My latest Pamela's Punch blog, When the Honeymoon is Over: How to Keep the Love Alive,  takes a look at the "honeymoon phase" in relationships and how it can dissipate relatively quickly. What happens to us during the honeymoon phase and how can we nurture our relationship to be deeper and more powerful than we can imagine?

I recently saw a movie called “Sabah, A Love Story” it is a tale of a conservative Muslin Arab woman who falls in love with a non-Muslin Canadian. The relationship ignites culture clashes, frustration and many misunderstandings. It sounds wearying but the movie has a happy ending.
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On June 1, the Imago Center has moved into its new office at 8940 Old Annapolis Road (Rt. 108), Suite E, in Columbia, MD.  It is located right off of Rt.108 not far from Rt. 29.  It is very convenient from I-95.  The office is in an industrial complex and has lots of space for free parking.  Other therapists and psychiatrists have offices there so there is access to other services that clients may require such as psychological testing or psychiatric care.    Read more »

The Getting the Love You Want Workshop is for you if...

• your relationship needs to restore its warmth and aliveness
• you are beginning a new relationship and want to boost its positive potential
• you need a fresh, positive approach to your communication and conflicts
• you are trying to decide if this marriage or relationship can and should be saved

What this workshop will do...  Read more »

The Getting the Love You Want Workshop is for you if...

• your relationship needs to restore its warmth and aliveness
• you are beginning a new relationship and want to boost its positive potential
• you need a fresh, positive approach to your communication and conflicts
• you are trying to decide if this marriage or relationship can and should be saved

What this workshop will do...  Read more »

Personanlly I love this chilly and darker time of year. It helps me to slow down, let go of my busyness and start of focus on the meaning and value of waiting in the dark. Yes, waiting for the return of the light that continues to faithfully reappear in it's own time.  Read more »

On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your relationship? Is it what you had imagined when you first got married? Years go by, and while couples are still technically married, they have unconsciously filed for an ‘invisible divorce’. How do couples rededicate themselves to their relationship and move towards the relationship they originally envisioned? The story of Chanukah provides us valuable insight into this challenge.  Read more »

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about couples or family therapy? If you are a therapist, you might dread what may be your most difficult clients. If you are a layperson, you might imagine bickering, fighting, he said/she said. Who is right? Will I convince the therapist to join my side? Therapy traditionally focuses on solving problems and, in a conflict, there is likely to be a winner and a loser. There are couples who sigh at the thought of counseling as they doubt there is any hope for resolving their differences.  Read more »

Giving appreciations is an extremely effective way for couples to increase their connection, safety, and goodwill. Doing this will have a fabulous payoff when differences do arise and that automatic impulse to become defensive or "right" just seems to have a life of its own. Starting to give appreciations daily now will pay throughout the life of your relationship.

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When couples experience a break in their connection, which is usually why they come to therapy, I encourage them to think back to the beginning of their relationship. Those were the days when they likely experienced their deepest level of connection. While, “How did you feel then?,” might be an obvious question to ask, an equally important question is, “What were you doing?” This question is crucial because feelings don't operate like a light switch; we can't just remember them and turn them back on.  Read more »