Great Couples Counselling in Alberton, ON. Therapy to heal relationships.

In a warm and empathetic environment I assist couples in building trust, improving communication and working through conflict. My work involves helping change problematic thinking and communication, guiding through pain and forgiveness and helping you build the skills you need to improve your relationship both now and in the future.

Right now your struggles as a couple may feel overwhelming, but most situations can be turned around with the right help and a willingness to try. I have worked with many couples of every kind and lifestyle, without judgment. The sooner you start, the more you have to work with. I have been a psychologist since 1986 and a professor emeritus of counselling psychology. I am based in Calgary and see clients across Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick by secure video. Book a session now: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

Couples desire to seek the most from their relationships. Whether it is rekindling a passion they once possessed, resolving disagreements in more effective ways, or fighting to exist as a loving partnership, building a secure emotional connection often lies at heart of it. As an emotionally-focused therapist (EFT), couples will be taught to recognize patterns that keep them trapped in conflict and interchange them with more adaptive patterns to assist them out of it. Through learning the principles of EFT, partners discover they can face new challenges together and develop a deep sense of emotional safety, security, and love.

Couples therapy with me is not about teaching communication tricks or conflict avoidance. It is about helping two people understand the deeper emotional systems at play between them. We look at the invisible patterns such as cycles of pursuit and withdrawal, criticism and defensiveness, disconnection and repair that often operate beneath the surface of conversations. My approach is relational and emotionally focused but also grounded in depth psychology and cognitive science. Together, we examine how each partner’s history, wounds, and protective strategies collide to create patterns that neither wants but both participate in. The goal is to build a new relational system.

Intimate relationships can be the most rewarding, and at times, the most painful relationships we experience. Couples often engage in pattern like communications which prevents them from expressing the love and tender emotions they feel for one another on a deep and intimate level. The goal of couples therapy is to enable partners to reconnect and express themselves, stepping outside of negative interaction cycles. Couples therapy helps willing participants to feel heard and understood by their spouse. Learn to listen with your heart and find each other again.

One of the most detrimental problems that I have seen in Family Therapy is when parents become so overwhelmed by life, inundated by the responsibilities with their children (hockey, karate, tutoring, piano, etc), and consumed in running the household that they forget about the relationship that they have with their spouse. I hear things like “I don’t even know my husband anymore”, “there just isn’t any time left for us”, “we are growing apart”, or “we can’t agree on anything; not the kids, not the house, not the dog… help!” All is not lost and there are ways to learn to balance all of the aforementioned intricacies of a family dynamic. You don’t have to hold it all together by yourself.

A loving relationship can be a source of profound connecting and security, and as with many aspects of life worth pursuing, it requires nurturing. While I do not offer couple therapy sessions, we have many couple and family therapists at Psychotherapy Collective, my online clinic who are availability to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure they are the proper fit for your journey. Visit our website to book a free couple consultation https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/services/couple-therapy

We are not prepared to be married. Clouded with romantic ideals and unreasonable expectations, our relationships can quickly begin to feel lacking in fulfillment. I believe that most couples don't want divorce. What they do want is to feel connected again and safe again. I use Imago Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy to help couples re-connect. Building a healthy marriage takes both time and commitment. The skills you will obtain will give you a clear path to reconnection and safety.

Couple work is about supporting both partners as they work to support the relationship between them. The relationship is what you create, from the foundation up. It requires a plan, developed with strength and wisdom; built with equanimity and sacrifice; maintained with compassion and kindness. The rewards are endless. It requires each partner to put the other first, and when you do that, you both win.