Couples Therapy, emotionally available partners

MARRIAGE & EMOTIONALLY AVAILABLE PARTNERS

How emotionally available are you ?

Circle “T” or “F” to describe how you respond to the following situations.

The more “True” answers you circle, the likelier you are to have difficulty with emotional availability

  1. (T)(F) I seldom cry.
  2. (T)(F) If I feel like crying, I try everything I can to stop myself.
  3. (T)(F) I seldom saw my family express emotions when I was growing up.
  4. (T)(F) Emotions are embarrassing.
  5. (T)(F) There are many things from my childhood I don’t like talking about.
  6. (T)(F) I think people who express their emotions are weak or silly.
  7. (T)(F) People who get emotional at work risk ruining things for all of us.
  8. (T)(F) People do much better when they use logic, not emotions. Emotions are a waste of time
  9. (T)(F) If my friends want to talk about their relationships, I change the subject.
  10. (T)(F) When I hear people talk about how they feel, I’m not sure what they mean.
  11. (T)(F) Men have two emotions … content and angry… and they shouldn’t try to express anything else.
  12. (T)(F) I don’t like it when friends call to talk over their problems; I’m not their therapist.
  13. (T)(F) Healthy people can keep things to themselves at all times.

Baya Mebarek, Psy.D., LMFT
www.sandiegofamilytherapy.net