Jeffry H. Larson 
The Great Marriage Tune-Up Book 
A Proven Program for Evaluating and Renewing Your Relationship

From Dr. Jeffry Larson– the author of the best-selling Should We Stay Together? that was featured on the Today Show– comes a must-have book for couples in a long-term relationship. All serious couples reach a point where they feel frustrated, stuck, bored, disillusioned, and misunderstood. But now, drawing on over fifty years of research in marital and family relationships, Dr. Larson provides helpful and easy-to-use quizzes, self-tests, and personal assessments that reveal why you’re feeling this way, explain the underlying issues, and provide solutions to specific issues and problems. Throughout this practical book, Dr. Larson highlights strengths and weaknesses, and focuses on goals for improvement.

Table of Content

Introduction.

1. Overcoming Myths About Marriage: The Three Stages of Marriage Its Your Decision The Benefits of Knowing the Stages and Options Myths About Marriage That Sustain Problems Debunking the Myths Moving Beyond the Myths: What We Know.

2. The Marriage Triangle: Three Factors That Predict Your Marital Satisfaction;
Where the Research Came From Assessment andthe Marriage Triangle.

3. Factor 1: Your Individual Traits;Traits That Cause Marriage Problems The Role of Dysfunctional Beliefs Traits That Contribute to Marital Satisfaction Two Especially Vital Traits Scoringand Interpretation Guidelines Guidelines for Improving Personality Traits and Attitudes Two Key Attitudes for Marital Satisfaction Emotional Problems and Physical Health Dysfunctional Beliefs That Hinder Marital Satisfaction Adjusting for Differences Your Big Picture.

4 Factor 2: Your Couple Traits;
Couple Communication Assessment Exercise The Importance of Communication Conflict Resolution Skills Flooding and Soothing: ANegative Trait and a Positive Trait Intimacy: The Reason We Got Married Consensus Cohesion Dealing with Power Problems Scoring and Interpretation Guidelines More Serious Marital Problems Your Big Picture.

5 Factor 3: Your Personal and Relationship Contexts;
Personal Context: Family-of-Origin Influences Relationship Context:Stressors Affecting Marriage Marriage Competitors: Work, Parenting, and Outside Interests Scoring and Interpretation Guidelines Your Big Picture.

6 Your Own Personal Marriage Triangle:Putting the Three Factors Together;
Using the Summary Sheet Completing Your Own Summary Sheet.

7 Additional Resources for Marriage Tune-Ups: Individual Traits Resources Couple Traits Resources Context Resources Organizationsfor Marriage Enrichment How to Find a Competent Therapist.

Notes.

The Author.

About the author

Jeffry Larson, Ph.D., is chairperson, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, Brigham Young University. He was chairperson of the Marriage Preparation Focus Group of the national Council on Family Relations and has been a marriage and family therapist for more than twenty-two years. He is the author of Should We Stay Together? (Jossey-Bass).