Throughout history, including today, we have faced situations in which people have voiced and acted upon strong disagreements with each other, with little tolerance for hearing or learning from those they oppose.

I think all people in our society could benefit from learning and applying lessons that people have found to be helpful in improving the quality of interactions and relationships within family counseling. This blog discusses some of these lessons that I teach at the start of family counseling sessions.

1. Respect

Almost every person wants to be respected. For interactions to be fruitful, it is important to treat each other with respect, which includes doing our best to listen to and understand each other’s point of view, and to respond thoughtfully and constructively, even when we disagree.

When you find yourself losing respect for a person with whom you disagree, remind yourself that to maintain a useful dialogue you need to regain a respectful attitude. One way to do so is to identify aspects of your opponent’s life that you believe are worthy of respect, such as their love of........

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