Relationships are an essential part of our lives and they may bring many rewards as well as challenges. Being intimate with another person requires vulnerability and getting your needs met while also meeting your partner’s needs is difficult. Spending a lot of time with your partner means there is a lot of opportunity for conflict! All relationships face challenges.

    How we deal with these challenges is important and plays a significant role in how we experience close personal relationships and in how we resolve conflicts when they arise.

Relationship counselling helps couples to find out unpleasant patterns that may be affecting their quality of life. The problem may be recurring or after an event or series of events. The aim is to create an awareness of the conscious and unconscious relationship dynamics which creates a better understanding and enables both partners to relate to each other in a healthier way. How might couples counselling help?

 

    There are many reasons why couples visit relationship therapy. Through encouraging clarity and openness, my counselling services can be useful for couples who are:

• having relationship problems and want to resolve these conflicts

• facing the end of a relationship but hope to try to work things out

• ending their relationship but want to end on good terms

• experiencing sexual or intimacy issues within their relationship

• about to make a long-term commitment but want to improve their relationship

• individuals struggling with relationships and want to build better personal relationships in the future

 

    Every couple is different. I can help you recognise and understand the communication, behavioural, sexual and emotional dynamics that might exist between you and your partner. Couples counselling gets to grips with how you and your partner relate to each other.

 

    Relationships are complicated and problems in relationships are often deeply rooted. For both partners in a couple to get the most out of therapy, consistent weekly meetings with your couples therapist are necessary.

Issues Couples Therapy Can Help With: Sometimes, relationship issues aren’t particularly clear. You may just have a feeling that something feels wrong, but you aren’t sure why.

Couples therapy doesn’t only serve to resolve specific problems, it is also useful for identifying what has changed. It doesn’t mean one person is to blame. Counselling is a beneficial place to start.

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I can assist you with:

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Communication problems: Stuck in dysfunctional patterns / breakdown / arguments / conflict / violence / abuse / loss of shared experiences – living separate lives.

 

Intimacy / Sexual issues – Emotional intimacy has gone / desire has gone or sex is no fun / managing different expectations

Broken Trust: Trust has been broken or eroded via a physical or emotional affair, secrets, addiction or other issues

 

Life Changing Experiences: Loss / Life changes or something devastating that has changed the way you relate to each other / Birth of a child / children management / health issues / Children leaving home / External pressures – family, work, friends.

Blended Families: Second marriage / dealing with previous relationships or marriages Facing Separation or Divorce? Maybe it seems like the only option, how to end a relationship.

Mental Health Problems: Managing depression, stress or anxiety in a relationship

Managing Emotions: love/hate feelings, jealousy, anger, fear, boredom.

 

Relationship therapy, or couples counselling, provides space for couples to discuss their issues and find solutions to problems within their relationship.