Relationships can be a mixed bag….believe me, I know.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist for over 20 years, as well as a certified Parent, Life, and Relationship Coach I’ve seen how much the state of our relationships affects everything!

When our relationships at home, work, friendship, with ourselves and God are going well…everything else is going well too. But…when the weight of painful relationships (or lack thereof) is present, it is common to feel drained, distracted, and hopeless. In addition, other positive areas of life suffer too.

So, why did I start http://www.encouragingrelationships.com/? Well, I’ll tell you…I found after 20 years of counseling, that a common thread ran though all the relationship problems I saw. People who came into my office often thought they knew what was causing the relationship problems in their lives. So, they addressed that problem, and despite repeated efforts, were still stuck.

That’s when I realized, that most of the time I was able to figure out what was actually causing the problem at work, with their kids, in their marriage and friendships, etc. It was almost always different than they thought….and when they gained an accurate understanding of what was going on, or more frequently missing, it led to some very different and welcome solutions that worked!

So I felt led to start this website to offer a variety of resources to help other people with their relationships.

About 5 years ago, I noticed that many parents I saw could use some parent education to help with the multiple challenges of parenting. I couldn’t find any classes in my area at the time, so I decided to start a series of the most important parenting topics I thought parents needed to hear to both understand their kids and teenagers, as well as practical solutions to figure out what to do! I started giving these classes, and noticed that parents found them helpful…hundreds of people attended.

I taped the first class for a friend of mine who couldn’t come. At the next class countless people asked for a copy of the tape from the previous month. So…I stated taping them, and had them duplicated. To date I’ve sold thousands of theses tapes. They are now available on CD, and will soon be available as a downloadable MP3 version (check out the products page if you’d like).

Since then I’ve added audio recordings of other classes I’ve given in the areas of self-care, understanding teenagers, building closeness in your marriage, etc…

How I Can Help

That's part of the reason why I created this web site. Because my practice is located in Northern California, unless you live in this area I wouldn’t get a chance to meet you. But now I've created several new coaching programs, audio programs, and workshops to better serve some of you folks who can't travel to see me or would just rather read an e-book or listen to a CD I've put together. I really enjoy making complicated topics simple, as well as giving you tools you can use right away to better Relationships in all areas of your life.

Here are some of the ways I enjoy helping people improve their lives:

• Show You How To Develop Closer and More Satisfying Relationships - Spouse/Sibling/Friends/Business

• Improve your Enjoyment of Life and People

• Develop a Supportive and EncouragingRelationship with Yourself

• Improve Parent-Child Relationships

• Provide Direction, Guidance and Support for Your Path in Life

• Manage Your Stress More Effectively

• Understand What’s Going on Inside YourKids and Teenagers

• Develop aCloser Relationship with God

I’m very glad you visited. Please browse my site for FREE articles, upcoming workshops and classes over the phone (TeleSeminars). If I can be of help to you, please let me know…