Page 1 of Richard Nicastro's writing

1. Marriage Help: How to Prevent a Marriage Crisis During a marriage crisis, life gets turned upside down and pulled apart, often in frightening and distressing ways. Like a volcanic eruption, tensions and pressures have accumulated that can no longer be contained by feelings of love or the... (posted by Richard 222 days 7 hours ago.)

2. Marriage Help: One Question Couples Should Avoid Questions have power. They can open our minds up to new possibilities and ways-of-being, they can alter the course of our thoughts and shape our behavior in positive ways... ...and questions can have the opposite effect, shutting us down with... (posted by Richard 1 year 58 days ago.)

3. How Your Expectations Shape Your Marriage We are all embedded in a continuous stream of experience—an endless current that is too expansive for us to take in all the information at once. One function of the mind is to help you deal with this vastness: To select, order and ultimately... (posted by Richard 1 year 127 days ago.)

4. The Ultimate Holiday Gift: Nurture your marriage this holiday season If it's the season to be jolly then why am I seeing so many stressed, beleaguered couples walking around? Is it more accurate to say, 'Tis the season to feel tense, frustrated and constantly on the go?' Whether you're feeling totally overwhelmed... (posted by Richard 2 years 169 days ago.)

5. 5 Reasons Marriages End In Divorce Q: "I'm getting married in a month and want to know why so many marriages end in divorce. What should I look out for? How can I prevent divorce?" ~Sandra, Houston TX A: Understanding why a marriage or relationship might fail can alert couples... (posted by Richard 2 years 179 days ago.)

6. It's the Perfect Time of Year to Count Your Marital Blessings Marriage, Thanksgiving and gratitude: A perfect match! You have the power to strengthen your marriage, make your spouse feel special and change your mood at this very moment--How is this all possible? By sowing the seeds of gratitude. Research... (posted by Richard 2 years 191 days ago.)

7. Marriage Alert: Why Love Is Not Enough--Does Your Partner Still Like You? Why is it that we have no problem lounging around in our favorite sweatpants (with the hole in the knee) and our favorite threadbare T-shirt (with the rip in the sleeve) in front of our spouse/partner, but if our friends/co-workers were on the way... (posted by Richard 2 years 198 days ago.)

8. The Truth About Marriage Advice and Why You Should Be Skeptical Any couples counselor will tell you that not all marriages or relationships are salvageable-despite my best efforts (and my pro-marriage and pro-commitment attitudes), some of the couples I've counseled will still make the painful decision to end... (posted by Richard 2 years 200 days ago.)

9. Marriage Help: Are Your Arguments Helping or Hurting Your Marriage? Q: "I need some marriage advice. Is arguing bad for a marriage? My husband says it's healthy to argue from time to time but I try to avoid marital conflict at all costs. Can you shed some light on this for us?" A: Relationship conflicts are a... (posted by Richard 2 years 204 days ago.)

10. Want a Healthier Marriage? Watch Your Mouth! If you want to strengthen your marriage or relationship, I have a piece of straight-forward relationship advice for you: Watch your mouth! It's all about the words we choose There's an old Bee Gees song that says, "It's only words, and words are... (posted by Richard 2 years 206 days ago.)

11. Marriage Advice: Your Marriage Needs This Simple Communication Strategy Arguments are a regular part of Lindsey and Hector's relationship. During a recent couples counseling session, they volleyed insults back and forth with such intensity that I almost stopped the session. But then something remarkable happened: ... (posted by Richard 2 years 211 days ago.)

12. Men and Intimacy: Is It Really a Fear of Intimacy? What is a fear of intimacy? The term "fear of intimacy" is often used to describe someone who has difficulty creating a close connection with their spouse/partner. Typically, the phrase highlights a person's struggle to become physically... (posted by Richard 2 years 211 days ago.)

13. Marriage Help: Bring Intimacy Back Into Your Marriage Couples often seek out my relationship help or marriage advice because of difficulties with intimacy-they no longer feel a deep emotional connection with their spouse/partner. Why are so many couples struggling with emotional intimacy? In order to... (posted by Richard 2 years 221 days ago.)

14. Are You Making This Communication Mistake? When couples come to me for help, the first thing I do is observe how they communicate with each other. Communication is often the gauge of the health of a relationship. There are certain effective communication principles that can help you create... (posted by Richard 2 years 226 days ago.)

15. Marriage Help: Making Sense of the Withdrawn Husband Many couples who seek out relationship help and marriage advice have fallen into a relationship rut-in other words, they feel stuck. And when you and your spouse/partner are locked in cycles of conflict, you probably assume you have nothing in... (posted by Richard 2 years 245 days ago.)

16. What to Do When You Call Your Partner by an Ex's Name Most relationship help and marriage advice articles overlook this very common and important issue. Let's take a humorous look at what to do, or not do, when you accidentally call the love of your life by your ex's name. The setting: ... (posted by Richard 2 years 254 days ago.)

17. Marriage Advice: Turning conflict into opportunities "I really hate it when we argue, but I've also learned so much about my husband from our fights and we have a stronger relationship now." ~Sandra, married seven years Even the most effective communicators get into spats now and then. And... (posted by Richard 2 years 274 days ago.)

18. Relationship Help: 5 Essentials To Keep Your Relationship Fresh Anyone who is married or in a long-term committed relationship comes to realize that at some point there is a danger of falling into a lifeless routine. The vast number of marriage advice and relationship help books is a clear indication that... (posted by Richard 2 years 282 days ago.)

19. Avoid These Relationship Traps I'm often asked, "What is one of the most challenging issues couples face today?" While every couple is different, there are themes that I see in my work as a couples counselor and relationship coach. One common issue is the difficulty... (posted by Richard 3 years 15 days ago.)

20. Communication Clinic: 5 Ways to Get Your Husband to Listen What motivates someone to listen to another person? Understanding this question will help you work toward more effective listening in your own marriage or relationship. 1. Clear message, favorable outcome Clearly... (posted by Richard 3 years 57 days ago.)

21. Marriage Help: Coping with a Spouse's Illness It's natural to enter a long-term relationship with expectations. And one expectation most of us have is that our spouse or partner will remain relatively healthy. Although wedding vows ask us to consider the possibility of sickness, we... (posted by Richard 3 years 70 days ago.)

22. Relationship Help: 3 Steps To Becoming a Better Listener "You never listen to me--I've asked you a thousand times to let me know when you can't pick the kids up from daycare!" In my work with couples, it is common to hear one person accuse the other of "not listening." This usually takes... (posted by Richard 3 years 108 days ago.)

23. How to Navigate the Maze of Internet Relationship Advice A computer and access to the Internet: Thats all you need to share your opinion with the world about how you think people should manage their lives, relationships, finances--you name it. It seems like overnight, everyone has become a... (posted by Richard 3 years 109 days ago.)

24. Love, Laughter and Marriage: Why Laughter is Vital to a Healthy Relationship Two happily married couples, together for over fifteen years: "If I had to pick out one thing that has made the difference in our marriage, I guess it would be that he makes me laugh." ~Sarah "We just enjoy each other's company.... (posted by Richard 3 years 135 days ago.)

25. Discover What Your Marriage Is Missing: Your Relationship Check-up Is Long Overdue No one can deny the benefit of preventive medicine. First of all, it's often easier to prevent an illness than it is to cure it--that's why you go in for your annual physical (or why you should). And we all can agree that feeling healthy... (posted by Richard 3 years 178 days ago.)