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Classifying Partners

"No one likes to be classified, yet we tend to classify the people and things around us because we have brains that, by nature, organize, sort, and compare information and experience. In fact, people have been defining the human condition for centuries, and they continue to form new ways of doing so today. We are liberals or conservatives, geeks or Goths, atheists or religious fanatics, Scorpios or Capricorns, either from Mars or from Venus. As long as we don't use these categories to debase or dehumanize anyone, they can help us understand one another.
..."If you can recognize and understand each other's styles, it is much easier to work together and to resolve issues as they arise. Having the sense that 'I know who you are' makes it easier to be forgiving and to be sincerely supportive." -Stan Tatkin, Psy.D. in Wired for Love

Understanding our partner is about giving understanding not accepting abusive or mean behavior
from them. It is about having boundaries as well as grace and mercy.

Renee Madison, MA, LPC, CSAT is a counselor in Colorado.  She can be reached for appointments at 303-257-7623 or 970-324-6928.
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