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Bubble baths and yoga classes are great but what we really need to reduce stress this holiday season is connection. Are you tired of the same old recycled advice for reducing stress during the holidays? Listen in an learn how relational living is the key to lower stress year round. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Trust has many elements that are essential to a strong relationship. Here's one hack for building emotional trust while staying true to yourself. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

We often think of the obvious problems in relationships, like infidelity, abuse, addictions as crossing the line. But there are more subtle and essential ways that lines are crossed which erode intimacy, connection, love and compassion over time. If you want more respect, intimacy, connection and love, take a listen to how boundaries are key to creating what you want and what will help your relationships thrive. Credit must be given to Terry Real, whose Relational Life Therapy Certification training I am currently a part of and the work of his mentor, Pia Mellody. Their work is helping to strengthen relationships in groundbreaking ways and I'm honored to be a part of sharing that information and transformation with the couples in my office and my listeners. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

After more than 2 years since the last episode was published, we are BACK! Listen in to hear our plans for future episodes to help you get stronger together in your most important relationships! We plan to launch mid September 2019 so be sure to follow us so you are alerted to when our new episodes are released. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

One in 8 couples has difficulty conceiving or sustaining a pregnancy. Infertility is a developmental crisis for couples and leaves them grappling with a roller coaster of emotions, difficult decisions, the juggling of medical appointments, increased stress at a time that most of us expect to be simple and exciting. Risa’s guest today is Dr. Tara Simpson, a licensed psychologist in Maryland. Her special interests include providing counseling to individuals with issues related to reproductive health, including fertility issues, adjustment to utilizing assisted reproductive treatments, pregnancy loss, and postpartum depression. In addition, she works extensively with individuals and couples pursuing treatment using donated gametes and/or gestational carriers. She serves on the Executive Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Mental Health Professional Group and is a member of RESOLVE. Dr. Simpson sees patients in her Towson and Columbia offices. If you, or someone you know is struggling with fertility issues, listen in as Risa and Dr Simpson talk about how the support of a therapist who specializes in fertility issues, coping mechanisms and exercise and mindfulness are essential to couples getting stronger together. Dr Simpson can be reached at 410-303-3402 for those of you who are local to the Columbia, Maryland area. To find a therapist in your area if you are not local to us, The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is a great resource for finding a clinician near you. go to www.asrm.org and complete the form under Resources and select Mental Health Professional. We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! Don’t miss out! Our April Fitness Support group is forming now! For more info go to www.togethercouplescounseling.com/fitness-coaching or email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Do you keep setting goals for yourself and get frustrated because you don’t reach them? Do you wish you knew what to do when your excuses keep getting in the way? Find out how four simple letters, G.O.A.P can be the key to reaching any goal and why the “P” is essential to kicking your excuses to the curb! If you haven’t already, be sure to listen to episode 012 of this podcast first to help you set up the first steps for success. In episode 002, Risa talked about the importance of trying something new in order to truly feel alive!Find out what Risa tried recently in today’s episode and tell her about what you’ve done lately, or plan to do by leaving a voice message at www.strongertogetherpodcast.com We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! Don’t miss out! Our March Into Wellness group is forming now! For more info go to www.togethercouplescounseling.com/fitness-coaching or email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

If I have to add one more thing to my to do list, I’m going to fall apart! So many of us feel like that and we also feel like we never get to the things that truly matter to us. It leaves us feeling drained, demoralized, like we’ve messed up and failed. Join Risa and her extra, extra special guest (you’ll see why when you listen!) and implement her three strategies for stopping the overwhelm. You’ll feel more fulfilled and aligned with your values. It will boost your energy and reduce your stress. We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! Take the real Love Your Spouse Challenge through fitness coaching with Risa. Our March group is forming now! For more info go to www.togethercouplescounseling.com/fitness-coaching or email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Big AHA! moments are not the cornerstone of helping relationships change. It’s the small things that have a big impact. Expressing appreciation will change how you see your spouse and will help you really connect to the true goodness of experiencing something outside of yourself that you spouse brings to you every day. Take notice of it, express appreciation for it and make your relationship stronger! Tune in for 5 tips on how to truly express appreciation to your spouse. We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at  www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode!  Take the real Love Your Spouse Challenge through fitness coaching with Risa. For more info go to www.togethercouplescounseling.com/fitness-coaching or email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/   --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. If you’d like to enjoy the day and not run into dashed hopes or unmet expectations this year, tune in for 5 tips that will help you enjoy the day and connect to what it is truly about…LOVE. We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! Take the real Love Your Spouse Challenge through fitness coaching with Risa. For more info go to www.togethercouplescounseling.com/fitness-coaching or email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Only 10% of all therapists evaluate and support the role fitness and nutrition plays in their client’s lives. I’ve been a therapist for 26 years and a fitness coach for 7 years and its long past time I started to combine the two in order to integrate all the parts and support every aspect of your life. Depression and anxiety, inflammation and exercise are our topic today. Learn about the effects of medication versus exercise in treating depression and anxiety and the role inflammation plays in mental health. You have in your control the ability to reduce anxiety and depression and with the information and the tools offered in this podcast you can be on your way to feeling better, and improving your relationships because of it. For fitness coaching with Risa, email us at risa@togethercouplescounseling.com The app mentioned in today’s show is called Seven Minutes Every Day. Research cited in todays episode: Salmon, P. (2001) Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression, and Sensitivity to Stress: A unifying theory. Clinical Psychology Review 21, 33-61 Hanson CJ, Stevens LC, Coast JR (2001) Exercise Duration and Mood State: How Much is Enough to Feel Better? Health Psychology 20, 267-275 Neilan, T.G. et al. (2006). Myocardial Injury and Ventricular Dysfunction Related to Training Levels Among Nonelite Participants in the Boston Marathon. Circulation. 2006; 114: 2325-2333 We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at  www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line.  Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could run a half marathon” or “Wow, it’s so cool that she runs, but I could never do that” or did you make a resolution to get into running this New Year and maybe you’ve fallen off the wagon? Or maybe you just want to meet some really inspiring positive women and expand your circle of friends! You can do it and there is support out there and it’s free too! Take a listen to this episode of my interview with co-leader of the Howard County chapter of Moms Run This Town, Melissa Kistler. Challenge yourself, enjoy the journey, make new friends, and find a chapter near you no matter where you are. It’s a great way to get Stronger Together. For more information on Moms Run This Town go to www.MomsRunThisTown.com  We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at  www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line. Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

