creating and living"

Listen to Lisa's podcasts, The Lisa Show and Council of Moms, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Dr. Liz Hale:

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Dr. Steve Harris joins us to explain discernment counseling, a specialized approach helping couples gain clarity about whether to work on their marriage or move toward divorce.

• Developed at the University of Minnesota after research showed 30% of divorcing couples had at least one person who didn't want the divorce
• Differs from traditional couples therapy by focusing on decision-making clarity rather than relationship improvement
• Designed specifically for "mixed-agenda couples" where one partner wants to work on the marriage while the other is considering divorce
• Creates a structured space where ambivalence about the relationship is welcomed and explored
• Presents three paths: continuing the status quo, moving toward divorce, or committing to six months of intensive work on the relationship
• Typically runs 1-5 sessions with both joint and individual components
• Helps both partners recognize their own contributions to marital problems, not just their partner's failings
• Results show approximately 51% choose to work on their marriage, with 70-75% of those successfully repairing their relationship
• Even couples who ultimately divorce benefit from better understanding and communication

Visit MinnesotaCouplesOnTheBrink.org or discernmentcounseling.com to learn more and find trained counselors in your area.

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Dr. Liz Hale:

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Chad Ford returns to share powerful insights from his new book 70x7, exploring how fear drives conflict and how radical forgiveness can transform our marriages and relationships. His work as an international conflict mediator brings unique perspectives on moving from destructive to constructive conflict patterns.

• Understanding that conflict is natural and inevitable in marriage—the goal isn't eliminating conflict but handling it well
• Recognizing common conflict styles: avoidance (burying issues), accommodation (always giving in), and competition (needing to win)
• Practicing the "risk of embrace"—opening arms in invitation, waiting, embracing, and gracefully letting go
• Moving beyond "forgive and forget" to true reconciliation through truth, forgiveness, justice, and assurance of change
• "Rolling away stones"—choosing to give partners what they need rather than what we think they deserve
• Transforming complaints into invitations for deeper connection
• Starting "close in" by practicing conflict transformation skills at home before tackling larger societal conflicts

Visit DangerousLoveBook.com or ChadFord.Substack.com to sign up for free conflict transformation resources, including conflict style assessments and articles on healthy boundaries.

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Dr. Liz Hale:

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How do you transform relationship challenges into opportunities for growth? What does it mean to truly flourish together beyond mere happiness? When hardship strikes, what separates couples who crumble from those who emerge stronger?

Dr. Nathan Lenhart, assistant professor at Brigham Young University and author of "The Science of Virtue," tackles these profound questions with refreshing clarity. He introduces the concept of "capital R Resilience" versus "lowercase r resilience" – distinguishing between transformative crucible experiences and smaller but meaningful gains from everyday challenges.

Through the practical ABCX model (Stressor + Resources + Perception = Stress Response), Dr. Lenhart unpacks how couples can navigate everything from cancer diagnoses to daily work-family conflicts. He emphasizes that our resources (community support, extended family) and especially our perception of events dramatically affect our resilience trajectory. As he poignantly notes, sometimes the question isn't "why did this happen?" but rather "how can we make the most of this time together?"

The conversation deepens as Dr. Lenhart challenges our culture's fixation on happiness and satisfaction, which he describes as "fragile" and often "hollow" when pursued individualistically. Instead, he advocates for relationship flourishing – characterized by meaning, belonging, and growth – as a more stable foundation that withstands life's inevitable storms. His cross-cultural research reveals how Americans who chase happiness often end up less fulfilled than those in more relationally-focused cultures, suggesting our approach to happiness itself might need recalibrating.

Perhaps most thought-provoking is Dr. Lenhart's assertion that virtues like gratitude, forgiveness, and humility underlie truly successful relationships, more fundamental than even communication skills. "It doesn't matter how effectively you're communicating if you're communicating your distaste for each other," he observes. His recommendation to find inspiring relationships to emulate acknowledges that transformation often begins with inspiration rather than instruction.

