In the final part of our relationships series Helen Vaughan, psychotherapist with Maynooth Counselling, discussed how to deal with difficult friends or relatives of your partner.

Helen says these are issues that most people have experienced, and she has several tips on handling them.

• Try to recognise and work on the issues as a couple.
• Figure out what your own family norms might be bringing to your relationship.
• Figure out your shared boundaries. For example, if you have in-laws who call in unannounced and you don't like it, communicate honestly with them.
• You may sometimes need to compromise, especially when socialising with the relative or friend in question.
• When meeting your partner's family for the first time, meet on neutral territory and avoid discussing contentious subjects such as politics.
• Communicate without criticism.

Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.