COUPLES COUNSELLING

We offer professional help to quickly resolve relationship related issues and to move your life forward. We provide assistance to people who are currently in a relationship and experience difficulties, or singles whose concerns are associated with relationships (for example, a difficult breakup).

We will work on 1) finding shared values, 2) building practical skills, and 3) changing behaviour patterns that are damaging to your relationship. In short, we will work on bringing you closer together.

Apart from working on problem areas, we provide practical advice on how to maintain a happy and mutually satisfying relationship. In short, we will work on "future proofing" your relationship.

Ongoing Conflict and Arguments.
Couples will learn to deal with differences and they will learn ways to change harmful conflict patterns. At the beginning stages couples will need to work on awareness and time out strategies. In later stages couples will work on changing communication style, shared activities, emotional awareness, intimacy, listening skills and shared values. In the last phase of couples counselling, couples learn to combine their skills and approch arguments and conflict in a new way. Your psychologist will ensure that this is done in the most successful way possible.

Sexual Difficulties.
Couples counselling will explore sexual difficulties in a rational style. It helps couples see each other in a slightly different light, and the involvement of a third party will often bring up topics that couples failed to discuss, avoided or believed that was not related to their sex life. Our psychologists are experienced working with sexual difficulties and have proven "track records" of improving couples' sex lives, whether they have been together for 5 years or 25 years.

Communication Problems.
Couples counselling will help achieving new skills, such as active and reflective listening, thinking clearly about issues being discussed, body language and eye contact and expressing wants and needs.

Loss of Respect and Love.
By exploring your differences and similarities, counselling will bring couples closer together. We will work on restoring parts of your relationship that have been lost.

Emotional Dependency.
While working on dependency issues is best with the support of a partner, it is essential that people learn various skills, such as "distress tolerance" on their own. We might ask partners to attend together, but we will also place importance on individual sessions.

Relationship Breakdown and Separation.
Counselling will help couples maintain communication. One of the main difficulties couples experience around the time of separation is communication breakdown. They stop talking to each other and/or when talking, they express contempt and anger. Counselling will maintain a "neutral context" where couples are able to express their thoughts and feelings appropriately, without making the situation worse.