The cornerstones of a good relationship include 1) passion, 2) commitment, 3) intimacy, and 4) love. Passion is basically physical affection, sex, romance, affiliation, and nurturance combined with a longing to be with the other person. Commitment can be thought of as being devoted and bound, both emotionally and intellectually, to the relationship. Intimacy is a sense of feeling close, connected, or bonded, having a sense of welfare for the other, wanting happiness for the other, regarding the other highly, being able to count on the other in times of need, experiencing mutual understanding, sharing oneself, talking intimately, giving emotional support, valuing the other, and finding the partner to be predictable and trustworthy. Finally, love can be thought of as an warm emotional feeling for the partner. Love is that which is the bonding force of the relationship and encompasses passion, commitment and intimacy. Of course, there are other things that interact with these four components such as similarity, predictability, attraction, personal needs, family concerns, etc.

Now it's not necessary that all of these components be there in equal amounts. Actually, every relationship is different and will have varying amounts of these four components and still be deemed successful and satisfying to each partner. However, problems may occur when one partner or both fail to devote sufficient attention to one or more of the relationship components. Also, problems can occur whenever the partners differ in their definition of these components or whenever one partner puts more into the relationship than the other.

People seek relationship counseling to build a stronger relationship, to resolve marital tensions, to avoid a divorce, or to help deal with the hurt, anger, and guilt in the case of a break up,

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