Posted on July 5th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek

When service members return from duty, they often carry a lot more than what they began with. For many, the heavy burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a profound effect not only on the […]

Posted on February 9th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek

Relationships are hard, there’s no doubt about it. Many people find themselves asking, “how do I know if a relationship is right for me?” Most adults have been through at least one relationship in their […]

Posted on December 6th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek

If your partner is causing conflict and strain in your relationship, it might seem as if they need therapy to fix whatever’s going on for them so you can have the relationship you’re hoping for […]

Posted on October 24th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek

In a recent post we opened up the topic of divorce and what some of the reasons might be to consider it. In this post we’ll consider what the consequences of divorce could be. As […]

Posted on August 1st, 2022 By Raffi Bilek

Substance abuse is a major behavioral and mental health challenge for any person to face. And there is a whole separate set of challenges that their spouse or partner faces. People struggling with addiction need […]

Posted on March 7th, 2022 By Raffi Bilek

Let’s take a look at the options in front of you for helping your depressed partner. Please remember, though, that you are not responsible for your partner’s mental illness, and you cannot make it go away. The best you can do is try to help. If things don’t get better, it’s not your fault. Like anything else in life, all you can do is try your best; you cannot make their problem go away by force of will, by nice gestures, or anything else.

Posted on October 5th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek

When I bought my house, the previous owner had left behind a motley assortment of old household items – boxes of ancient textbooks, fireplace utensils, a poker table, and a 6-foot tall cast-iron fluoroscopy machine […]

Posted on June 7th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek

Divorce stinks. Even when it’s the best option, it’s still a bad option. And this is doubly so when there are kids involved. (Actually, that’s probably an understatement. A divorce with no children is painful; […]

Posted on September 2nd, 2020 By Amalia Philips

Our everyday way of living as we know it is disappearing. We are distracted and thus lose connection to others as well as to our own heart. Most of us were taught that busyness and […]

Posted on March 26th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek

These are definitely challenging times. COVID-19 has us cooped up in a serious way, and many of us are dealing with any number of other problems, including employment, schooling, and possibly health. Your marriage is […]

Posted on March 2nd, 2020 By Raffi Bilek

If you’re really old school, you may be thinking that the title of this post refers to the quaint, genuine, and meaningful “I love you.” If you’re a little more modern, perhaps you’ve heard that […]

Posted on August 9th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek

It is generally accepted in today’s generation of parents that praise and encouragement are the tools of choice in childrearing rather than some past methods such as yelling, shaming, and, of course, whupping. Praise and […]

Posted on June 25th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek

The end of a relationship is never easy, especially if you’ve been together for years.  This is true even if you know the relationship was going sour, or was unhealthy to begin with. The truth […]

Posted on April 10th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek

We’re taking a break from our regularly scheduled posts on the Five Love Languages to bring you this exclusive special in which I was invited to a local TV station to do a short bit […]

Posted on January 24th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek

Words of Affirmation is the first of the love languages described in Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages system. For people whose primary love language is Words of Affirmation, it’s what you say that counts.  This […]

Posted on June 16th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

Bariatric surgery and self-esteem are obviously intricately intertwined with each other. Most people who suffer from obesity naturally struggle with their self-esteem, especially in a culture such as ours where beauty and thinness have been […]

Posted on May 12th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

Parents-in-law have been known to cause grief in many a marriage, but they can also be of tremendous help to it.  In this article I touch on just a few important notes for how parents […]

Posted on March 31st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

It is not uncommon for us to field calls from people looking to get help for someone other than themselves. One common category of such callers is the family member of someone with borderline personality […]

Posted on March 21st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

So what’s the connection between bariatric surgery and therapy? If you’ve gotten the operation done or are considering it, you are probably aware that you have to do a psychological evaluation before going through with […]

Posted on March 14th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

Every now and then I hear about a “great new therapy” that promises fast results and lasting change (often after a single session or treatment). I am highly skeptical of such approaches and I encourage […]