Helping a Spouse Who Withdraws during Conflict

Part 1 of a 3 part series. This article presses into one of the fine-grained details of marriage counseling. Constructive and productive communication is not an easy task and interpersonal conflict takes many forms. When a spouse withdraws or shuts down, it creates a specific challenge. Aaron Sironi and Lauren Whitman describe how withdrawing damages the marital bond. They outline a process of growth for withdrawers and illustrate that process through a case study. Part 1 is in JBC 32:1, Part 2 is in JBC 32:3 and Part 3 is in JBC 34:2.