marriage

"Attention is a resource: a person has only so much of it… What if we saw attention in the same way that we saw air or water, as a valuable resource?"¹

The Family Institute is bringing our "Let’s Talk" series to a new platform — Facebook live video. Each month, a host will have a conversation with a different therapist at The Family Institute on a topic related to mental health and relationship, providing tips for our Facebook audience — all happening live.

Though he found himself to be older than his classmates, he knew he came to Northwestern for a reason, to become a marriage and family therapist after a long career in consulting.

In this episode of our podcast series "Let's Talk," Neil Venketramen, therapist at The Family Institute, interviews Emily Klear, director of Couple Services.

You probably never thought about lowering your voice during an argument. You probably never heard about the power of reducing your volume when tempers flare and emotions spill over. Here's what you need to know:

In our primary relationship, we all want to be understood. We want our partners to "get" us. Whether we're upset or joyful or sad, whether we're disappointed, excited, or discouraged, we want our partner to accept and understand what it is we're feeling.

It has long been understood that there is a connection between long-term relationships and health. There is also a reciprocal relationship between marriage and health, where not only is marriage affected by illness, but the quality of marriage can actually influence the course of an illness.