A five-session workshop for women to help better understand communication from men will be held from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Sept. 28 through Oct. 26 at the Santa Anita Church Counseling Center, 226 W. Colorado Blvd..
The Voice in Men’s Heads: A Workshop for Women Only is based on an upcoming book by Maggie Bryant, licensed marriage and family therapist.
Cost is $150. For further information, contact Maggie Bryant at (323) 255-5286.
An example of how things are said versus how they are heard, according to Bryant:
What She Said: “Honey, we need to talk.” What The Voice in His Head Said: “You big dummy, you screwed up again. How’re you gonna save your butt this time?” What He Said to Her: “You’re making a big deal out of nothing again.”
Nevertheless, it is possible to for a woman to communicate with a man, but only if she knows the secret male language that bypasses the Voice, according to Bryant. The Voice comes as standard equipment with the Y chromosome, so it’s vital to understand how it operates and acquire a few tools for dealing with it before it does lasting harm to the relationship. “Men really don’t have to have their own way on everything,” Bryant says. “Only when the Voice tells them they have to win the point or be a loser.”
A successful relationship is a partnership of equals, but the Voice is hierarchical. Hierarchy breeds competition, which is death to a relationship. “When a woman wants to talk about the relationship, or get the man to share his feelings, the Voice starts to tell him what a loser he must be, or they wouldn’t be having this conversation,” says Bryant. “It says that every other man in the world would have handled the situation better. It can be incredibly brutal, and most women don’t even know it exists. But a woman who knows how to get around the Voice can have profound emotional intimacy with her husband or boyfriend.”
Bryant has been helping couples improve their relationships for 30 years, and is currently writing a book on men for women. She offers simple, action-packed (yes, in dealing with men, actions trump words!) solutions to real-life problems.