Marriage Builders

Marriage Builders If you are new to Marriage Builders®, we strongly recommend that you begin your experience with our Basic Concepts page. Willard F. Harley, Jr., Ph.D.

It will help you understand why Marriage Builders® couples are so successful. https://www.marriagebuilders.com/basic-concepts.htm is best known as author of the internationally best selling book, His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair-proof Marriage. Over three million copies have been purchased, and it is available in twenty-two foreign translations. Dr. Harley earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1967 and has been a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Minnesota since 1975. For the first ten years after earning his degree, he taught psychology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. During those years, he was also a frustrated part-time marriage counselor with little success in helping couples. In 1973 he discovered that he was not alone in his failure to save marriages -- almost everyone in the marital therapy profession were also failing. So he spent the next two years designing an entirely new approach (see How Dr. Harley Learned to Save Marriages). When his success rate skyrocketed in 1977, he resigned from his teaching position to counsel full-time. Over the next ten years his solo practice developed into the largest network of mental health clinics in Minnesota (thirty-two locations) with over one hundred psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and chemical dependency counselors working with him to provide a full range of mental health services. He became the exclusive provider of mental health and chemical dependency services in ten counties, and had offices in other counties as well. One of his responsibilities was to write support materials for the clinical program he directed. He created over one hundred questionnaires and wrote numerous articles that were given to clients as part of their therapy. Among the materials he wrote was His Needs, Her Needs, which was first published in 1986. Although it was written to be a support text for his marriage counseling program, within three years it had become a national best-seller and a basic reference for marriage counselors throughout the nation. By 1988 he found himself spending almost all of his time administering his clinics, and very little time doing what he enjoyed most -- improving his marital therapy program. So he began turning his clinics over to the counselors who worked with him, and the ownership of his last clinic was transferred in 1993. Since then, he has written 19 more books and hundreds of articles. Dr. Harley continues to write, speak, and lead seminars throughout the US and Canada. For information regarding booking arrangements for his weekend seminar, "How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love," click this link for more information. Dr. and Mrs. Harley also host a daily one-hour call-in show, Marriage Builders Radio. It can be heard on radio stations and on the Internet. They have been married for 52 years and live in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. They have two adult children, who are now working with them as marriage coaches, and four grandchildren.

Cooking meals, washing dishes, washing and ironing clothes, house cleaning and child care.  Who's job is it?            ...
02/27/2026

Cooking meals, washing dishes, washing and ironing clothes, house cleaning and child care. Who's job is it?

Are you honest and open in your marriage?
02/18/2026

Are you honest and open in your marriage?

What happens in marriage when the most important emotional needs are not met?
02/17/2026

What happens in marriage when the most important emotional needs are not met?

What is disrespectful judgments and how to they hurt your marriage?marriage
02/16/2026

What is disrespectful judgments and how to they hurt your marriage?

marriage

We were all born with instincts to help us survive the trials and travails of life. Some instincts are very helpful and ...
02/10/2026

We were all born with instincts to help us survive the trials and travails of life. Some instincts are very helpful and others are controlling and abusive. One of our more controlling and abusive instincts, especially in marriage, is making demands.

Why would any of us hurt the one we promised to love and cherish?
02/05/2026

Why would any of us hurt the one we promised to love and cherish?

Looking for Marriage Builders® Radio?  We are now on Spotify!
02/02/2026

Looking for Marriage Builders® Radio? We are now on Spotify!

Is working different shifts hurting your relationship?
01/26/2026

Is working different shifts hurting your relationship?

On this episode of Marriage Builders® Radio: Unfaithful husband and broken trust.Episode  #1286
01/25/2026

On this episode of Marriage Builders® Radio: Unfaithful husband and broken trust.
Episode #1286

Listen to Marriage Builders® Radio on Spotify!
01/23/2026

Listen to Marriage Builders® Radio on Spotify!

How important is time together?
01/23/2026

How important is time together?

Your time together is too important to the security of your marriage to neglect.
01/22/2026

Your time together is too important to the security of your marriage to neglect.

Address

White Bear Lake, MN
55110

Telephone

+16517628570

Website

https://marriagecoach.com/, https://open.spotify.com/show/3DmNCoUJKyrKa0EhCHyVYp

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Our Story

Willard F. Harley, Jr., Ph.D. is best known as author of the internationally best selling book, His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair-proof Marriage. Over three million copies have been purchased, and it is available in twenty-two foreign translations. Dr. Harley earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1967 and has been a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Minnesota since 1975. For the first ten years after earning his degree, he taught psychology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. During those years, he was also a frustrated part-time marriage counselor with little success in helping couples. In 1973 he discovered that he was not alone in his failure to save marriages -- almost everyone in the marital therapy profession were also failing. So he spent the next two years designing an entirely new approach (see How Dr. Harley Learned to Save Marriages). When his success rate skyrocketed in 1977, he resigned from his teaching position to counsel full-time. Over the next ten years his solo practice developed into the largest network of mental health clinics in Minnesota (thirty-two locations) with over one hundred psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and chemical dependency counselors working with him to provide a full range of mental health services. He became the exclusive provider of mental health and chemical dependency services in ten counties, and had offices in other counties as well. One of his responsibilities was to write support materials for the clinical program he directed. He created over one hundred questionnaires and wrote numerous articles that were given to clients as part of their therapy. Among the materials he wrote was His Needs, Her Needs, which was first published in 1986. Although it was written to be a support text for his marriage counseling program, within three years it had become a national best-seller and a basic reference for marriage counselors throughout the nation. By 1988 he found himself spending almost all of his time administering his clinics, and very little time doing what he enjoyed most -- improving his marital therapy program. So he began turning his clinics over to the counselors who worked with him, and the ownership of his last clinic was transferred in 1993. Since then, he has written 19 more books and hundreds of articles. Dr. Harley continues to write, speak, and lead seminars throughout the US and Canada. For information regarding booking arrangements for his weekend seminar, "How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love," click this link for more information. Dr. and Mrs. Harley also host a daily one-hour call-in show, Marriage Builders Radio. It can be heard on radio stations and on the Internet. They have been married for 52 years and live in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. They have two adult children, who are now working with them as marriage coaches, and four grandchildren.