• Of Green Disputes and Mad Men

In Washington, we're mostly accustomed to relationships where both partners are of the same political persuasion. Blue man with blue woman. Red man with red woman. But what if only one of the partners is green? Leslie Kauman writes in the NY Times about how more and more therapists report that their clients are experiencing green disputes. For instance, a wife who collects all the plastic bottles from the family at a sandwich shop to take home for recycling may frustrate the husband who's more focused on getting the kids all packed up as they leave. Small disputes such as this are one thing, but what if one spouse decides that the family should become vegetarian so that they're all eating lower on the food chain?

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• INTERVIEW: Nathan Gehlert, M.S., LPC

Nathan Gehlert believes most marriages can benefit from a little preventative medicine."As someone who is really passionate about marriages and helping people in relationships, I think many people get married before putting a lot of effort into what the marriage will be about," he explains. "There’s a real movement toward preventative medicine right now, and I really feel that doing premarital work with couples is along those lines " ‘preventative mental health work.’"

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