The decision to begin couple counselling can be a difficult one. You may be going through a painful place in your relationship, feeling “stuck” or distant from your partner. Sometimes, the couple’s relationship is disrupted by the birth of a child, or other life-changing events. Meeting each other’s needs can be harder than in the early “love struck” stage of a relationship, and you or your partner may be substituting what is missing by looking outside the relationship.

While some conflict in a relationship is necessary, negativity can become an absorbing state, permeating every aspect of the relationship. Your partner may begin to feel like an adversary rather than your friend. Behind most negative emotions, however, there is longing. Therapy can effectively help couples to bridge the distance, improve their communication, and deepen the understanding each person has for the other’s perspectives, values and goals.

My counselling work draws from the well-known and respected Gottman Institute, as well as the renowned psychotherapist, Esther Perel. It is built on helping clients understand their partners’ inner worlds, and teaching them the skills of intimate conversation and connection with a focus on friendship and intimacy.

I can help you learn to identify trigger situations and deepen your shared meaning as a couple so that closeness and intimacy can replace feelings of disconnection and isolation. The goal is to have you feel less hurt, less angry and more understood, with the result being a more resilient relationship.