Whether you're facing acute trauma or chronic stressors in your relationship, this episode offers both practical frameworks and profound wisdom. Listen now to discover how you can not just survive challenges together, but genuinely flourish through them.

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Dr. Liz Hale:

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Dr. Alexandra Stockwell shares her journey from physician to intimacy coach and reveals how couples can create passionately intimate marriages through authenticity rather than compromise. She offers transformative insights on cultivating everyday eroticism, communicating with kindness, and deepening emotional connection to enhance sensual experiences.

• Developing "everyday eroticism" by making conscious choices to embody sensuality in daily activities
• Distinguishing between "nice" communication that suppresses authenticity and "kind" communication that honors both partners
• Understanding how "uncompromising intimacy" creates more passion than traditional compromises
• Identifying different types of conversations and framing them clearly for better understanding
• Using the question "How old do I feel right now?" to recognize when younger parts of ourselves are driving reactions
• Maintaining genuine curiosity about your partner through intentional questions
• Focusing on quality rather than quantity for both physical intimacy and date nights
• Recognizing that having a fantastic relationship is a learnable skill that anyone can develop

Visit alexandrastockwell.com to learn about Dr. Stockwell's coaching programs, book "Uncompromising Intimacy," and podcast "The Intimate Marriage Podcast."

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Dr. Liz Hale:

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Visit our site for FREE relationship resources and regular giveaways:

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Dr. Dave Schramm:

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Dr. Liz Hale:

http://www.drlizhale.com

Julie Blackburn shares her expertise on helping couples maintain strong relationships during the challenging transition to parenthood, drawing on her experience as a registered nurse, midwife, and Bringing Baby Home educator.

• 67% of couples become unhappy with each other during the first three years of their baby's life
• The greatest gift you can give your baby is a happy and strong relationship between parents
• Parenting differences stem from our upbringing and personal experiences
• The "secret sauce" for healthy relationships includes maintaining friendship, regulating conflict, and creating shared meaning
• Criticism can cause partners (especially dads) to withdraw from parenting involvement
• When dad is unhappy in his relationship with mom, a gulf often grows between him and his child
• Father involvement is crucial for child development, affecting temperament, self-regulation, confidence, and academic performance
• Military families face unique challenges requiring extra intentionality in maintaining connection
• The Gottman card deck app offers structured ways to maintain meaningful conversations and express needs without criticism
• Keeping an emotional "bank account" full through expressions of fondness and admiration sustains relationships through challenges

The key to a stronger marriage connection is friendship and kindness. Remember to remain each other's best friend, hold space for each other, and keep telling your partner how much you appreciate them.

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Dr. Dave Schramm:

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Dr. Liz Hale:

http://www.drlizhale.com

Greg Denning shares his journey from a troubled childhood to creating an extraordinary marriage and family life while traveling to over 60 countries with his wife and seven children. His positive energy and unique ability to inspire others stems from his personal transformation after leaving home at 16 and experiencing homelessness before discovering the secrets to creating a happy life.

• Making marriage the true priority by saying no to anything that competes with the relationship
• Using micro deposits (daily acts of connection) and macro deposits (regular getaways and annual honeymoon trips) to invest in marriage
• Applying the "Silent Film Test" – asking if observers would know your spouse is your priority based only on actions
• Working on yourself first – resolving personal issues that create obstacles in your marriage
• Understanding that men can increase their capacity to handle pressure through mindset shifts and physical health
• Learning to truly listen to your spouse without trying to fix or respond
• Strategically creating systems that enable you to manage complex family life without burnout
• Remembering the marriage equation: as you improve yourself, the relationship improves even if only one partner is initially working on it

We live at the level of our habits, not our hopes. Don't settle for a mediocre marriage – keep pursuing your dream of a phenomenal relationship through consistent small adjustments that create big differences over time.

Visit our site for FREE relationship resources and regular giveaways:

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Facebook Marriage Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/770019130329579

Dr. Dave Schramm:

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Dr. Liz Hale:

http://www.drlizhale.com