The biggest communication problem is that we listen to respond rather than to understand.
Who can come to couples counselling?
It doesn’t matter if you are married, living together, opposite or same sex, if you are experiencing difficulties within your relationship, we can work together to help you understand the problems and seek ways to improve your relations.
Is it the same as individual therapy?
No. There are three elements to your relationship; both of you as individuals and the relationship itself. In couples counselling we are working primarily with the relationship from the basis of knowledge of you both as individuals. We are all individuals with different upbringings and experiences. We learn different things about how to behave from childhood, family and friends. Whilst there will have been a conscious fit between you that drew you together, these differences can, over time, start to cause problems, or there may have been a change in circumstances such as birth of children, children leaving home, redundancy, retirement, bereavement, affairs, sexual problems, for example, that have led to a change in dynamics or how you are communicating or experiencing your relationship together.
What happens in a couples counselling session?
I will not take sides. Rather, I will offer you a caring and supportive environment to talk about what you both feel is the problem, explore the differences and help you gain understanding of each other to enable you to find the best way forward for your relationship, whether that be strengthening it together or finding ways to have a respectful uncoupling should that be the appropriate outcome for you both.
The first session will be held together, followed by an individual session with me where you will be able to air your views confidentially before coming back together as a couple for future sessions. Whilst the individual session will be completely confidential (excluding any risk of harm to self or others), I would encourage you to share that with each other in the safe environment of a therapy session. Your consent and collaboration is paramount to working through your relationship issues together and I support this by acting as an objective observer and mediator to guide, appropriately challenge and offer interventions into your discussions.
How many sessions will we have to have?
It is not possible to pre-determine how many sessions you would need as that depends on so many factors including what the issue is and how much work you put in together building on our sessions inbetween sessions. Each session lasts for one hour on a weekly basis, although some couples chose to attend fortnightly.
How much does it cost?
Your investment is £70 per 60 minute weekly session or £100 per 90 minute fortnightly session.
Payment can be made via BACS prior to the session.