In September 1988, Today’s Christian Woman debuted a column titled “Ask Dr. Langberg.” Langberg was described as “a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice” and the author of Counsel for Pastor’s Wives which had just come out that year. This column would continue monthly for over 16 years, finishing at the end of 2004 at a total of 98 columns.
The column came to be described as “TCW‘s version of Dear Abby–only better, since she’s a licensed psychologist with a PhD, and the director of a group practice outside Philadelphia” (March-April 2000). Readers were invited to write in their questions and Dr. Langberg would answer them in her column. Occasionally, a particular column would prompt a letter from a reader in a subsequent issue, either appreciating her advice, or pushing back on what they felt was lacking. These letters have been noted [in brackets] in the list below.
Starting with the May-June 1991 issue, Langberg was listed as one of the official “Columnists” on the editorial page. In 1991 Langberg published a book with a similar format, Feeling Good, Feeling Bad: What Every Woman Wants to Know About. Though the book follows a similar question/answer format, I have not found overlap with her early columns (which had only been in print for a couple years at that point), though perhaps some exists.
Over the Years
The column went under a number of different titles, beginning with “Ask Dr. Langberg” (1988–1990)
Love & Marriage (1990–1999)
Your Lovelife (1999–2002)
Your Relationships (2002–2004)
Langberg’s last column was in November-December 2004, and in the January-February 2005 issue,“Healthy Relationships,” by Leslie Parrott, was launched.
Every one of these issues of Today’s Christian Women is available on the Internet Archive. I have created a list of the titles (and links) to every Langberg column available (though not an index to every single question, as each column contained multiple questions). Where there is a slight discrepancy between the title listed in the Table of Contents of a particular issue and the title printed on the page of the column, I have listed the title from the page of the column. Reader response letters have been noted [in brackets]. A pdf version is also available here:
1988
– Langberg, Review of Helping People Through Grief
– ADL: “Once Violent, Always Violent?”
– [Letters: “Victims of Violence”]
– ADL: “Television is a Member of our Family!”
1989
– ADL: “When Others Speak for God”
– ADL: “My Child isn’t Popular”
– ADL: “I Don’t Trust My Husband”
– ADL: “My Child Has Been Molested”
– ADL: “She’s Not the Friend I Hoped For”
– ADL: “I’m No Longer Attracted to My Husband”
1990
– ADL: “My Husband is a Lazy Christian”
– ADL: “Help, I’m Mom #2!”
– [Letters: “Lacking Wisdom”]
– Love & Marriage: “Too Tired for Sex”
– [Letters: “Make a Run for It”]
– L&M: “He Never Finishes What He Starts!”
– L&M: “My Daughter Left Her Husband”
– L&M: “My Husband Isn’t a Christian”
1991
– L&M: “I Found Pornography in Our Basement”
– L&M: “My Friend is Marrying the Wrong Man”
– L&M: “I Feel Guilty About Our Past”
– L&M: “Our Sex Life Isn’t the Same”
– L&M: “I Don’t Want to Watch X-Rated Movies!”
– Books, Music, & Videos—“Fall Favorites”: Feeling Good, Feeling Bad, by Dr. Diane Mandt Langberg.
– [Letters: “Bag the Lunches”]
– L&M: “Where Should We Go for the Holidays?”
1992
– [Letters: “Room for One More”]
– L&M: “We Want to Have a Baby!”
– L&M: “I Still Feel Guilty about My Abortion”
– [Letters: “Post Abortion Syndrome”]
– L&M: “I Was a Victim of Incest”
– L&M: “My Wife Hates Her Body”
– [Letters: “Not About Wine Coolers”]
– L&M: “My Husband Walked Out”
– L&M: “My Husband Hates the Holidays”
1993
– L&M: “What’s Wrong with Our Sex Life?”
– L&M: “Should We See a Marriage Counselor?”
– L&M: “My Husband Hits Me”
– L&M: “Help, I’m a Sports Widow!”
– L&M: “He’s Hooked on Phone Sex”
– L&M: “Our Love Is Color-blind”
1994
– L&M: “I Wish He Were More Romantic!”
– L&M: “We Don’t Want Children”
– L&M: “My Husband’s a Deadbeat Christian!”
