COUPLES COUNSELLING
Relationship counselling can help at any stage of a relationship, whether it is at the pre-marriage stage, newly wed, after the birth of a child, or the partners have been together for decades.
Relationship counselling can be used proactively as a space to reflect, explore and enrich a relationship through focusing on the quality of love, intimacy and interactions. More often couples seek counselling because of an ongoing struggle that is resulting in stress, anxiety and hurt in one or both partners.
Couples seek counselling for a variety of reasons, including:
IT TAKES TWO…
It is not uncommon for one partner to be more committed that the other to relationship counselling. Thus, during the first session both partners will be reassured of both the benefits of counselling and that individuals will be supported where they are with the focus on creating a safe environment in which the work to heal the relationship can take place.
A mutual willingness to remain open to the positive benefits of couples counselling provides the best opportunity for partners to grow individual and to move towards a more fulfilling and meaningful relationship.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE FIRST SESSION?
The first session is all about getting to know you as a couple. Couples will be asked questions such as:
The first session is around 80 minutes. You will then be invited to book individual sessions for me to get to know each of you better. You will also be invited to take part in the Gottman Connect assessment which provides an in-depth analysis of both the strengths and challenges in your relationship.
After the first couple’s session, the individual sessions and the assessment is completed a roadmap is then created for addressing your specific relationship concerns.
HOW MANY SESSIONS DO WE NEED?
None of us got to where we are overnight, and it takes time to learn new skills, ways of communicating and to rekindle romance and intimacy in a relationship. Couples counselling tends to take place over a period of weeks or months.
IS COUPLE'S COUNSELLING LIKE MEDIATION?
No. I practice from a lens of there are no “good” guys or “bad” guys, rather there are individuals doing their best with the tools they have. The focus is on equipping you with new tools and developing your listening, communicating and negotiation skills so that you can resolve issues for yourselves. As well as, supporting you in taking responsibility for your choices and actions and how you may move forward in a loving manner.
Relationship counselling can be used proactively as a space to reflect, explore and enrich a relationship through focusing on the quality of love, intimacy and interactions. More often couples seek counselling because of an ongoing struggle that is resulting in stress, anxiety and hurt in one or both partners.
Couples seek counselling for a variety of reasons, including:
- Conflict management
- Loss of passion
- Infidelity
- Trust and communication issues
- Infertility
- Addictions
- Finances
- Extended family
- Gender roles
- Co-dependency
- Loss and grief
- Life transitions
IT TAKES TWO…
It is not uncommon for one partner to be more committed that the other to relationship counselling. Thus, during the first session both partners will be reassured of both the benefits of counselling and that individuals will be supported where they are with the focus on creating a safe environment in which the work to heal the relationship can take place.
A mutual willingness to remain open to the positive benefits of couples counselling provides the best opportunity for partners to grow individual and to move towards a more fulfilling and meaningful relationship.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE FIRST SESSION?
The first session is all about getting to know you as a couple. Couples will be asked questions such as:
- What brings you to counselling?
- How long have these issues been a problem in your relationship?
- What have you and your partner done to try and resolve these issues?
- Have you been in relationship counselling before?
- You will be asked to provide brief history of how you met and why you chose each other.
- You will be asked to provide a brief history of your family of origin.
- You will be asked to provide a brief demonstration of how you handle conflict.
- What are you goals / expectations for couples counselling?
The first session is around 80 minutes. You will then be invited to book individual sessions for me to get to know each of you better. You will also be invited to take part in the Gottman Connect assessment which provides an in-depth analysis of both the strengths and challenges in your relationship.
After the first couple’s session, the individual sessions and the assessment is completed a roadmap is then created for addressing your specific relationship concerns.
HOW MANY SESSIONS DO WE NEED?
None of us got to where we are overnight, and it takes time to learn new skills, ways of communicating and to rekindle romance and intimacy in a relationship. Couples counselling tends to take place over a period of weeks or months.
IS COUPLE'S COUNSELLING LIKE MEDIATION?
No. I practice from a lens of there are no “good” guys or “bad” guys, rather there are individuals doing their best with the tools they have. The focus is on equipping you with new tools and developing your listening, communicating and negotiation skills so that you can resolve issues for yourselves. As well as, supporting you in taking responsibility for your choices and actions and how you may move forward in a loving manner.