Marriage Meetings for Lasting Love 30 Minutes a Week to the Relationship You've Always Wanted

by Berger, Marcia Naomi

• ISBN13: 9781608682232
• ISBN10: 1608682234
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-02-11
• Publisher: New World Library

Summary

Couples can make love last, says psychotherapist and clinical social worker Marcia Naomi Berger. They just need to learn how. Her prescription is deceptively simple: have an interruption-free thirty-minute (or even shorter) meeting each week and follow an agenda that includes the kind of appreciation and planning for fun that foster intimacy and pave the way for collaborative conflict resolution. With this book, you’ll learn how to effectively communicate and connect with your spouse each week, and for a lifetime, with step-by-step guidelines that walk you through the four parts of a marriage meeting: expressing appreciation, coordinating chores, planning for good times, and resolving problems. Inspiring real-life stories demonstrate how transformative these brief meetings can be. The communication tips and techniques Berger has gleaned from helping hundreds of couples will guide you toward a deeper, more lasting love.

Author Biography

Marcia Naomi Berger, MSW, LCSW, works with adults, families, couples, and groups as a clinical social worker in her private psychotherapy practice in Northern California. She has more than 25 years of clinical experience in institutions and private practice, ten years of teaching Marriage Meeting Program classes and workshops to diverse audiences, and a happy marriage of her own of 24 years. Skilled in both cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic approaches, she leads marriage and communication workshops locally and nationally and provides consultation and coaching services to business executives. In addition, she teaches classes for therapists at the University of California Berkeley Extension and the San Francisco campus of Alliant International University. She speaks regularly at conferences and other events, including the California State NASW (National Organization of Social Workers) conference. She lives in San Rafael, CA.

Table of Contents

Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Instructions for Marriage Meetings

Chapter 1: Marriage Meeting Basics: Overview and Techniques
Chapter 2: Debunking Marriage Myths
Chapter 3: Appreciation is #1 on Agenda
Chapter 4: Chores is #2 on Agenda
Chapter 5: Plan for Good Times is #3 on Agenda
Chapter 6: Problems and Challenges is # 4 on Agenda

Part II: Communication Skills for Effective Meetings

Chapter 7: I-statements
Chapter 8: More Communication Skills for Marriage Meetings

Part III: Transforming Relationships with Marriage Meetings

Chapter 9: Opposites Attract, and Then What? Ken and Lauren
Chapter 10: Resolving an In-law Issue – Ned and Amy
Chapter 11: Handling a Money Conflict: Sally and Michael :
Chapter 12: Transform a Relationship with Marriage Meeting Techniques -- Kate and Zack
Chapter 13: Restoring Trust: Oliver and Robin

Conclusion
Appendices
Annotated Marriage Meeting Agenda
Feelings and Needs Inventories
Bibliography
Index
About the Author