– [Letters: “Hopeful About Marriage”]
– L&M: “My Wife’s a Chronic Complainer!”
– L&M: “We Don’t Agree on Politics!”
– L&M: “My Husband’s a Homebody”
1995
– L&M: “Help—I’m a Computer Widow!”
– L&M: “We’re Stuck in a Rut!”
– L&M: “We Seldom Make Love Anymore”
– L&M: “My Husband and I Disagree over Money”
– L&M: “My Husband’s a Chronic Crank”
– L&M: “Whose Home for the Holidays?”
1996
– L&M: “Can Our Marriage Survive His Affair?”
– L&M: “My Husband Wants Us to Watch Sex Videos”
– L&M: “My Wife’s Still Grieving a Miscarriage”
– [Readers Respond: “Grief Relief,” two letters responding to May-June column]
– L&M: “My Husband Won’t Take His Health Seriously”
– L&M: “My Husband Struggles with Impotence”
– [Readers Respond: “Just Friends?,” responding to September-October column]
– L&M: “Help, I’m Still Single…”
1997
– L&M: “My Husband and I Had Sex Before We Married”
– L&M: “My Husband Fudges on Our Taxes”
– L&M: “Our Friends are Divorcing”
– L&M: “We Clash Over Our Vacations!”
– L&M: “My Daughter’s Dating a Non-Christian!”
– L&M: “His Kids Are Driving Me Crazy!”
1998
– L&M: “I Nag Too Much!”
– L&M: “I Want Breast Implants”
– L&M: “His Mother Is Driving Me Nuts!”
– [readers respond: “Down on the Doctor,” responding to the May/June column]
– L&M: “Traveling with a Male Coworker”
– [readers respond: “It’s a Matter of Trust” responding to July/August column]
– L&M: “My Boyfriend Has a Colorful Past”
– L&M: “I Have an Explosive Temper!”
1999
– your lovelife: “Is It Wrong for Me to Date?”
– Your Lovelife: “I’m Married to Jekyll and Hyde!”
– Your Lovelife: “Should I Be a No Show at a Friend’s Wedding?”
– Your Lovelife: “My ‘Ex’ Is Everywhere!”
– Your Lovelife: “You’ve Got Male”
– Your Lovelife: “They Want Grandkids!”
2000
– Your Lovelife: “Too Close for Comfort”
– Your Lovelife: “Roaming Eyes”
– Your Lovelife: “Help! He Wants to Go All the Way”
– [your feedback: “Shocked by Talk,” responding to May–June column]
– Your Lovelife: “My Husband’s a Slob!”
– Your Lovelife: “My Best Friend’s Husband Is a Flirt!”
Your Lovelife: “Singled Out!”
2001
– Your Lovelife: “Internet Attraction”
– [your feedback: “Handling Sexual Temptation,” responding to January–February column]
– Your Lovelife: “Am I Too Needy?”
– Your Lovelife: “Coworker Crush”
– Your Lovelife: “My Mother-in-law’s Coming Between Us!”
– Your Lovelife: “We Don’t See Eye to Eye”
– Your Lovelife: “My Husband’s into Internet Porn”
2002
– Your Lovelife: “He’s Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”
– Your Lovelife: “I’m Married to a Couch Potato”
– Your Lovelife: “My Hubby Spends Too Much”
– Your Lovelife: “We Don’t Fight Fair”
– Your Lovelife: “My Boyfriend’s Noncommittal”
– Your Lovelife: “Suddenly Single”
2003
– Your Relationships: “My Coworker’s a Gossip”
– Your Relationships: “My Not-So-Blended Family”
– Your Relationships: “My Sister’s Keeping Score”
– Your Relationships: “Dream Date”
– Your Relationships: “Married to Mr. Unromantic”
– Your Relationships: “My Sister Abandoned Her Faith”
2004
– Your Relationships: “Questionable Counselor”
– Your Relationships: “My Friend’s Too Bossy”
– Your Relationships: “Mom Needs to Move Over!”
– Your Relationships: “Cell-Phone Secrets”
– Your Relationships: “Prescription for Guilt”
– Your Relationships: “Marrying…with Children”
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