Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

If you’ve wondered how to talk about violence, power, and dignity without overwhelming your home, this conversation offers tools rooted in our expertise in nervous system regulation, and everyday compassion. We open up about why we’re choosing to speak plainly about human dignity.

From there, we get practical. We share a simple four-step framework to move from silence to steady action: clarify your values, align with your partner, tell a thoughtful story to your kids, and decide how you will say "no" to dehumanization. Alignment doesn’t demand identical opinions; it asks for shared values that guide how you speak, set limits, and model courage. We also talk about how kids feel the energy we think we’re hiding, and why offering coherent, calm language restores safety in the family system.

Listen for practical examples—to refuse the dehumanizing climate taking place in our country —and see how small, repeated acts become a family culture. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more families find support.

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection? Check out our course Attachment Theory: Why It Matters To Your Relationship: https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/attachment-course-ccfp

Get 15% off our course--Attachment Theory: Why It Matters To Your Relationship: https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf?coupon_code=ATTACHMENT15

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

Most couples don’t get stuck because they argue too much—they get stuck because repair never fully happens.

In this episode, we start with a familiar story: a couple caught in the same end-of-day conflict that looks like it’s about dinner, help, or logistics. But beneath that moment is something far more important—two partners reaching for connection in completely different ways, and missing each other every time.

From there, we shift the focus to repair: what it actually is, why it matters more than resolving the content of a fight, and why so many well-intentioned couples struggle to do it. Repair isn’t about fixing the problem, multitasking better, or saying the “right” thing. It’s about slowing down enough to name the emotional bind underneath the conflict and tending to the story each partner is living inside of.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why unresolved repair—not conflict—is what erodes connection over time
• How attachment histories shape what repair needs to look like for each partner
• What real repair requires: attunement, vulnerability, humility, and grace
• How naming the bind can soften the cycle and open the door back to each other

If you and your partner keep circling the same arguments and wondering why nothing ever truly feels resolved, this episode offers a different path forward—one where repair becomes the foundation for trust, safety, and lasting connection.

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection? Check out our course Attachment Theory: Why It Matters To Your Relationship: https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/attachment-course-ccfp

Get 15% off our course--Attachment Theory: Why It Matters To Your Relationship: https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf?coupon_code=ATTACHMENT15

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

Ever wonder why your relationship felt solid before kids but now seems frayed at the edges? We open the new year by telling the honest truth about postpartum disconnection: it’s common, it’s fixable, and it rarely comes down to a lack of love. Using the case example of Trey and Rashida—we describe how communication patterns and relational connection can begin to falter postpartum.

We also announce new ways to go deeper: affordable coaching, a focused course on attachment and the nervous system, a postpartum group facilitated with care, and a book club starting with Too Tired to Fight. Ready for a good year—not necessarily easy, but deeply connected? Press play, follow the show, and leave a quick rating to help more parents find this conversation. Then tell us: what’s one small repair you’ll try this week?

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

The holidays can fill a room with warmth, noise, and nostalgia—and still leave one partner quietly overwhelmed. We dig into the messy middle where alcohol meets family rituals, social anxiety, and the pressure to keep everything magical for kids. Through a candid case study of Heath and Bailey, we unpack why couples get stuck arguing over “how many drinks” while missing the deeper issue: presence and shared responsibility.

We explore the common reasons people drink at festive gatherings—soothing awkwardness, enhancing joy, numbing grief—and show how a quick pour can shift from choice to reflex. Instead of counting glasses, we focus on what actually protects connection: clarity, planning, and agreed signals. You’ll hear a practical set of questions to map your approach before events: whether to drink at all, who drives, what limits feel respectful, how to read each other’s signals, and what you want your kids to observe about adult decision-making. We also talk openly about family addiction history, genetic risk, and how to avoid shame while still taking risk seriously.

Our goal is simple: help you design holidays where you remain reachable to yourself and each other, even in crowded rooms. Expect straight talk about boundaries that don’t feel controlling, compassion for the partner who leans on a drink to get through, and concrete ways to replace reactivity with choice. If you’ve had the same argument on the drive home year after year, this conversation offers a path to alignment you can actually use at the next gathering.

If this resonates, follow the show and leave a rating. Share this episode with someone who needs a calmer holiday plan, and tell us: what’s one agreement you’ll try at your next celebration?

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

December can be tender and overwhelming at the same time. Between school events, family expectations, travel, and the pressure to make it “special,” even strong couples can feel out of sync. We unpack four practical tools that help partners communicate clearly, share the load, and protect the moments that actually matter—without slipping into blame or burnout.

