Great Couples Counselling in Bowen Island, BC. Therapy to heal relationships.

Even the best relationships face challenges. No relationship is conflict free. The couples who say they have good relationships are often the ones who find ways to communicate effectively, manage the inevitable conflicts, and feel like they are on the same team even when times are tough. Couples therapy can be an opportunity to take advantage of having a neutral space to explore your concerns and to learn about what other couples have done to build a strong relationship. Knowing how the research on couples can benefit your relationship, and ways that you can make a good relationship even better can be inspiring. A better relationship is possible with the right tools and knowledge.

Being in a relationship can, at times, be quite stressful. Two individuals who care for each other deeply may not always have the same perspective on the best way to deal with ongoing issues and changes. Learning to communicate, respecting each others dreams and working together to solve problems is the focus of my work with couples. I primarily use the Gottman approach to couples therapy which has been demonstrated to be very successful. The key is to seek help before the problems in your relationship become overwhelming.

I have extensive experience in working with parents and their child or youth on a wide variety of issues. For example: dropping grades, school absenteeism, communication breakdown, anger issues, control and power, oppositional communication, self-esteem difficulties, and self-harming behaviours. I specialize in helping parents better understand their child/youth and youth better understand their responsibilities. My goal is to help child/youth and parents have better communication in order to live happier and healthier lives. I look forward to working with you and your child or teen.

Do you look at your partner and wonder what happened to the sense of connection and intimacy that you once enjoyed? Have the stresses of life, career, and parenting gotten in the way of your relationship? Would you like to learn how to be heard and to hear what is really going on in your partner's heart of hearts? Couples counselling is an opportunity to re-connect and re-discover yourself and your partner. It is a safe forum to air difficult issues , develop skills for effective communication and enhance emotional and physical intimacy.

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)

Working with couples is my specialty and my greatest delight. I have seen positive turnaround in many couples who entered my office feeling hopeless. I help couples reconnect through learning to speak to each other in a way that can be be received without defense. Tools are often needed during dire times. I will help you find ones that work for you. My professional training is in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Encounter Centered Couples Counselling and Satir.

Ian provides professional, effective, and compassionate couples therapy. He helps clients achieve their goals in many areas such as decreasing conflict and habitual negative patterns, and improving the level of satisfaction, and overall well-being of the relationship. He utilizes many scientifically validated approaches, and has a high rate of success overall. Please contact Ian if you would like a 30 minute consultation to discuss your specific situation and how he can help.

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.

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.

Nothing is more important to you than having a safe haven in your home, with your partner, and your kids if you have them. If your home does not feel emotionally safe, you wonder if there is any real help out there, to get you and your partner back on track. (Domestic abuse is a separate matter.) Ros offers effective help. In couple therapy, she will slow down the process, notice responses in the body, and stay grounded to (re)build a solid relationship bond. The couple will tune in to emotions so each partner can acknowledge their own longings, to themselves and to their partner. So long as each partner still is willing to enter into the relationship 'dance', there is hope. Call Ros.

In my work with couples, I generally work individually with each person before we meet together as a group. My rationale is that especially for individuals who are new or somewhat uncomfortable with counselling, it allows me to build trust and rapport and really listen to each person so that they feel heard and understood. This helps me suggest goals and approaches in our work together.

Intimate relationships are often a wonderful tool for working towards identifying and treating wounds within the bounds of a relationship. The sense of otherness that can separate us can also serve as an important opportunity for connection and contentment, should we have the courage to turn towards the essence of our needs and those of our partner(s).

Most couples get stuck at some point in their relationship. Intimacy is challenging for most us! I have a 2 pronged approach: I teach communication and conflict resolution skills as well as going deeper to discover the driving forces which lead to conflict. Conflict, once resolved, can lead to greater intimacy. The struggles you are facing now are the key to future deeper happiness and fulfillment and an opportunity for growth. I work with all types of couples.