“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow – this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

Joining your life with someone with different beliefs or culture is a leap of faith. It can feel strange to be with someone whose frame of reference is different than our own.

My husband once mistakenly referred to us as an “interspecies” couple. It felt like that at times. Culturally and religiously we started off very far apart. Sometimes it felt alienating to encounter how different we were from each other. His goodnight prayers with his daughters, the Christmas tree in the living room, Easter celebrations, left me and my boys sometimes feeling like outsiders. Likewise, he and his girls didn’t know what to make of Hanukkah, Passover Seder and the exotic foods that punctuated our holidays. We struggled. Over time our rough edges softened. In couple’s therapy we learned to focus on how our beliefs and values overlap – For example we both search for meaning in life, our desire to create family traditions and rituals, as well as the focus on love and healing in the world.

Therapy is a safe place to explore the complex feelings that emerge as you and your partner navigate your interfaith (interspecies) relationship. You learn to deepen your understanding of each other and to create traditions and rituals that unify your family. Through the process of gaining understanding and accepting your partner, intimacy grows and so does the feeling of home.