Relationships
How to save your marriage: what it means when you both want to try
What does trying to save a marriage involve? A look at mutual willingness, honest conversation and changes that go beyond promises.
Read the articleTopic
Relationships
Articles about communication, patterns, intimacy and the everyday questions that shape a relationship.
A relationship is shaped by more than big conversations and major decisions. It is also built through small moments — how we listen, return to one another after a disagreement, show tenderness and notice when we have begun to drift apart.
Here you will find Petra's articles about communication, recurring patterns, lack of initiative and small steps towards reconnecting. They are not a recipe for every couple, but a place from which a calmer conversation can begin.
A place to begin
Articles about this topic
Relationships
Compromise in marriage: when agreement means giving up part of yourself
When does compromise support a relationship, and when does it hide unspoken needs? Petra explores agreement, boundaries and intimacy in marriage.
Read the article
Relationships
A healthy relationship starts with a phone-free conversation
A relationship rarely turns into life with a flatmate overnight. Sometimes one small thing is missing: ten phone-free minutes in which partners truly see and hear one another again.
Read the article
Relationships
How to reconnect with your partner: seven unusual ideas for greater closeness
Connection does not begin with a magic formula. These seven slightly unusual suggestions may help you awaken curiosity, touch and closeness in your relationship again.
Read the article
Relationships
When your intimate life becomes predictable: bringing in something new
Routine is not the enemy of a relationship, but intimacy can become predictable. A few small changes agreed together can create more room for curiosity and play.
Read the article
Relationships
Why doesn't your partner initiate intimacy?
When one person always takes the initiative, it is easy to assume the problem is desire. Sometimes it is worth looking at routine, expectations and how partners invite each other into closeness.
Read the articleAsk Petra
Anonymous questions and Petra's answers
Reader’s letter
I love my wife, but since she became a mother I no longer desire her
Petra answersHis desire has not disappeared, but it is no longer directed towards his wife. Petra responds on motherhood, sexuality and responsibility for infidelity.
Read Petra's answerAnonymous question
An affair made me feel alive. Does it mean my marriage is over? Petra answers
Petra answersDoes the excitement of an affair mean your marriage is over? Petra on responsibility for infidelity and what you are really looking for in a relationship.
Read Petra's answerAnonymous question
An open relationship without mutual desire: Petra answers
Petra answersYour partner does not want an open relationship but fears losing you. Petra explains why consent without free desire is not a sound basis for a relationship.
Read Petra's answerWould you like to explore this together?
Couples coaching offers a structured space to talk about communication, trust, intimacy and the patterns you repeatedly find yourselves in.