It is, indeed, vital that spouses share feelings daily, especially the difficult ones. In times of crisis it is only through open, honest and respectful communication of feelings that one can begin to understand how deeply their spouse cares about the issues that plague their relationship.

And it is equally vital that people understand that Marriage Encounter and Retrouvaille helps couples learn a tried-and-true method of communicating with each other, again, in an open, honest and respectful way.

Couples/spouses in crisis can then make greater strides with a counselor about their BEHAVIORAL difficulties because they can eliminate unnecessary arguing, bickering,and blaming along with time-wasting “finger pointing” and “garbage dumping.”

To say that “unfaithfulness…triggers most breakdowns” seems to me to be a grave generalization in that not all marriages in crisis experience unfaithful behavior (although “some” — maybe even “many” — do); rather, I tend to believe that it is the breakdown of respect for one’s spouse early in the marriage that leads to marital discord.