Great Couples Counselling in Gibsons, BC. Therapy to heal relationships.

Most couples, at some point, go through times when communication seems difficult and patterns of engagement are causing frustration and disconnect. Ruptures happen in ever relationship but closeness and attachment come about in the ways in which we seek to repair them. Counselling can help couples explore how their own individual past experiences have informed their current emotions and behaviours when conflict arises. It aims to help couples work together to heal, understand their partner and be each other's safe haven and comfort.

Embarking on a transformative journey with Eakin Counselling means recognizing and addressing the conflicts that often surface within relationships. I understand the complexities that can strain even the most loving connections. My relationship counseling services serve as companions on this journey, guiding individuals and couples through communication breakdowns, conflicts, and trust issues, ultimately fostering understanding and love. I believe that nurturing strong and healthy relationships is fundamental to a fulfilling life, and our approach to relationship, couples, and marriage counselling is rooted in deep insights, experience, and a profound understanding of the intricate dynamics

I'm a down-to-earth, client-centered counsellor that can bring new hope to you and new life to your relationships. I specialize in marriage and couples counselling. I'm trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and Gottman Couples Therapy. With over ten years of experience, I have the tools to get your relationship back on track. I also offer intensive therapy for highly distressed couples. I'm here and ready to listen with warmth, kindness and compassion, without any judgement or criticism.

Intimate relationships often challenge us in ways few other relationships or experiences do. Whether you are starting a new relationship or struggling as a couple, I can help you address issues such as trust, intimacy, communication, conflict, and distance that might be preventing you from finding harmony in your relationship. In our work together, you can gain insight into how to improve patterns of relating to one another, learn about the possible origins of these patterns, find ways to de-escalate conflict, and move toward building trust, intimacy, and a sense of greater connection.

I work with couples stuck in fighting, withdrawal, and disconnection, and help them bring back harmony, safety, and stability to their relationship. If you feel alone, unheard, and misunderstood, and no matter what you do, you can't seem to make it work, I can teach you what it takes to feel emotionally safe, understood & connected in the relationship. I follow the Gottman Method through which couples learn the key to a successful relationship. You learn to recognize and address negative patterns of interaction and develop a deeper understanding of each other's needs and perspectives. This help you rebuild a more satisfying relationship that is built on trust, mutual respect, and love.

Couples experience a number of challenges that get in the way of optimal relationship functioning. My role is to help families identify how each partner is supporting each other and what patterns are contributing to the “problem”. As a couples therapist, I provide a neutral third party perspective as to these patterns and we can explore the meaning or context behind them. Once we have identified what patterns are impacting the relationship we will develop strategies for more helpful patterns and responses. I utilize therapeutic interventions from the Gottman model, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Attachment Theory, Response-Based Practice, and Narrative Therapy.

I welcome the opportunity to work with couples, whether married or not, LGBTQ, coupling or uncoupling. My goal is for partners to become more curious about themselves and about each other. We explore how unfinished business in one's family of origin and past trauma can affect emotional initmacy between partners. We will address ways of lessening emotional reactivity in order to work on relationship issues in a calm and respectful way.

Real Solutions to Real Challenges. Common Sense Techniques. Short-term & Cost Effective. All couples are exposed to challenges such as; traumas, accidents, sickness, infidelities, job loss, grief, and unproductive communication cycles. Individuals histories contain our unique interpretation of ourselves and our world and how we currently cope and function. Understanding more about our selves, recognizing unfulfilled intentions, and discharging umcomfortable feeling will produce greater self-acceptance and communion/ imtimacy with our partners

I have been trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, the Gottman Method and Family Systems. Typically I meet with the couple together for the first session to get an understanding of the presenting problem from both perspectives. From there I meet with each person individually to take a brief relationship and family history and to form a relationship of trust and safety with each partner. The goal is to identify the negative cycle of communication between partners, identify underlying feelings and fears that drive this cycle and finally to create a more secure bond between the couple. I am very experienced with working with couples where one or both partners have experienced trauma

In times of conflict we feel attacked and unsafe. We are flooded with emotions and act out of a sense of being overwhelmed: "Attack," "Run!" "Comply!" and "Hide!" are some of the ways we respond to conflict. In counselling, couples learn to see themselves as separate from each other and therefore less threatened. Once the emotional storm is diffused, couples can learn specific skills and perspectives that heal the relationship. But we do not seek simply to return to the status quo. Couples can then learn to hear, value and enjoy each other. Life with your partner can be fun and every day a day of discovering the pleasure of the person you are with.

Relationships can become tense, defensive, and hostile. Sometimes, ruptures in trust occur that leave us questioning "should I still be with you?" When our relationships feel insecure, we react often through becoming critical/nagging, or shutting down and checking out. I practice a form of evidence-based couples therapy called Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT). Through EFT, we identify the negative cycle that has come to define your relationship, and work to repair this ruptured attachment bond, helping partners feel safer and freer around one another. This leads to improved intimacy, better communication, and a stronger emotional connection.

I understand that navigating relationship issues can be incredibly challenging, affecting both your emotional health and the quality of your partnership. In our couples counselling sessions, we'll establish a safe environment for open dialogue, employing the Gottman Method to identify and address the root causes of your conflicts. This evidence-based approach focuses on improving communication, building empathy, and fostering mutual respect. While the journey to a healthier relationship may take time and commitment from both sides, there's genuine hope for renewal and happiness. Together, we can work towards a more harmonious and fulfilling relationship.

Couples counselling focuses on developing strong communication skills, conflict resolution techniques, forgiveness, and effective dialogue. Many couples experience frustration at some point in their relationship where they feel they are not heard, valued or even loved any more. A toxic cycle of blaming, fighting and pulling away begins to form, creating distance and fatigue. For others an affair has shaken the very core of the safety and love they once felt in their relationship. It can be an agonizing and terrifying discovery for the partner who has been betrayed, and strong feelings of guilt, shame and a lack of understanding to how it even happened for the offending partner. Whether you are looking for a tune up to build back the excitement and...(view profile to read more)

I love working with couples as we get to explore together what the challenges and relational ruptures look like right in our sessions together. I prioritize creating a safe space where the partners feel heard and seen equally as we explore the different needs and perspectives present. My training is an Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) and AEDP with a focus on attachment and what the attachment dance looks like for you. Once we realize what the typical steps we take are, we can intentionally adjust them what tends to help resolve many of the ongoing communication issues.

Relationship counselling focuses on the question "Why aren’t you having fun together?" Satisfying relationships require intimacy, honest communication, and interdependence. But sometimes they can seem like a Groundhog Day of bickering, criticizing, withdrawing, and frustration. I'm here to help clarify, demystify, and encourage you to speak frankly and listen deeply to each other. Is the message you’ve sent your partner the message that’s been received? Are you distinguishing freedom from license (interfering with the other's freedom, are demands disguised as boundaries? Through counselling, you can improve intimacy and communication, rebuild trust, and strengthen your emotional connection.

My role as a couple's therapist to create a safe haven, a calm bay, for you to make the repairs as needed, for you to re-embark on your journey together, stronger, more connected and back on the same team. The storminess of relationships is as natural as waves in the ocean, our ability to stay connect during the swells and crashing waves is what makes or breaks a marriage, not the wave itself. Our work together focuses on identifying our patterns and our partners patterns as we run for cover in the tumult of the wave. We then work on understanding, supporting and staying reconnected.