We start with the walkthrough: a simple, proactive plan for the season or a single event. Together we define what “good” looks like, name what could go sideways, and get specific about logistics like arrival, departure, childcare, and roles during transitions. The key is believing your partner’s perspective and designing around it, not debating it. From there, we introduce team meetings—short, scheduled check-ins you can run hourly during long gatherings or weekly across the month. These intentional sidebars prevent resentment, keep you aligned, and remind you you’re on the same team.

Next, we share how to create code words, a private language that communicates support in noisy reality of the holidays. Use them to ask for a break, trade duties, exit awkward chats, or celebrate small wins in real time. Finally, we normalize strategic split-ups. Not every moment needs both of you. Identify the few “musts,” then give each other permission to step out, reset, and return engaged. This protects energy, honors different social bandwidths, and builds trust.

If you want less tension and more togetherness, these four moves—walkthroughs, team meetings, code words, and planned split-ups—turn holiday chaos into a shared plan. Listen now to learn the scripts, questions, and micro-habits that make connection easier when the volume goes up. If the conversation helps, tap Follow, share it with a friend who needs a calmer December, and leave a quick rating or review so more parents can find it.

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

Holiday plans rarely fall apart over turkey—they crack at the fault lines of family rules, nervous system triggers, and the pressure to keep traditions intact while raising small kids. We take you inside a relatable case with Hunter and Manu, whose baby’s bedtime collides with Grandma’s set-in-stone dinner time, and show how a small scheduling issue becomes painfully personal. Along the way, we unpack why these conversations feel “cellular,” how generational roles like don’t challenge the matriarch get carried into adult partnerships, and why safety can mean opposite things to two people who love each other.

We dig into the hidden drivers: the urge to protect beloved rituals, the fear of losing what felt like home, and the way partners polarize—one minimizing the hard, the other minimizing the good. You’ll hear a clear framework to calm the room before you fix the plan, plus a simple script to validate effort, name a concrete need, invite collaboration, and make a small ask without heat. We also talk about presenting as a team, giving elders the chance to surprise you, and building memories not just from events but from how you treat each other while planning them.

If you’ve ever argued about a start time and ended up questioning each other’s character, this conversation is your reset. Expect practical language you can borrow today, a reframe for navigating extended family with less rigidity and more curiosity, and a path to align on shared hopes even when answers are no. If this helped, follow the show, leave a quick rating, and share it with a friend who’s bracing for holiday negotiations—we’d love to hear the tradition you’d tweak first.

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

Ever feel like you’re having the same fight on repeat—one of you craving more presence at home while the other longs to be seen for carrying the load at work? We dig beneath schedules and sarcasm to the two fears that quietly run many relationships: the fear of abandonment and the fear of rejection. Once those fears are named, the real hopes come into view: being wanted and being accepted by the person who matters most.

We walk through a vivid couple story—Shannon and Jake—to show how stress flips partners into protection mode. Then we trace where these patterns often start: performance-heavy childhoods that make acceptance feel conditional, and unpredictable bonding that makes closeness feel fragile. We also call out unhelpful gender scripts that told some of us provision should be enough and told others that being emotional is only for women. Healthier partnerships allow both people to bring their full selves—work, feelings, needs, and all—without penalty.

From there, we lay out a clear process to pivot from conflict to connection. You’ll learn how to speak your fear without attacking, validate the hope your partner is guarding, and design practical, bite-sized rituals that soothe the exact worry in the room. We share a ready-to-use repair script, plus concrete ideas like daily micro check-ins, appreciation habits that matter to the “rejection” partner, and scheduling anchors that reassure the “abandonment” partner. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s becoming messengers of hope for each other so fear doesn’t get the final say.

If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with a friend who might need it, and leave a quick rating or review so more couples can find their way from conflict to connection.

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.

We use our boys’ everyday squabbles as a mirror for adult dynamics: both sides telling true events, but interpreting the events completely different. From there, we lay out three lessons that change the tone of a relationship. First, love isn’t a contract (quid pro quo); connection can’t be leveraged without corroding trust. Second, assume your partner’s best and verify the worst with clear questions instead of silent verdicts. Third, practice empathy with accountability—context matters, and so do boundaries.

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help. Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X

Want some personalized help (individual or couple). Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

Interested in one of Erin's postpartum groups? Let us know at info@couplescounselingforparents.com

Do you want to learn about the one thing we think every individual and couple needs to know for healthy communication and connection?https://couplescounselingforparents.mykajabi.com/offers/MGiJwHLf/checkout