Resources for Wives

No marriage is perfect. Whether the problems in your relationship involve communication, love languages, addiction, dishonesty, or anything else, we can provide you with tools and ways to improve a marriage.

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Below you will find resources for troubled marriages and great marriages alike. We have included resources for marriage counseling, truthful stories from real women, inspiring podcasts and videos, and much more.

General Resources

• Marriage and Family Therapist Finder offers great resources for marriage counseling. Find a qualified therapist near you and get started with your spouse today.
• The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center can direct you to local resources and educational opportunities.
• Marriage Minute is a free email newsletter from the Gottman Institute with ideas for improving your marriage that you can read in under 60 seconds.
• Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by Dr. Gottman: If you never read any other marriage book, we highly recommend this one. Dr. Gottman can help you morph the communication in your relationship to become more open, honest, and vulnerable.
• (There’s no such thing as a) Perfect Wife podcast has messages from wives about how they’re making their marriages work.
• The #staymarried blog has hope, stories, and resources for couples who want to stay married, much like our blog.
• If you feel that you and/or your spouse could benefit from taking an educational course, we recommend the Mend the Marriage Course by Brad Browning. Let us be clear: We do not believe in any miracles in marriage, even though Brad seems to promise those miracles. However, we truly believe in the power of education and hard work. Brad has valuable concepts to teach you. Learning one new concept can transform your perspective and behavior in your marriage forever.

Abuse

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: Get in touch with someone who can help immediately via call or live chat. Make a plan to get to safety. Find out how to identify abuse or support others who are experiencing abuse.
• AVDA: Learn how to understand domestic violence, and find events you can attend to learn more about domestic violence. You can also get help from a real person through AVDA, as well as economic empowerment and more.
• Stop Relationship Abuse offers some education and resources related to emotional and mental abuse.
• The Crisis Text Line offers free 24/7 texting support from a crisis support counselor: just text 741741.

Anger or Temper

• This article by GoodTherapy suggests 8 Strategies for Dealing with an Angry Partner.
• This Christian site offers biblically-based ways for Dealing with Anger in Your Marriage.

Anxiety and Panic

• NPR suggests some great ways for helping an anxious partner – and yourself!
• Don’t forget, we published a whole book of our best anxiety and depression-related marriage stories. These true stories may give you some ideas for dealing with anxiety or at least provide solace as you realize you are not alone.

Arguing

• NBC News published 5 steps to fighting fair to help you create a better marriage.
• WebMD offers some great tips for diffusing the tension and keeping the peace in your marriage.

Blending Families

• The Blended and Step Family Resource Center offers books, webinars, stories, videos, and more about blended and step families
• The StepFamily Foundation offers counseling services, blog posts, and coaching specifically for blended families.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Faith Crisis, Part-Member Families etc.)

• Surviving a Faith Crisis (and How Church Members Can Help) by Patrick Q. Mason is an LDS Living article with ideas about simplification and inclusion.
• Strengthening Marriage & Family Resources – various books published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Strengthening Marriage, the Family Guidebook, and many more.

Communication

• Read 5 Communication Tools That Saved My Marriage on familylife.com to read a personal story and discover practical tools to try in your marriage.
• “Couple Communication” is an award-winning relationship education program.
• The Power of Two Workbook: Communication Skills for a Strong & Loving Marriage (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) has a step-by-step guide where you examine yourself and your relationship to improve your communication.
• Our Peaceful Family also published a list of best communication books & workbooks for couples to use.

Considering Divorce

• SAS compiled this awesome resource: 36 Things to Do if You are Thinking about Divorce. This is a great way to educate yourself about divorce and explore all of your options.
• Mort Fertel has compiled some great ways to prevent divorce. Some of his resources are free of charge.

Cultural Differences

• Focusing on the Family created an insightful Q & A page regarding navigating cultural differences in marriage.
• David Ludden Ph.D. published this article in Psychology Today: How to Make an Intercultural Marriage Work.

Dating

• Radiant Abilities has published these fun dating resources including paid workshops, downloadable content, and more with themes like “How to Write a Kick-Butt Dating Profile” and “Increasing Self-Confidence.”
• For Your Marriage has various dating articles including “Four Basics to Keep in Mind,” “A Letter from a Newlywed Couple,” and “Whom Not to Marry: Time-Tested Advice.”

Death

• NIH offers this extensive resource on Mourning the Death of a Spouse.
• Oprah.com also features a great article on what to expect when coping with the death of a spouse.

Decision to Marry

• “What to know before getting married: Advice from a couples therapist” is a logical 2018 article with advice about moving forward with marriage
• Making the Marriage Decision on churchofjesuschrist.org features amazing true stories about taking the right path and going forward with faith

Family Dynamics

• Focus on the Family provides a page dedicated to In-Law Relationships covering common concerns like holidays, control issues, and personality differences.
• Familyeducation.com has created a whole page full of resources for building healthy relationships with in-laws, including “Top Tips to Deal with In-Laws During the Holidays,” “Deciding to Join a Family Business,” and many more.

Financial Challenges

• Experience the most comprehensive, easy-to-read guide on financial literacy specifically for women. Strengthen your financial literacy or learn more about types of income.
• How to Avoid Money Problems in Your Marriage on Good Financial Cents provides simple and practical tips as well as a useful video.
• Academic speaker Luke Fitzpatrick writes 8 Ways to Manage Financial Stress in Your Marriage so that even when money is a problem, you can lessen the stress
• You can read or listen to NPR’s take on How to Keep Money from Messing Up Your Marriage by Chris Arnold

• To see more on financial challenges, see our financial challenges page.
• Mental Health
• Focus on the Family provides different resources, including help for BPD, anxiety, PTSD etc. that are centered on Christ
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/mentalhealth offers mental health solutions and phone numbers you can call.

Therapy

• To learn all about what marriage and family involves, check out this post from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. The site also provides many other resources for marriage counseling, like help finding an MFT and a locator for mental health professionals.
• Are you unsure whether or not you want to start therapy with your spouse? This is a decision only you and your partner can make, but as you explore our resources for marriage counseling, consider this blog post: 9 Signs You Need Marriage Counseling or Couples Therapy