Emotional Fitness for Couples: 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship [Paperback]

Barton Goldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2005

Peak athletic performance requires regular exercise, and a great relationship depends on regular emotional practice to stay in top form. Don't wait for a crisis to make you scramble to save your relationship. Start building emotional fitness today! Emotional Fitness for Couples is a collection of simple tips that will energize you and hone your relationship skills to championship levels-in just ten minutes a day.

Topics include: what the word 'love' really means; how to start fires in your sex life; how to date your mate; tricks for stopping an argument before it starts; and many other fun and practical ideas for getting emotionally fit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Barton Goldsmith has provided couples with a step-by-step guide to a healthy relationship. All couples, reading the short chapters and doing the explicit and powerful exercises, save, deepen and transform their relationship. I recommend it for all couples.
—Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples and coauthor of Receiving Love

In Emotional Fitness for Couples, Goldsmith helps couples become proactive in their relationships by using easy to follow exercises and practical advice that allows them to enhance their interactions and their love.
—Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear

… I found this book to contain a great deal of wisdom, which is made easily accessible to the reader. I have experienced fifty wonderful years of married life and so know the practical steps to emotional fitness for couples shared here are of great value.
—Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Prescriptions for Living and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul<.p>

This book has some very good ideas on how couples can stop their anger at each other and live more successfully together.
—Albert Ellis, Ph.D., noted psychologist and author of A Guide to Rational Living

Bull's-eye! Like a Zen archer, Barton Goldsmith releases an arrow into the very center of intimacy. And like a Zen monk he writes with a disarming charm and graceful elegance, creating a book that is fun, funny, yet penetratingly wise. My advice is simple - Read it.
—Shawn Christopher Shea, MD, author of Happiness Is and Psychiatric Interviewing: the Art of Understanding

Goldsmith is the BEST natural born therapist I have ever met. I thoroughly enjoy working with him.
—David Viscott, MD, TV and radio talk show host and author of The Making of a Psychiatrist

Goldsmith's articles and books on relationships are right on the mark.
—Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of Driven from Distraction, Dare to Forgive, and Delivered from Distraction

I can HONESTLY say that Goldsmiths's book is outstanding-a really terrific combination of good bedside manner, useful and practical information, and common sense.
—Anne Sheffield, award winning author of Depression Fallout and How You Can Survive When They're Depressed

At last a book that not only guides the reader when it comes to successful relationships but shows us the value of emotional fitness: communication, nurturance and constancy, in partnering. By subscribing to Goldsmith's theory and practice, couples will end up with a more satisfying connection and a better sense of each other's needs, as well as their own.
—Susan Shapiro Barash, author of The New Wife: The Evolving Role of the American Wife

From the Publisher

A nationally recognized expert and radio personality offers a unique ten-minute-a-day program for helping couples "exercise and tone" their emotional skills, resolve problems, increase intimacy, have better sex, and cope honestly with anger and hurt.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (February 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572244399
• ISBN-13: 978-1572244399
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Quick Workouts

More About the Author

Award winning Psychotherapist, syndicated columnist and radio host, Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized counselor, author and speaker, who has appeared on and been interviewed and quoted by all the major television networks, numerous radio shows as well as national magazines like Cosmopolitan and Family Circle. Since 2002, his weekly column, Emotional Fitness, which is syndicated by Scripps-Howard News Service, runs in The Ventura County Star, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Orange County Register, The Detroit News, The Cincinnati Post, The San Diego Union-Tribune and over 150 other newspapers giving him a readership in the millions. In addition, his popular monthly business column has appeared in over 200 other publications. Dr. Goldsmith also hosts a weekly radio show on the most award-winning station in Southern California, KCLU/NPR, with 80,000 listeners in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Dr. Goldsmith has been a guest expert on Beauty and The Geek, The Greg Behrendt Show, and Northwest Afternoon. His book Emotional Fitness for Couples ' 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship was published by New Harbinger on Valentine's Day 2006.

He collaborated with best-selling author Louise L. Hay on A Garden of Thoughts (Hay House 1990) and with Chicken Soup for the Soul co-creator Mark Victor Hansen on The Miracle of Tithing (published in 2004). Dr. Goldsmith has delivered numerous engaging presentations, including a keynote at the 2006 California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists annual conference and the Ericksonian Brief Therapy Conference.

Dr. Goldsmith works with couples and individuals on issues ranging from addiction and infidelity to trauma and abuse. He trained with renowned psychiatrists and authors Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D. and David Viscott, M.D. He was a National Merit Scholar and a Professor of Psychology at Ryokan College. He received recognition from the City of Los Angeles for his work with survivors of the 1994 earthquake. Dr. Goldsmith is the 2007 winner of the Clark Vincent Award for Writing from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In addition, he received the 2006 Peter Markin Merit Award from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists for his humanitarian efforts. He has also been named as the 2006 recipient of the Joseph A. Giannantoino II Award in recognition of his contributions as an Outstanding Educator in the field of Addiction Medicine, given by The California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Counselors.

'Dr. G' began working in the field of psychology when his career in professional basketball was cut short because he only grew to five foot six inches tall.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A therapist agrees, April 4, 2006

By 

Cynthia L. Wall, LCSW (Mendocino, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Emotional Fitness for Couples: 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship (Paperback)

In this deceptively short and user-friendly book, Dr. Goldsmith has managed to speak to core issues of most relationships. As a couple therapist myself, I enjoyed his commonsense and "You can do this!" approach. His exercises and examples ring very true, and simplify the process of turning complaints into requests. This is a book that will encourage anyone struggling with fears of rejection or intimacy. He teaches the reader that being a grown-up in a primary relationship can be playful, while also addressing how to bring up the difficult topics.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a relief!, March 7, 2007

By 

Choose Wisely - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emotional Fitness for Couples: 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship (Paperback)

What a pleasure to read and easy to apply. Often in life we make our relationships FAR too complicated than need be. Dr. Goldsmith has mastered the art of addressing key points that can take a couple off course and sets you right back on track. So many relationship books focus so much on the psychology behind every little nook and cranny of marriage, etc., they leave you exhausted and overwhelmed.

I highly recommend this refreshing book for anyone who has a pile of "how to save your marriage/relationship" self-help NOVELS sitting by their bed, few of which you could muster the energy or attention span to get through.

The exercises he suggests the couple take part in are short, sweet, meaningful and don't require days of sorting out who did what and why. This is the book that has worked for our relationship. Give it a try. Even if your partner is unwilling to read it, you can apply his advice on your own and still create positive change and increase intimacy.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read Every Word!, February 2, 2006

By 

Nancy Padberg "Marketing Maven" (Santa Monica) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Emotional Fitness for Couples: 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship (Paperback)

Goldsmith has hit a homerun! In our busy lives, 10 minutes a day is an easy investment that delivers excellent returns. We exercise everything else, our minds, our bodies and our dogs! Relationships are really about respect and daily emotional deposits. I loved the content, his steps and tone. The tips on dealing with anger, fear and asking for what we need are keys to making a relationship work. Thanks Dr. Goldsmith for taking the time to write this incredible book!

Nancy Padberg, author of George D. Wells, CEO, Father & Friend