Improving Intimacy in Your Marriage

Gentlemen, imagine your wife approaches you, and given the appropriate stage in your relationship, she suggests having a physically intimate encounter. You respond with enthusiasm, and she presents a menu of six different ways to be intimate, not knowing beforehand which you would prefer. What is the man’s response when offered a variety of options […]

How to Cultivate Patience and Perseverance in Your Relationships

As humans, we are wired for instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it now. But when it comes to relationships, especially with our significant others, we need to learn patience and perseverance. Imagine being a farmer who plants a seed that takes six months to sprout. You tend to the field, […]

Samurai psychology and “Warrior Chemistry”

Samurai psychology and “Warrior Chemistry” are two disciplines that emphasize mental and emotional discipline, self-control, and focus. While these two concepts share some similarities, there are also key differences between them. Samurai psychology is a discipline that originated in ancient Japan and was developed specifically for samurai warriors. It emphasizes the cultivation of virtues such […]

How Do I Help My Mormon and Gay Child?

Gay & Mormon Series Introduction (Read time ~4 minutes) Coming Out Can Be Difficult I’ll never forget the look in his eye when I asked him if he was gay. Stephen (name changed for privacy purposes), a member of my ward’s elder’s quorum presidency, had a look of terror mingled with shock and inner conflict. […]

The Influence of Good Men

Recent studies continue to demonstrate the positive connection between having a father in the home and the influence that father’s can have on child development. The presence of a father in the home positivity correlates with higher levels of sociability, confidence, and self-control in children. Children with involved fathers are less likely to act out […]

Finding Peace in Christ

Elder D. Todd Christofferson said in this last General Conference, “What our Heavenly Father offers us is Himself and His Son, a close and enduring relationship with Them through the grace and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.” (Our Relationship With God, April 2022) My life has been a pursuit of learning the order of […]

Building Emotional Intelligence Part 3

(Read Part 1 and Part 2) How then do we take all that we know about emotion and properly utilize emotions to make informed decisions? Well that is somewhat a trick question as emotions should rarely form the basis for making decisions. Let me explain. In Stephen W. Owen’s talk entitled “Be Faithful, Not Faithless” […]

Building Emotional Intelligence Part 2

(Read Part 1 HERE). After I have successfully narrowed down and identified my emotions; where do I go from there? How then do I effectively manage such emotions? While utilizing the emotion/feelings wheel may offer a simple formula toward managing emotions… I will introduce a few more tools that can be utilized. Our first tool […]

Building Emotional Intelligence: Part 1

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood pieces of the human experience is human emotion. Yet, one of my favorite facets within my clinical education has been coming to learn about emotion and the role that emotions can play within fully understanding what it means to be a person. Too often as individuals we may experience […]

The Younger Generation

“They’ll never make it in the world”, “they are too soft”, “they don’t need more love they need to be disciplined”, “they don’t know the value of true hard work”, etc. How often do we hear these kinds of statements in reference to the younger generations of today? How often do we find ourselves believing […]

Stop the Payments!

To preface this dilemma I will share a story. I was working on a case one time and this man was claiming that he was poor and could not afford to pay his alimony payments to his ex-wife. The judge tasked my firm with finding out how much money this man was actually making, a […]

Budgeting, Your New Best Friend on the Road to Financial Freedom

When you hear the word budget what do you think of? Many people think of a big list of dos and don’ts that restrict how you spend your money. Well, if that is what you think of then you are doing it wrong. Budgeting is the best way for you to spend your money the […]