Our relationships are the most compelling aspects of our lives. Usually, when people seek counseling for relationship problems, they are looking for help with a “primary relationship” – spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend. Increasingly, however, clients come with parents or a sibling. Mother/daughter relationships – which are very complex – are becoming more common in therapy.
Businesses are more willing to attend to workplace conflict than in the past. Companies sometimes hire a mental health practitioner to provide counseling or mediation. This is a progressive trend and a healthy one. Everyone knows the effect that unresolved conflict has on workplace morale and how bad blood with a co-worker can sour our entire work experience.
All of our relationships – with the possible exception of our pets – require some effort. It is worth the effort as these bonds – when intact and positive – contribute to improved health and longevity, stronger families, and a better world.
We are all social beings with a need for close bonds with others. In every relationship there is conflict. This is a given. It’s how we reconcile old, unresolved conflicts and approach current conflicts that makes it possible to gain meaning in our lives.