A couple in their mid-30s, Heather and Shane, sit down on the couch in my office. Heather leans over on the arm and gives me brief glances before looking back at the floor. Shane sits straight up and looks directly at me. He tells me he can’t understand what has gone wrong with his wife or their relationship. He says that they have always been happy together but lately Heather has been saying that she is depressed and she is full of complaints toward him. He insists that nothing has changed at all with him, and that Heather is complaining about things that never bothered her before or even about things she used to like. Heather has a hard time explaining what the vexation is, but one comment she makes catches my attention.
“You just don’t treat me like I’m special to you anymore,” she murmurs.
