The 7 Stages of a Relationship (and Why Yours Probably Isn't Broken)
Episode 62 · Laurie Groh, MS LPC SAS · 2026-09-19
"It's just the dishes." It's never just the dishes. When a relationship changes, most of us assume something went wrong. Usually it's developing. The seven stages almost every long-term partnership moves through — from infatuation to the power struggles nobody warns you about to the crisis-and-repair stage that decides everything. Plus: the four-question exercise to do with your partner this week.
Show notes
"It's just the dishes." It's never just the dishes.
When a relationship changes, most of us assume something went wrong. Usually it's developing. In this episode I walk through the seven stages that almost every long-term partnership moves through, from the infatuation phase where you can't stop thinking about each other, through the power struggles nobody warns you about, to the crisis-and-repair stage that decides whether a couple gets stronger or quietly drifts. If you've ever looked at your partner and thought "we used to be so easy," this one is for you.
The part I most want you to hear is the dishes fight. Every repeated argument in a relationship is running on three questions underneath: Do I matter to you? Can I depend on you? Do you respect me? Once you can hear the question under the fight, the fight changes.
I also give you a four-question exercise to do with your partner this week. It takes about ten minutes and it's not a quiz; it's a conversation starter that works even if you've been together twenty years.
Read the full write-up, with the exercise, on shoresidetherapies.com.
If this episode hit close to home
Couples therapy is most useful in stages four and seven, and most couples wait far too long to start. Shoreside Therapies offers couples therapy in person in Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay, and Glendale, and online across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Colorado. Book a free 15-minute consult.
Without the Couch is hosted by Laurie Groh, MS, LPC, SAS, owner of Shoreside Therapies. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.