Have you and your spouse decided to get a divorce but are still living in the same house? There may be compelling reasons to do so — you can’t afford separate places, you want to maintain a stable family situation for your children, proximity to your place of employment, etc. Your date of …
How to Choose a Divorce Mediator
Divorce mediation is almost always a smart move. It can save you a significant amount of money and time on your divorce in comparison with fighting through the court system. Perhaps even more importantly, divorce mediationallows you to take control and ownership of your divorce negotiation. Even …
How to Determine State Residency During Divorce (and Why It Matters)
It’s strange but true that the state you live in plays an important role in how your marital estate is divided during your divorce. Living in one state versus another could mean you walk away with a lot more… or a lot less. It’s important to understand how state residency affects a divorce, …
Can I Get Social Security Benefits from My Ex-Spouse Even If It’s Not in My Divorce Decree?
QUESTION: I heard that I may be entitled to collect Social Security benefits when I retire based on my ex-husband’s earnings. But I looked at my divorce decree and it doesn’t say anything about it. Did I miss the boat? ANSWER: Here’s some good news about your divorce. If you were married to …
Doctors, You Have a Lower Risk of Getting Divorced … Unless You’re a Woman
Common wisdom may lead to the assumption that doctors are ripe for divorce. After all, they tend to work long hours and experience a high level of stress on the job. Certain doctors, like ER physicians and gynecologists, may need to rush off to work in the middle of the night to save a life or bring …
Learning From Our Worst Conversations
Some conversations just don’t go very well. You know the ones — you were completely blindsided by someone or totally lost it yourself. Conversations are not what we think they are. On the surface it may look like we’re engaging in a simple “ask and tell” trading of information, but neurological …
Are Women Really Better at Relationships?
Written By: Dr. Jan Anderson, PsyD, LPCC | It was with equal amounts of anticipation and dread that I read the R. Chase article “What Men Want.” I laughed out loud when I read the following exchange between the author and a male friend: “I once had a conversation with a friend of mine about …
BUILDING RESILIENCE: How to Get a Grip, Get Back Up and Go On
Written By: Dr. Jan Anderson, PsyD, LPCC | I recently had my first appointment with my new primary care physician. As she scanned the medical history of my parents, she paused when she got to the cause of death. “So… your father was … murdered?” Most of the clients I encounter have …
Life Hacks to Handle Difficult People
Written By: Dr. Jan Anderson, PsyD, LPCC | I get to spend most of my time with clients coming up with “life hacks,” those simple and deliciously clever ways to deal with life’s frustrations and without a doubt, difficult people are at the top of the list. They’re confounding, exasperating, …
Love Sick: An Unhappy Marriage Can Be Hazardous To Your Health
Does the quality of your romantic relationship affect your health? As it turns out, the answer is yes. Thanks to the work of marriage researchers, we now know that an unhappy marriage can increase your chances of getting sick by 35 percent and even shorten your life by an average of four years! The …