Marriage Counselor's Valentine's Day Advice on Today Show: Have a Self-Centered Relationship

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- How often do you hear marriage counselors and therapists tell their patients to live a self-centered marriage?  The unusual advice comes from best-selling author Hal Runkel, LMFT, who penned a new book The Self-Centered Marriage: The Revolutionary ScreamFree Approach To Rebuilding Your "We" By Reclaiming Your "I" with his wife of 18 years, Jenny Runkel (Three Rivers Press). He is a regular guest on the Today Show, he will again appear on February 1.

"The key to staying in a long-term, healthy and vibrant relationship is not better communication, more money or great sex," declares Hal, a family therapist of 15 years, "The best thing you can do for your marriage is to become more self-centered and learn to focus less on your spouse and more on yourself...for the benefit of both of you."

Hal has helped thousands of couples improve their relationships and provides an S.O.S. to many who feel desperate, angry, confused, exhausted, and stuck. His advice is revolutionizing the way people interact with each other.  Several years ago his debut book, Scream Free Parenting, earned him best-seller status, professional accolades, and over 1,000 media interviews and reviews, including a dozen appearances on the Today Show.  As the founder and president of The Scream Free Institute (www.screamfree.com), a non-profit dedicated to calming the world one relationship at a time, he has created a unique approach towards raising children and supporting spouses.

Hal explains why:

• Arguing is not only natural, but necessary for couples.
• A relationship based on common interests and compatibility is the foundation for a superficial relationship.
• Marriages fail when spouses try to change each other rather than themselves.

Only 51% of American adults are married today vs. 72% in 1960.  America needs new marriage advice and a fresh approach.

"The greatest thing you can do for your marriage is to learn to focus more on yourself," writes Hal. 

Runkel, who just completed a 25-city radio interview blitz with Planned Television Arts (PTA) (www.plannedtvarts.com), seems to be living out his own advice. He got married young, at age 21, but 18 years later remains faithfully committed to his wife. "He offers contrarian advice that works well for a society that struggles to keep its relationships intact," says PTA's chief marketing officer, Brian Feinblum.  

SOURCE Planned Television Arts