This is the central premise of Mara Olekalns’ 2022 article in Negotiation Journal, Nine Lessons from Love: Couples Therapy for Negotiators. She proposes that turning points — moments that interrupt the expected flow of interaction — are the crucibles in which relationships are reshaped. They unsettle assumptions, trigger uncertainty, erode interpretive generosity and weaken the small acts of maintenance that relationships rely on. To understand and mitigate the potential long-term wreckage this turbulence can cause, Olekalns assembled several lessons. Below is a synthesis of those lessons for anyone who hopes to sustain love over the long term.

Source: Forbes December 21, 2025 21:05 UTC