Relationships can be difficult. But how do we know when they have become unhealthy?

I spend a lot of time talking to people about relationships. About communication, how we ask for what we need, what happens when we misunderstand each other, and how we repair the inevitable ruptures that happen between us.

These things matter enormously. Relationships can be difficult. We can hurt each other, become defensive, struggle to communicate or find ourselves repeating the same patterns over and over again. And this doesn’t just apply to our relationships with our partners. It can be equally relevant in the workplace, in friendships and within families.

But sometimes, when we’re talking about relationship difficulties, we’re not talking about the ordinary challenges that we might face. Sometimes we’re talking about unhealthy relationships, where there might be fear, manipulation or an imbalance of power. It’s important for us to be able to distinguish between the difficulties that can exist within a healthy relationship, and what can happen when a relationship has become unhealthy.

And that’s why I was so pleased to read Julia Summers’ book, ‘GAME OVER’.

Julia has created a book that helps us understand unhealthy relationship behaviours more clearly. To recognise what might be happening, whether that’s within our own relationships or somebody else’s, and to think about how these patterns can develop in the first place.

Once I’d read ‘GAME OVER’, I spoke to Julia about sharing some of these ideas more widely.

So I’m really pleased that Julia will be joining me live on Monday 5 October at 7pm for a free webinar and Q&A exploring unhealthy relationship behaviours, manipulation and coercive control, as part of the 'Optima Presents' series of webinars from Optima Attachment Training.

We’ll be talking about the book, thinking about these behaviours through an attachment lens, and exploring where we sometimes need to look beyond attachment to understand what might be happening.

If you can’t join us live, you can still register to receive the recording, along with a free CPD certificate and reflection pack.

You’re very welcome to join us - register here.