Category Archives: News

Laurie Israel interviewed in New York Magazine

By Laurie Israel | Published: December 23, 2016

Laurie Israel was interviewed by Charlotte Cowles in New York Magazine this week on her views on prenuptial agreements.   The interview includes how mediation can help couples formulate a prenup. Here's a link to the entire article.  "How to Decide … Continue reading →

Also posted in Media-Video-PowerPoints, Mediating Prenuptial Agreements | Comments closed

Underwood Family Values – A Template for a Marriage

By Laurie Israel | Published: May 12, 2016

by Laurie Israel I’m a late adopter. While the Netflix-produced political drama “House of Cards”  premiered back in February of 2013, and four seasons (totaling 52 episodes) have already aired, with a fifth season in the works, I only started … Continue reading →

Also posted in Articles, Marriage | Comments closed

Susan Boardman’s Article on Marital Mediation published in Conflict Resolution Quarterly

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: March 6, 2014

Susan K. Boardman, a family mediator based in Connecticut, has been working in the marital mediation field for many years, as a practitioner, teacher, and writer. Her seminal article on marital mediation has appeared in the recent issue of Conflict … Continue reading →

Also posted in Articles, Marital Mediation, Marriage, Mediation | Comments closed

Will You Still Love Me When I’m 164?

By Laurie Israel | Published: September 19, 2013

Times Magazine just published an article on the new old age.  How might marriage change if humans could live 150 years, which scientists now believe is possible.   Will people have several successive spouses?  Family therapist Winifred M. Reilly ponders this … Continue reading →

Also posted in Marriage | Tagged | Comments closed

Seven Principles for Keeping Marriage Strong

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: May 24, 2013

This poster was in Yes Magazine, and is from John and Julie Gottman, of the Gottman institute. Yes Magazine is an online publication with a section on “happiness”. 

Also posted in Marriage | Tagged , | Comments closed

Marital mediator in “Room for Debate” in New York Times

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: March 23, 2013

Laurie Israel, one of the active practitioners of marital mediation (and co-founder of this website) was one of the six debaters asked to participate in the New York Times “Room for Debate” column, which was published in the New York … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

What’s the “Parental Divorce Reduction Act”?

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: March 16, 2013

We just heard about this proposed act.  It was formulated by a team of experts.  The Parental Divorce Reduction Act requires parents with minor children to attend marriage education classes, and to take an eight month “time out” to consider … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Choosing a Mediator or an Attorney

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: February 9, 2013

My Mediator is Not an Attorney? Is That a Problem/Martin Rosenfeld I once participated in a study which involved mediators who were attorneys and mediators who were non-attorneys. The study concluded that the mediator-attorneys tended to view the issue at … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Comments closed

Maybe Arranged Marriages are Good

By Laurie Israel | Published: January 28, 2013

Modern Lessons from Arranged Marriages, a recent New York Times article, weighs in on arranged marriage, and concludes that parental involvement may be very helpful to choosing a spouse. Robert Epstein, Ph.D., a research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavior … Continue reading →

Also posted in Marriage | Comments closed

Infidelity in marriage — what does “Hedonic Adaptation” have to do with it?

By Laurie Israel | Published: January 26, 2013
Also posted in Articles, Infidelity | Comments closed

Should marriage contracts be renewable?

By MaritalMediation Staff | Published: October 23, 2012
Also posted in Articles, Marriage | Comments closed

Dealing with Stress in your Marriage

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 17, 2011

Everyone knows that stress can cause a lot of problems, so it should be no surprise that too much stress can harm your marriage. To protect your marriage from stress, first, you have to figure out what is causing the … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

A Snapshot of Divorce

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 13, 2011

The widely publicized 50% divorce rate is limited to certain subsets of the population and is not the U.S. population as a whole. Factors, such as income, education, and age when first married, all influence a person’s likelihood of divorce. … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , | Comments closed

Government Encourages Unwed Parents to Marry

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 12, 2011

Can government do more to promote marriage? Kansas thinks so. The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services applied for a federal grant of $2.2 million per year for three years to provide programs that encourage unwed parents to marry … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , | Comments closed

Think Divorce Will Make You Happy – Think Again

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 11, 2011

If you are unhappily married, will divorce make you happy? Research says no. In fact, the opposite is true. Divorce tends to not alleviate depression, improve self esteem, or increase feelings of mastery of one’s life – key factors in … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Tips for Setting Goals with your Spouse

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 6, 2011

Our responses to this week’s marriage chat hosted by blackandmarriedwithkids.com.   Should spouses plan goals for the marriage? Definitely! Working towards joint goals gives strength to your marriage. If you’re not heading in the same direction, you’re heading for disaster. … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Turn Falling in Love into Staying in Love

By Selena Walckner | Published: October 5, 2011

Popular culture is filled with tales of finding a soul mate and falling in love. As children, we hear stories of princesses riding off into the sunset with their knights in shining armor, finding happily ever after. As we age, movies … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Comments closed

What Makes Marriage Work

By Selena Walckner | Published: September 26, 2011

Faithfulness is the most important factor in a successful marriage, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center. Participants were asked to rank nine items associated with a successful marriage as either “very important,” “important,” or “not very important.” … Continue reading →

Also posted in Infidelity | Tagged , | Comments closed

Long-term Effects of Conflict on Children

By Selena Walckner | Published: September 24, 2011

Today’s parents are embracing the mindset of “staying together for the kids” out of a desire to protect their children from the pain of divorce. But parents must also protect their children by preventing conflict. Parental conflict, regardless of divorce, can have … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

The Changing View of Fatherhood

By Selena Walckner | Published: September 20, 2011

The Center for Work and Family at Boston College researched the changing view on fatherhood through a series of in-depth interviews. The results of the study show that increasing numbers of men define the role of father as someone who … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Comments closed