Welcome to my Blog
Thank you for stopping by. This space is where I share research, reflections, and practical tools drawn from my experience as a marriage and family therapist.
Are you a couple looking for clarity? A professional curious about the science of relationships? Or simply someone interested in how love and resilience work? I’m glad you’ve found your way here. I can help with that.
Each post is written with one goal in mind: to help you better understand yourself, your partner, and the hidden dynamics that shape human connection.
Grab a coffee (or a notebook), explore what speaks to you, and take what’s useful back into your life and relationships. And if a post sparks a question, or makes you realize you could use more support, I’d love to hear from you.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
~Daniel
P.S.
Feel free to explore the categories below to find past blog posts on the topics that matter most to you. If you’re curious about attachment, navigating conflict, or strengthening intimacy, these archives are a great way to dive deeper into the research and insights that I’ve been sharing for years.
- Attachment Issues
- Coronavirus
- Couples Therapy
- Extramarital Affairs
- Family Life and Parenting
- How to Fight Fair
- Inlaws and Extended Families
- Intercultural Relationships
- Marriage and Mental Health
- Married Life & Intimate Relationships
- Neurodiverse Couples
- Separation & Divorce
- Signs of Trouble
- Social Media and Relationships
- What Happy Couples Know
Love and Money: A Story of Venmo Requests and Financial Terror
In the beginning, there was love.
Pure, incandescent love.
The kind of love that makes you say things like, "I don’t care about money, I just want to be with you."
The kind of love that lets you ignore red flags, like the fact that your partner thinks credit card points are a scam or that they insist on paying exact change in drive-thrus.
And then one day, love meets reality. And reality has a balance sheet.
From Perfume to Pajamas: The Hilarious Evolution of Relationships
Once upon a time, you were in love.
A new love. A glowing, radiant, teeth-whitened kind of love.
You went on dates. You dressed well. You smelled fantastic.
Your conversations were charming, effortless, and built on a mutual delusion that this polished, agreeable, magazine-ad version of you was real.
Fast forward a year.
You’re both in sweats.
One of you hasn’t showered.
The other is eating peanut butter out of the jar with their hands.
You no longer ask, “What are you thinking?” because the answer is, invariably, “Nothing.” This, dear reader, is the true test of love.
Divorce Regret and Remarriage: Love's Glorious Boomerang
In the grand cosmic sitcom that is human love, few plot twists are as deliciously absurd as divorce regret and remarriage.
Imagine this: after braving the bureaucratic Mount Doom of divorce—dividing the assets, explaining to Aunt Mildred that no, he didn’t cheat, you just couldn’t stand the way he chewed—some couples, like prodigal lovers, come marching back to the altar for a second go.
Is it romance? Is it Stockholm Syndrome? Let’s dive into this.
Love and Honesty: How Brain Synchronization Strengthens Trust in Romantic Relationships
Can your brain tell if your partner is being honest? It turns out, love isn’t just about candlelit dinners and sweet words—it’s also about synchronized brain waves.
A fascinating new neuroimaging study out of China found that romantic couples exhibit higher brain synchronization when interacting compared to strangers, and this enhanced neural connection correlates with greater honesty.
The study, published in Brain Sciences, suggests that love may literally shape our brains to be more in sync—building trust and reducing deception.
This research aligns with what many of us instinctively feel: when we truly connect with someone, honesty comes more naturally. But how exactly does this work on a neurological level? And could brain science help explain why trust is so essential in long-term relationships?
Let’s dive into the science of brain synchronization, deception, and what it means for the way we love.
A Concise Cultural History of Marriage Annulment vs. Divorce in the West
When a marriage ends, the world is accustomed to thinking in terms of divorce—a clean (or not-so-clean) legal severance of two partners who, for whatever reason, can no longer function as a couple.
But what if, instead of merely ending, a marriage was declared to have never truly existed?
That is the power of the annulment—a rare and, in some traditions, almost mystical declaration that dissolves a marriage not because it failed, but because it was never valid in the first place.
The history of marriage annulment reveals an evolving understanding of love, legitimacy, and personal autonomy.
Unlike divorce, which assumes a union was real and then ended, annulment challenges the very existence of the marriage, often invoking legal, religious, or social justifications.
Over the centuries, the criteria for annulment have reflected changing cultural attitudes toward marriage itself—who should enter it, why they should stay, and under what conditions they might be released.
