Modern Couples cover art

Modern Couples

Modern Couples

By: Rick Miller LICSW & Lilian Borges LPC
Listen for free

About this listen

 Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You Have you ever had questions about relationships? Do you wonder what therapists might know—that you don’t? Then join us! Whether you’re in the car, at the gym, or on a break at work, this is an opportunity to have all your couples’ questions answered by therapists who bring decades of experience to the podcast. Couples therapists Rick Miller, LICSW, and Lilian Borges, LPC, take on relationships’ trickier moments with experience and humor, in a mere 20 minutes presenting a case study and the theory behind it, then sharing their personal takes on the issue and providing some ideas for dealing with it. Richard C. Miller, LICSW, is a psychotherapist, public speaker, and author who has taught at The Harvard Couples Conference, the Milton Erickson Foundation Couples Conference, and on the faculty of well-known couples experts Esther Perel, Terry Real, and Stan Takin. He has been interviewed by the NY Times and writes for the Psychotherapy Networker and Psychology Today. He is a TEDx speaker, and founder and executive director of a nonprofit agency, Gay Sons And Mothers. Lilian Borges, LPC, is an experienced therapist, teacher, presenter, and podcaster who has been treating individuals and couples for more than thirty years. One of very few certified PACT (psychobiological approach to couples’ therapy) therapists in the US, she is additionally an expert in Ericksonian hypnosis. She currently has a private practice in Arizona where her own multinational background facilitates her work with a diverse clientèle. From whether or not it’s okay to share your bed with pets, how to deal with money, keeping secrets from your partner, or deciding where to live, Rick and Lilian have suggestions for making your life richer and bringing your relationships closer. It all starts here!Rick Miller, LICSW & Lilian Borges, LPC Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Holiday Drama: How Couples Can Survive Family, Traditions, and Stress

    Holiday Drama: How Couples Can Survive Family, Traditions, and Stress
    Nov 20 2025

    The holidays are supposed to bring joy, but for many couples, they bring tension instead. Deciding where to spend the holidays, whose traditions to follow, and how to manage family expectations can quickly turn into emotional minefields.

    In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick and Lilian explore why holiday planning often sparks conflict, how family dynamics shape these decisions, and what couples can do to set boundaries, blend traditions, and actually enjoy the season.

    They also discuss tricky topics like divided families, politics at the dinner table, and the financial stress that can make the holidays feel more chaotic than cozy.
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • The Truth About Toxic Relationships... and When to Walk Away

    The Truth About Toxic Relationships... and When to Walk Away
    Nov 4 2025

    What really defines a toxic relationship?


    Is it the yelling, the control, the quiet dismissals, or the moments that leave you doubting your own reality? In this episode, therapists Rick Miller and Lillian Borges dig deep into one of the most difficult subjects for any couple: the fine line between normal relationship conflict and the kind of emotional damage that chips away at your sense of self.


    Rick and Lillian explore what “toxic” truly means, why some people can’t see their own harmful behavior, and how others end up shrinking themselves to survive in a painful dynamic. They unpack common patterns like gaslighting, power struggles, and codependence. There’s a world of difference between being human and being destructive, and recognizing that difference can be life-changing.


    Whether you’re questioning your own relationship or simply curious about how toxicity takes hold, this conversation will help you understand what’s healthy, what’s not, and how to begin reclaiming your well-being.


    Subscribe to Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You and keep exploring the deeper truths behind love, conflict, and connection.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • The Real Conversation About Trust

    The Real Conversation About Trust
    Oct 23 2025

    Trust is one of the most complex foundations of any relationship — and few topics spark as much tension as snooping and location sharing.

    In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick Miller and Lillian Borges unpack what’s really happening underneath these behaviors.

    They explore why so many partners resort to snooping instead of communicating, how gender roles and past relationship wounds shape trust, and why transparency can make or break emotional safety.

    Whether you’ve snooped, been snooped on, or just want to strengthen trust in your relationship, this episode is a candid conversation about the messy, very human side of modern love.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.