Important Aspects for Healthy Relationships

One client asked me “what does a good relationship look like?” I pointed them to some the following characteristics.

Mutual Respect: How do I treat the other person? Do I communicate she has value?

Compassion: Am I genuinely concerned about what he is concerned about?

Empathy: To what degree am I able to be transparent to what she feels?

Understanding: Do I really seek to understand what he says or does?

Acceptance: Does he and I accept the other the way we are?

Honesty: Is truthfulness the foundation on which this relationship is constructed?

Trust: To what degree am I willing to let him know private aspects of my thoughts and feeling?

Communication: Can she and I talk easily about issues that are important to our relationship?

Consideration: Am I aware of his needs as well as my own?

Compatibility and Mutual Enjoyment: To what degree do we value similar things?

Personal Integrity: Am I able to preserve my own beliefs and awareness of self in addition to offer my time and devotion to the relationship?

Vulnerability: To what degree can I relinquish my walls and allow her to see my apparent weaknesses without fear of reprisal?

The above is adapted from Woititz (1990).

If you need help achieving any of the above characteristics, please give me a call. 404.293.5654
Jim