Bennett & Murphy Ltd

21/04/2020

What can help you keep your relationships strong even when you can’t get together with people you care about? Bill O’Hanlon, MS has several strategies for fending off loneliness and building relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic poses a lot of new challenges for relationships. But with some creativity, you can keep enjoying quality time with friends and family alike. [ 48 more words ]

What can help you keep your relationships strong even when you can’t get together with people you care about? Bill O’Hanlon, MS has several strategies for fending off loneliness and bui…

13/04/2020

As life in lockdown becomes our new normal, you may be asking how you can maintain your wellbeing and relationships under these conditions. The University of Auckland's Dr Jessica Maxwell and Professor Nickola Overall offer some advice on how to maintain your wellbeing and relationships under extreme conditions. This is about a 10 to 15-minute read, but well worth the effort and includes a number of links to some very useful resources. Read the full article here Cheers, Ben Bennett.

As life in lockdown becomes our new normal, you may be asking how you can maintain your wellbeing and relationships under these conditions. The University of Auckland’s Dr Jessica Maxwell and…

04/09/2018

There are lots of moments throughout every day when we have the opportunity to continue to build a positive connection with our partner. These are often small, seemingly insignificant moments that offer us the opportunity to increase the overall positive feelings we have for one another. Throughout the day we and our partner (and children, friends, co-workers etc) make what the Gottmans called "bids for connection". [ 196 more words ]

There are lots of moments throughout every day when we have the opportunity to continue to build a positive connection with our partner.  These are often small, seemingly insignifica…

13/11/2017

Whether it’s about not having enough s*x, the dirty laundry, or spending too much money, conflict is inevitable in every marriage and committed relationship. To understand the difference between happy and unhappy couples, Dr. Gottman and Robert Levenson began doing longitudinal studies of couples in the 1970s. They asked couples to solve a conflict in their relationship in 15 minutes, then sat back and watched. [ 1,371 more word ]

Whether it’s about not having enough s*x, the dirty laundry, or spending too much money, conflict is inevitable in every marriage and committed relationship. To understand the diffe…

07/11/2016

The Four Horsemen.
http://relationshipsblog.co.nz/the-four-horsemen/

Once upon a time I was a young man attending university. I went to Massey in Palmerston North, and a couple of times a year I enjoyed a day at the races with my friends. A few days before race day ...

29/08/2016

When I was growing up, I occasionally heard the phrase "their marriage is on the rocks". At that time in my life, my family would spend part of the summer holidays at Ohope Beach, or sometimes up the coast from Gisborne. My dad & I would spend time fishing off some rocky outcrop, with one eye on the line and the other on the sea surging in and out at our feet. [ 508 more words ]

http://relationshipsblog.co.nz/how-to-keep-your-relationship-off-the-rocks/

When I was growing up, I occasionally heard the phrase "their marriage is on the rocks". At that time in my life, my family would spend part of the summer holidays at Ohope Beach, or sometimes up t...

31/05/2016

Do you do a good job of listening to your partner? If you answered "yes", my colleague Pete Pearson from The Couples Institute thinks that you might have a bit of trouble convincing him that you are right. He says that a couple of years ago he started asking most couples during their first appointment if they think they listen very well to their partners. [ 246 more words. ]

http://relationshipsblog.co.nz/do-you-think-youre-a-good-listener/

Do you do a good job of listening to your partner? If you answered "yes", my colleague Pete Pearson from The Couples Institute thinks that you might have a bit of trouble convincing him that you ar...

10/03/2014

Remember Mike and Genevieve from my last blog?  Here they are again talking about an idea developed by marriage and relationship therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt.  They are the co-founders of Imago Relationship Therapy, and one of the foundations of this model is the idea that we c...

10/03/2014

OMG! You’ve Turned Into My Mother! http://wp.me/p3VQYU-1G

Remember Mike and Genevieve from the last blog? Here they are again talking about an idea developed by marriage and relationship therapists Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt. They are the co-founders of Imago Relationship Therapy, and one of the… [ 154 more words. ]

17/02/2014

Just Listen To Me For Once! http://wp.me/p3VQYU-1B

There you are, once again, trying to talk sense to your partner and all they can do is argue back! Or maybe its the other way around, they are trying to get something across to you, but you have already got your back up and you are only listening long… [ 215 more words. ]

27/01/2014

Who Wants to Change? Not Me! http://wp.me/p3VQYU-1v

Every time a couple tackles a thorny problem requiring change, they go through a predictable sequence of steps to make that change. I believe the same sequence happens when parents and children, or even flat-mates, are engaged in solving a …… [ 141 more words. ]

03/12/2013

It's Not About The Nail.... http://wp.me/p3VQYU-1o

Do you tend to just jump right in to solving your partners problems as soon as you hear them, and then wonder why they get upset with you when all you are trying to do is be helpful? Frustrating right? … Continue reading → [ 267 more words. ]