I have been providing relationship therapy for individuals for over ten years and I have decided to extend my practice to also provide relationship therapy for couples so that both partners can attend sessions. I have also decided to become a student member of the professional body for relationship therapists (COSRT). This means you can be assured that relationship therapy is carried out in accordance with ethical guidelines.
Why do people decide to have couples therapy?
You may be feeling not listened to, taken for granted or are losing sight of yourself within the relationship.
There may be regular arguements and the issues never seem to get resolved.
The partners may be experiencing feelings of growing apart.
There may be difficulties with communication, such as mind-reading and misunderstandings or not saying how you feel to protect the other person.
When there has been an affair and the couple would like to work on building the trust back.
The couple may be wondering if the issues in the relationship can be worked on or if it would be best to separate.
What is couples therapy and what are the benefits?
A safe, confidential space to be able to talk to each other in a less reactive way.
A regular time for both partners to say what is on their mind and be listened to.
Explore thoughts and feelings with somebody who is non-judgemental and neutral.
A process to facilitate change and to resolve issues within the relationship.
Help to navigate changes in relationships e.g. when a baby is born, ill health is diagnosed or loss of employment.
Identifying patterns of communicating that are unhelpful and keep couples ‘stuck’.
Learning more effective ways to communicate to reduce misunderstandings and resolve conflict.
Gaining an understanding of how the past impacts on the present.
Understanding yourself and your partner better.
Both feeling supported to find solutions to the issues you are facing as a couple.
Becoming aware of unconscious processes in the couple dynamic.
Things to bear in mind:
Couples therapy is a process and it will take time.
It involves carrying out tasks between session such as practicing doing things differently or having discussions.
For it to be effective both partners need to be committed to putting the work in.
Both partners will also need to be open to receiving feedback.
For some couples, the safest or healthiest option may be for them to separate and couples counselling can be part of that process.
