Great Couples Counselling in Nisku, AB. Therapy to heal relationships.

I often work with couples who are struggling in an effort to develop effective communcation, express feelings appropriately, overcome infidelity, deal with parenting conflicts, address unresolved issues, establish more of a connection with one another, adjust to various life transitions (such as having a baby), and deal with day-to-day struggles (such as housework). I use a variety of techniques to address these difficulties, with the ultimate goal of establishing a sense of goodwill and connection, so that each partner has empathy and support for the other, and they can create a sense of being a true team as they navigate life together.

I employ the 'Prepare/Enrich Online Assessment' tool for couples aiming to enhance their understanding and strengthen their relationships. This tool is highly effective in evaluating and highlighting the strengths and challenges within a couple's relationship. Tailored to couples at any age or stage of their relationship, it offers valuable insights to help them grow and improve together.

When working with couples, my focus is the "relationship". It is my goal to understand the relationship that two people have created; to explore what works and does not work in the relationship. My focus is to create awareness for a couple as to how they maintain and reinforce the existing relationship patterns that may not necessarily work. A new way of relating can then be formed once the relationship is understood. The goal in couples counselling is to create Intimacy in a relationship, yet this can only be formed with safety and vulnerability.

Over the years, I have worked with couples helping them improve their relationship, prepare for marriage, amicably separate or divorce, and do so in ways that are also healthy for their children. What I call the Building Blocks of Being a Couple, I help couples explore these aspects of their relationship: Acknowledging each other’s perspectives, Learning about the meaning of behaviours, Exploring the effects on emotional well-being, and Co-exploring stressors that are impacting the relationship. Building a healthy relationship includes: Improving communication, Working together as a team for problem-solving and a healthy family life, and Living with joy, intimacy, harmony, and love.

Loving, successful relationships need to be carefully and skillfully nurtured in the following five areas: Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, Sexual, Financial. Couples who are ready to do ongoing work on their relationships are richly rewarded with a loving, meaningful and joyful life together. Committed relationships that have the possibility of morphing into long term relationships benefit greatly by being guided by the Gottman research on relationships as well as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Premarital Counselling prepares a couple for a new stage in their relationship by identifying potential areas of conflict and strength and developing tools to create a strong foundation.

The context of a relationship brings much more information to the surface then if we were alone. This can be very challenging and counseling can help sort this out. Couples counseling provides the opportunity to examine things as they play out within the couple. This arrangement can leads us to see first hand the strengths we have to connect with others. I have successfully worked with people from a variety of backgrounds to treat a variety of couples issues and look forward to working with you. Visit my website at www.prairieowlpsychology.ca from more details.

In my work I am enabling couples to resolve disagreements, or agree to disagree, without becoming disconnected or abusive. Given that different couples might need different types of intervention, the mechanisms of change vary accordingly. Therefore, in order to achieve change and enable growth, I am using an integrative approach, which I tailor to suit the needs, experiences, and personal circumstances of the couple.

Although relationships ebb and flow, the experience of pregnancy and parenthood can impact a couple greatly. As you and your partner navigate your new roles and identities, it is not uncommon to be navigating changes in your relationship. Our therapists can help you and your significant other navigate these changes together and work to strengthen your relationship.

Have You And Your Partner Experienced A Breakdown In Communication? Do you feel unable to work as a team or compromise on important issues? Are there differences between you that you didn’t foresee when your relationship started? Have you both gotten so busy with your lives that sex and intimacy have fallen to the bottom of your list of priorities? Maybe you and your significant other find yourselves arguing in circles—your interactions have become hostile and defensive. Perhaps there’s been infidelity and now you’re wondering if you’ll ever be able to rebuild the trust between you. Or maybe you both get along, but you’re newly married and struggling to blend your families together.

We are the biological product of our parents, but are no less the emotional product of the families we come from. By better understanding the hurts, fears, and insecurities, the roles, habits, and patterns that we have brought into our romantic relationships, we are permitted to give - and get - the most out of them. By better understanding ourselves and our partners, we open up communication, foster mutual respect in relating and stronger attachment, and find that collaborative solutions to couples issues are easier to find.

We offer couples counselling from both an Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) approach as well as incorporating the Gottman Method. Our focus incorporates understanding attachment histories and how they influence current relational patterns. We also support couples to more effectively express themselves, understand where their partner is coming from, as well as strengthen their skills in navigating conflict.