We feel hard-done-by and resentful when we don’t put down boundaries and hold others accountable. That leaves us feeling entitled to be even meaner to them than we would have been if we’d respectfully addressed the behaviour that bothered us, or politely refused to be roped into something we didn’t want to do. But why is it so hard to say no?

Boundaries mark the place when ‘you’ end, and ‘other’ begins. An easy way to understand our boundaries is to see them as the line between what’s acceptable and unacceptable to us.

We have physical boundaries, such as how close we stand to strangers, and whether we kiss new acquaintances hello. We also have emotional boundaries that dictate the type of behaviour we encourage, tolerate, or reject from other people. In our relationships, boundaries are complex and ever-changing.

I love this quote by Brené Brown: “When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, whi...

Our stories about our past define us. How we make sense of the things that have happened to us, both in the way we think about it ourselves, and also how we retell it to others, has the power to trap or transform us.

Today I want to have a look at what impact our stories might have on us, especially if they are fractured and unexamined.

I love this quote by Elie Wiesel -  ‘God made man because He loves stories.’

Whether we realize it or not we are all natural storytellers, because that’s how we make sense of what’s happened in our lives. It’s also how we communicate it to others.

It’s really helpful to understand that our personality is basically our life story and the best way to know someone is to listen to how they tell the story of their life.

Bearing witness to story has served me well over the years both as a therapist and in my own self-development because instead of looking for what’s wrong with my clients, it’s allowed us both to understand that it’s ‘how’ we tell our story that e...

It always amazes me that there are no relationship classes on the curriculum of most schools, when without a doubt the fastest way to totally ruin your life, is to get into a relationship with the wrong person.

You don’t need to have masochistic tendencies or an adrenaline junkie mind-set, in fact you don’t need to do much more than just be yourself!

For many of us, sometimes even as early as when the  dopamine high of the ‘honeymoon period’ wears off, we find ourselves faced with the prospect of financial ruin, shattered self-esteem and even homelessness or suicide, as the result of having married the wrong person!!

Sure it all looks like fun when you see the couple in their bridal finery, their eyes bright with hope and good intentions. Everyone is wishing them well, with the exception of the jaded divorcés, who pragmatically, yet accurately predict that there’s more than 40% chance of this not working out.

Probably an even larger number is retrospectively going to wish they’d sa...

Now those wild optimists out there who read ‘How to find the perfect partner’, may be thinking “yes finally, someone understands what I’m looking for and is going to tell me how to get it!”.

You more realistic folk might think “well that’s impossible because there’s no such thing!”… and of course, you guys would be right.

However, while we may cognitively realize that it’s impossible, probably because we’ve heard or read it somewhere, it still doesn’t stop us, especially us women, from secretly expecting out partners to be perfect, and to also have those wild expectations of ourselves.

Turning ourselves into over-functioning harridans, hell-bent on proving perfection is possible and deeply bitter that our men don’t rise to the occasion, literally and metaphorically! as we feminize them when we let our masculine personas rule the roost!

“Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” -Voltaire

So what’s the antidote? Well, Voltaire put it perfectly when he said “Don't let the ...

These days so many women get caught up in the duel demands of work and running a house that they forget how to do something that’s so fundamental in helping them get support from the man by their side.

How can something so obvious be so easy to forget!?!

This short video will tell you

·      exactly what it is

·      the ways it affects us that we’re not even aware of

·      and what to do about it.

Don't beat yourself up! : -) It's human nature, we’re so quick to forget what we most need to remember.

If you want more information on the 5 positives to every negative that I briefly mention in this video (which is vital to the success of any relationship) it's what I'm going to make my next vlog about so please stay tuned or sign up for my newsletter and you'll receive it automatically.

With lasting love,

Nikki

Lack of libido or female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) as it’s technically known, is a common reason women consult with me. This can happen at any age and for a variety of different reasons. 

While anthropologically it is suggested that men have higher libidos than women, in my practice I am consistently seeing the ravages of stress, ill-health and relationship problems, on men’s libidos too.

 However today's vlic is about women and there are so many reasons why women of any age can be affected by female sexual arousal disorder. 

Many women didn’t come from families who were comfortable with helping them create healthy sexual identities and as a result haven’t really learned how to enjoy their own sexuality, especially independently. If you don’t become aware of how your body works and what turns you on most, it’s more difficult to then guide your partner towards truly satisfying sex in the long-term. As a result, many women I speak to don’t really see the true value in sex for th...

I was recently asked by a journalist to share my thoughts regarding whether we should spill the beans to someone, when we know they’re being cheated on. Those of us who value honesty above all else (and are often comfortable with conflict or even seek it out) will say “absolutely” and will do it regardless of the cost. On the other end of the spectrum those who value an easy life (and are often conflict avoidant) say “No, why stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong”. My answer to that question, like many of life’s dilemmas is, “it depends”.

 
Firstly let’s clarify what constitutes an affair. An affair isn’t just about a sexual indiscretion, it’s also about secrets, intimacy and the destruction of trust. I help couples who seek me out in the aftermath of an affair to co-construct it’s definition. Looking for a less pejorative way to describe each partners’ situation, I use the terms ‘affairer’ for the person who’s having/had the affair and ‘affairee’ for the partner who’s having/h...

In the immortal words of Elton John, sorry really does seem to be the hardest word.

Please click here if you'd rather listen than watch.

 
The topic of todays’s Blog is without a doubt one of the most important things we can learn to do properly, if we are going to have good relationships. In fact I would go as far as to say it would be pretty impossible to have a well-balanced and meaningful relationship without knowing how to do it, and do it well.

 
I remember learning about why saying sorry was so important and how to do it properly and the power and freedom it brought me was enormous, and I want to share that with you today.

In my work with couples there’s often one of them who feels like they’re the one who’s always saying sorry, and that usually the only way to fix things between them is to apologise. In fact oftentimes the reason that they end up coming to see me, is because that person has stopped doing it, they just got so fed up with it, and instead it got replaced by e...