Psychiatrist Dr. Christian Heim and Dr. Caroline Heim Release Largest Global Study That Reveals the 5 Questions Young Couples Really Want Answered

SYDNEY & NEW YORK, August 31, 2023 (Newswire.com) - In their new trailblazing book "Resilient Relationships: Techniques for Surviving Hyper-individualism, Social Isolation, and a Mental Health Crisis" (Routledge), Psychiatrist Dr. Christian Heim and Professor Dr. Caroline Heim explain results from a global study exploring the challenges faced by contemporary couples from around the world.

Designed to be used as a companion to couples therapy, the book presents more than 75 techniques to help relationships thrive in the long term based on in-depth interviews with longtime couples who answered questions from young couples and shared time-tested secrets, presented for a new generation.  

"Resilient Relationships" also includes the findings of the world's largest study of its kind, involving over 1,400 people from 52 countries. It draws from more than 900 scientific studies and Dr. Christian Heim's 20 years of clinical experience and reveals that young couples really do want long-term relationships. 

The book tackles controversial, U.S.-specific, 21st-century issues head-on: hyper-individualism, social isolation and a mental health crisis, providing insights into the challenges faced by contemporary couples: Is hyper-individualism a challenge to relationship longevity? Can you have both? Using the science, "Resilient Relationships" argues that "Nurturing a strong, mutually supportive, long-term relationship may just be the most self-serving thing two people could choose to do." (Heim and Heim 2023). 

The Findings

The Drs. Heim asked 300 young people in relationships one question: "If you could ask people married 40+ years a question, what would it be?" Did they want to know about open marriages? Gender identity? Affairs? No. 

Their five top questions were:

• What is your secret to staying together? (over 64% of couples)
• Is the spark still there?
• How do you stop arguing?
• How do you keep your relationship fun?
• How do you keep emotionally connected?

One young American couple married 11 years asked, "I mean, how is 40+ years even possible?"

Drs. Heim then conducted in-depth interviews and surveyed more than 1,100 couples married 40-73 years and asked them the five questions. Their top three secrets to making relationships last were 1) commitment, 2) altruism and 3) shared values.

The book is available on Routledge's website, Amazon, and all online book outlets. The scientific study is in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, including the doctors talking about the findings.

About the Authors

Dr. Christian Heim, Ph.D., an award-winning psychiatrist, is Clinical Director of Tasmania North Mental Health Services, Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland and a Churchill Fellow. Christian gives keynote lectures in the U.S. on preventative mental health. In private psychiatry, he subspecializes in war-related and severe personal trauma and couples therapy, where mental illness is prominent.

Dr. Caroline Heim, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology. She has published two books in theatre studies. A former NYC stage actor, Caroline gives keynote lectures in the U.S. and her numerous articles cover topics from global audiences to the mental health of university students. Caroline is a certified crisis counsellor. 

To connect for an interview, article or conversation, Caroline can be contacted at Queensland University of Technology at [email protected]. A full media package with high-res photos can be found on our website.

Source: Dr. Christian Heim, psychiatrist