It’s inevitable that even in the healthiest marriage you will argue with your spouse. In this Marriage Minute episode, learn one KEY tool that every couple should use to manage those arguments. When your commitment is to the longevity of your relationship, the well-being of your partner and to deepening your understanding of one another, this tool will help you get stronger together! We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at  www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode! To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line. Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/   --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Is it just a platonic friendship? What are the signs that it’s not? Is a physical affair the only way to betray a marriage? Tune in to this episode to learn some of the signs that indicate an emotional affair may be occurring and how it drains the emotional energy away from your marriage.  We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Leave us a voice message right on our website. It’s quick and easy at  www.togethercouplescounseling.com/podcast and your topic may just be our next episode!  To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line.  Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Do you put dating your spouse at the bottom of your to do list? Do you think, “Oh, we’ll get back to that once the kids are out of the house”. Join Risa and her very special guest to hear why dating your spouse is essential for your kids well-being and the future of your marriage.  We’d love to hear what topics you want us to talk about! Use the contact form on our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and your topic may just be our next episode!  To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line.  Chat with us about each weeks episode and get more support in our Facebook group by requesting to join here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Making New Year resolutions is one thing. Remaining resolute and seeing them through is quite another. – Alex Morritt This time of year is stressful! And, if you’re anything like Risa, the pressure to make New Year Resolutions can add to that stress. We all want to ‘be better” at all kinds of things in 2017, and our inboxes are stuffed to the gills with emails that overwhelm us and make us feel inadequate. This New Year, beat the overwhelm and do it differently. Risa will help you use the physiology of the human brain to employ better, more effective strategies for making New Year Resolutions that stick. Learn the 6 strategies to help you make resolutions that last and find out which food is Risa’s nemesis! When you hear the name, you’ll say “no duh!” To get your free Ebook 7 Strategies to Become Stronger Together in 2017 visit our website at www.togethercouplescounseling.com/contact-us and put Stronger Together Ebook in the subject line. Getting stronger together includes sharing your feedback with me! Please subscribe to this podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in Itunes! Thanks so much! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn here. –Marianne Williamson This is Us…Risa’s favorite show on TV and she just had to talk about the episode called The Trip. Fear takes over and we see how, in one family when they operate from fear it has ripple effects and gets in the way of love and connection. This is something we all struggle with, including Risa. Hear her candidly share her own recent struggle with fear and learn 3 tips for moving from fear back to love. Are you operating from fear in certain things in your life? Be candid with yourself and start 2017 with a commitment to change it. Getting stronger together includes sharing your feedback with me! Please subscribe to this podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in Itunes! Thanks so much! Join the Stronger Together Community on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

It’s ironic how we feel most ALIVE when our heart skips a few beats! While routines and predictability are important to our well-being, it is essential that we balance that stability with novelty. When was the last time you tried something new? In this episode, Risa talks about the importance of trying new things to enrich your life physically, emotionally and in your most important relationships. Make it part of your plan to find ways to feel more alive in 2017.  Getting stronger together includes sharing your feedback with me! Please subscribe to this podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in Itunes! Thanks so much! Join the Stronger Together Community on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

As huge fan of the musical, Hamilton, Risa invites you to Talk Less….Listen More. As Risa stated in Episode 000, though this is not a political podcast, many of our relationships are being impacted by the divisive election campaign and results of 2016. Holiday gatherings are contentious, adult children aren’t talking to their parents and friendships are being challenged. In this episode, Risa invites you to find ways to talk less, listen more and gain a deeper understanding of those who have different view-points than yours so that we can maintain connections and grow stronger together even when we disagree. Getting stronger together includes sharing your feedback with me! Please subscribe to this podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in Itunes! Thanks so much!  Join the Stronger Together Community on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message

Welcome to the Introduction episode of the Stronger Together Podcast. Risa Ganel, LCMFT is your host and each week will provide empowerment, encouragement, information, tips, free resources, and support from an expert who helps you ignite every aspect of your life: Your marriage, friendships, fitness, health, emotional well-being, career, and commitment to life and love. Each focused episode is designed to give you strategies and action steps you can use as an individual and as part of a couple – helping you become a stronger person, partner, parent, and the best version of yourself in everything you do. Highly effective Marriage Therapist for over a quarter century, Entrepreneur whose private practice is consistently voted Best Therapy Practice of Howard County Maryland since the inception of the category (2014, 2015), Fitness Coach, Marathon Runner, LLS Fundraiser, Wife, Mom and Stepmom, Risa Ganel, LCMFT shares with you her insights and knowledge, with warmth, candor and humor like she does with her clients and even her best friends. The Stronger Together Podcast is relationship coaching, personal empowerment, fit life coaching, inspiration and more from a trusted, compassionate professional who is passionate about helping couples strengthen their lives together. This podcast will feel like you just got off the phone with your wisest friend, who’s in it with you and just gets it! Join the Stronger Together Community on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1128126663947511/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stronger-together/message