S3, Ep4 - Risa Ganel, a couples therapist, joins host Alyssa Decker to discuss artificial intimacy and healthy connections in relationships. They explore the definition of intimacy as the intersection of truth and love, and the importance of maintaining individuality while staying connected. They highlight the need for healthy conflict and repair in relationships, emphasizing that conflict is necessary for deep intimacy. They also discuss the difference between artificial intimacy, which involves surface-level apologies and distractions, and true intimacy, which involves addressing conflicts and understanding each other's perspectives. The process of repair is described as a one-way conversation where one person's hurt is addressed, followed by giving space and time before addressing the other person's hurt. In this conversation, Alyssa and Risa Ganel discuss the importance of trust and healthy communication in relationships. They emphasize the need for couples to address concerns and hurts, rather than avoiding them. They also highlight the significance of creating a safe space for uncomfortable conversations and the importance of trust in bringing up issues later. Risa provides practical steps for moving towards healthy intimacy, including learning to pause before reacting, choosing healthier actions, and creating opportunities to be heard. They also discuss the feedback wheel method for having productive conversations and the shift from 'I' thinking to 'we' thinking in relationships.

About Risa:

Risa Ganel is a licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Relational Life Therapist and Trainer for the Relational Life Institute. In practice for over 30 years, she facilitates relationship growth through 2 Day Couples Intensives, Relationship Bootcamps, weekly Couples Therapy, and public speaking engagements.

Her gifts blend wisdom with quiet strength and relationship science with empathic connection. She is skilled at being kind and fierce in the same breath, helping clients connect to the truth, transform conflict into connection, and establish the intimate relationships they long for.

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