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Building Long-Term Relationships

by John W. Loeff, Ph.D.

300 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-1964; ISBN 1-4251-0207-7; US$19.57, C$22.50, EUR15.25, £10.11

Long-term relationships require many building blocks to make it work. Which ones need some work in your relationship? If you refuse to work on them, divorce could be next. Your choice!

About the Book

The craft of team-building in long-term relationships requires many building blocks and this book details at least ten major blocks. Your troubles could be related to very high and perhaps unrealistic expectations or a lack in communication and listening skills. Should you pay attention to your own personality or the way we talk to each other? Which components need some fine-tuning in your relationship? Relationship building is an arduous task, filled with many detours and roadblocks. The analogy I would like to use is a bricklayer laying the bricks for the outside wall of your house. If these bricks are not laid straight and with the right amount of mortar, leaks or cracks will appear. And, unfortunately, relationships are no different. Work on each "brick" successfully and the relationship will blossom. Ignoring issues over time, result in arguments, fights and perhaps a divorce. Take your pick. Good luck!

A Hardcover edition of this title is available through Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

About the Author

John W. Loeff, Ph.D. has a private practice in Marriage & Family Counseling. He is also a former Associate Dean of general education at Baker College in Michigan; a certified consultant and has a certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. With an educational background from the Netherlands, Canada and the U.S.; he provides a unique perspective on family issues.

Reviews

Local author helps couples John Loeff hopes he'll save at least one marriage with his new book. Building Long-Term Relationships is the author's very own guide to couple survival. His 10 chapters cover communication, personality, problem-solving, negotiating and managing change. "I see a lot of people running around with no direction in life," Loeff said. "So I thought, maybe I should come up with something to help." The 300-page book even cites celebrity relationship examples like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. "He wanted kids," Loeff said. "But she wanted a career."

After retiring from Ontario Hydro in 2000, Loeff, a psychologist, started his own private practice in Bluewater Counseling. From there he taught psychology at Baker College in Michigan for three years, before taking a position at the facility's library where he currently works as a research assistant. "I never had the intention of writing to become an author," he said. "But I just love doing research."

Four years in the making, Loeff said the book is one of his biggest accomplishments. "It gives me an enormous sense of satisfaction," he said. "Not many people can do this."

He's already working on a second book about neurotics, titled, The Unsuccessful Journey.

Building Long-Term Relationships is now available www.trafford.com and The Book Keeper.

Tara Hagan, writer