The Mind-Body Connection to Mind-Blowing Orgasms: Why Women Who Listen to Their Bodies Enjoy More Pleasure
A new study published in Brain Sciences finds that women with heightened interoceptive awareness—the ability to tune into their internal bodily sensations—report more frequent and satisfying orgasms.
Yes, ladies, mindfulness isn't just for yoga; it turns out your ability to sense your own heartbeat or notice a stomach grumble might also be the secret sauce to better orgasms.
Let’s break it down: the study found that different aspects of interoception influence both how often women climax and how good those orgasms feel—whether solo or with a partner.
Women who were better at noticing their bodily sensations tended to orgasm more frequently, while those who could regulate their attention to internal signals found their solo sessions especially satisfying.
Parenting Stress and Sexual Intimacy: How Attachment Styles Shape Desire After Kids
Ever wonder why some couples stay connected after having kids while others struggle to maintain intimacy?
Parenthood brings a whirlwind of changes—sleep deprivation, endless responsibilities, and an ever-growing to-do list. While the love for your children deepens, the time and energy for romance often shrink.
A recent study published in The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality explores how parenting stress interacts with attachment styles to shape sexual satisfaction in couples—and the findings might surprise you.
The Psychology of Love: What Science Says About Why We Love
Love is often considered the foundation of a happy and lasting relationship, but have you ever wondered why we love in the first place?
What purpose does love serve in our lives, and is it truly as universal as we believe?
A fascinating new study published in Human Nature sheds light on these questions, offering compelling evidence that romantic love is not just a cultural preference but a deeply ingrained part of human connection across the globe.
Age-Appropriate Relationships: The Unexpectedly Hot Dating Trend of 2025
For decades, the Hollywood (and Wall Street) playbook dictated that a successful man should trade in his wife for a younger model around the time his hair started to gray.
This expectation was so ingrained in the culture that it became a punchline—think Leonardo DiCaprio’s infamous inability to date a woman over 25.
But in a surprising twist, 2025 has brought us an exciting new trend: age-appropriate relationships.
Yes, dating someone within a reasonable age range of your own is now hot.
Could this be the end of the Trophy Wife Era?
Mind the Gap: The Surprising Evolution of Romantic Age Preferences
Romance is a fickle beast—what seems like a dreamy match at 25 might look very different at 65.
A new study published in Personal Relationships sheds light on the fascinating evolution of age gaps in romantic relationships, proving once again that love is as much a shifting social construct as it is a timeless mystery.
The research, spanning data from 29 countries, reveals a consistent trend: as men age, they are increasingly likely to pair up with younger partners.
Women, meanwhile, follow a subtler trajectory, initially favoring slightly older men before eventually prioritizing companionship and shared life experience over traditional age norms.
But before older men start congratulating themselves for their ever-widening dating pool, let’s take a closer look. As the old adage warns: Be careful what you wish for. A relationship with a younger partner might seem like a golden ticket, but research suggests it can come with unexpected trade-offs.
High Shared Reality Couples: The Psychology of Deep Connection
What makes some couples feel like soulmates while others seem to exist in parallel emotional universes?
Enter the concept of high shared reality couples, a psychological phenomenon that explains why some romantic partners experience an almost seamless alignment in their thoughts, emotions, and worldviews.
Rooted in social psychology, shared reality theory suggests that when two life partners validate each other’s perceptions of the world, they reinforce a profound sense of connection, intimacy, and trust (Higgins, 2019).
In this post, we’ll explore what it means to be a high shared reality couple, why it matters for relationship satisfaction, and the potential risks of over-synchronization.
We’ll also discuss the implications of these findings for long-term commitment, emotional security, and even societal cohesion.
The Power of Shared Reality in Romantic Relationships
Love is often described as a journey—a shared path where two people navigate life’s uncertainties together. But beyond emotional closeness, new research highlights another vital function of romantic relationships: they help us make sense of the world.
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reveals that shared reality with a romantic partner can reduce uncertainty and deepen our sense of meaning in life.
When couples cultivate a mutual understanding of their experiences, their bond strengthens, but more importantly, they develop a clearer perspective on life.
This research sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect of relationships—how they help us build a shared framework for interpreting the world, reducing confusion, and fostering purpose.