Relationship Rx

Jessica L. Griffin, PsyD, is professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where she has been a faculty member since 2006. Dr. Griffin is a nationally recognized expert in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), trauma, and relationships. As Principal Investigator and Executive Director, she developed the UMMS Child Trauma Training Center, now known as Lifeline for Kids. In April of 2020, Dr. Griffin was awarded a multi-year, multimillion dollar grant to develop the national Resilience through Relationships Center, housed at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She is a co-author of Childhood Trauma and Resilience, A Practical Guide, and has received numerous awards for her work. She has been featured on NPR, BBC, US News and World Report, Fox News, the Insider, Sirius XM Doctor Radio, People Magazine, Readers’ Digest, iHeartRadio, the New York Post, MedScape, the Daily Mail, and hundreds of other news and media outlets. Griffin has been an expert and consultant on several television docuseries about relationships, marriage and divorce on A&E’s Lifetime Television network including: Seven Year Switch, Married at First Sight, Honeymoon Island, and Happily Ever After. She has a private consulting and coaching business and is the CEO of LoveBuilder, which provides educational online courses to couples, singles, and parents. Dr. Jessica resides in Massachusetts. Pepper Schwartz, PhD, is a highly acclaimed relationship and sexuality professional. She is a professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she has created the Pepper Schwartz fellowship on intimate relationships and sexuality. She is also on the advisory board of the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Program in Human Sexuality where they have created an endowed professorship in her name: the Pepper Schwartz Professorship on Sexuality and Life Cycle Aging. She is Past President of the international group of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexualities, A member of the International Academy of Sex Research, and Past President of the Pacific Sociological Association. She was the Love, Sex and Relationship Ambassador and columnist for AARP and AARP.com for over ten years. She is the only original expert on Married at First Sight and has remained with the franchise since Season One. She resides outside of Seattle.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................................XX

Introduction.................................................................................................................................XX



Fear of Change................................................................................................................1
Trust................................................................................................................................20
Emotional Intimacy.........................................................................................................50
Sex and Attraction.............. ............................................................................................73
Unfulfilled Needs and Unmet Expectations....................................................................92
Boredom..........................................................................................................................108
Disrespect and Contempt................................................................................................126
Household Responsibilities.............................................................................................149
Money and Finances.......................................................................................................171
Friends and Family........................................................................................................188
Children and Parenting...................................................................................................208

Conclusions.................................................................................................................................228

Bibliography................................................................................................................................