Relationship Therapy and Couples Counselling
For those who are ready to connect with curiosity and care
It’s easy for any relationship to get stuck in certain patterns.
We’ll work together to examine your processes and help you unstick what is stuck, repair ruptures, or learn deeper ways of relating with more intimacy.
The goal is for relationship therapy to be:
A place of curiosity and discovery
A place to try out new skills
A place to forgive
A place to understand the impact of the past
A place to safely take accountability
A place to more deeply connect.
Who is couples counselling for?
There are many reasons people seek out relationship counselling.
I am comfortable working with many of the “typical” ones:
Infidelity issues
Parenting challenges
Blending families
Communication breakdowns
Help working through a specific decision, like whether to move for one person’s job (for example)
Intimacy concerns (I am not a trained psychosexual therapist, but I am a trained sexuality educator, and therefore am comfortable talking about sex. If your issues are beyond the scope of my practice, I will refer you to a specialist.)
What does the process look like?
I recommend at least 6 sessions, ideally 6 weeks in a row. After that, we can reassess the frequency and pacing if more sessions are indicated. The sessions are £85 for an hour. The first session might run over the hour. (But there will be no additional cost)
In session one, we will look at the presenting issue. What brought you to therapy. We’ll look to identify the sequence of events and get an idea of what you are experiencing. We’ll also look at what is going well in your relationship. And we’ll spend some time thinking about what you want from the therapy.
In the next weeks, we’ll concentrate on each partner’s personal story, including what living in their family of origin was like.
Then we’ll come back to the relationship. Knowing each partner’s vulnerabilities and survival strategies will help us identify unhelpful patterns that might be at play.
Throughout the process, I will provide “homework” to do between sessions.
Note: If you start counselling in crisis, often right after an infidelity disclosure, we will work to help stabilise and regulate first.
What are the benefits of relationship counselling?
I can’t promise this therapy will guarantee you stay together. But I can promise that if you approach it with openness, self reflection, curiosity and care for your partner, your relationship will improve.
And you might just find that your relationship is transformed.
FAQS
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In any therapy, the outcome will be better if you are comfortable with your therapist. This call will give you the chance to see if my style and approach will work for you. It will also give me a chance to hear a little about your presenting problem and make sure I have the training and skills to help you. This doesn’t mean I’ll be deciding if you are too much, or your case is too complicated. It is more about my specific competence (or not) with certain issues. We’ll also look at simple logistics- am I available at the time(s) you could meet.
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The short answer is no, but the longer answer involves the question, what do you mean by “work”? If one partner is reluctant, their reluctance is welcome. We’ll explore what’s going on for them, and see what they are hoping to get out of the therapy. If one partner is openly hostile to the process, that will impair the usefulness for that partner.
Ready to get started?
Book a 20-minute intro call with me to explore how we might work together to help you reach your goals.