Great Couples Counselling in East York, ON. Therapy to heal relationships.

The team offers both couple and family counselling to help you learn to better navigate healthy relationships and experience the intimacy you need in your life. We are able to offer both short-term skill-building, activity-based couple counselling as well as a longer-term, dynamic approach that generally lasts 5-8 months, depending on the couple and scheduling. We see heterosexual, gay and lesbian couples, as well partnerships involving people with non-binary gender presentations. We see couples in open and polyamorous relationships. Attachment styles, love languages and IFS are used to help you better understand your relationship and learn to work together and get needs met.

Relationships all go through difficult times, whether they’re new or longer term. If you feel communication is breaking down, tensions are high and intimacy is low addressing these are the catalyst to a health and positive relationship. If you’re looking for a deeper connection and insights to your partner prior to saying your “I do’s”, we use this time to explore various areas, shedding light on topics that might not have been discussed or explored in-depth.

Dr. Van Blyderveen offers Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples. This approach is evidence based and has a greater success rate than traditional couple's therapy. Therapy will focus on improving communication through creating and strengthening your emotional bond with one another. During therapy sessions Dr. Van Blyderveen will guide you and your partner through emotional conversations with one another with the goal of improving closeness, connection, and acceptance of one another.

We examine the couple relationship, the troublesome differences and the repeating patterns of stress. Effective couples therapy requires commitment and time. Between 12 and 24 sessions is typical for change to occur. While remaining neutral is important , I am biased in favour of the integrity of the relationship. If in the process you decide to end your relationship, it should be a result of your decision, not the outcome of the therapy.

I use both Gottman method and Emotional Focused Therapy in supporting couples in the sessions. We will learn to spot and recognize the blind spots and patterns in their communications. We will work on sorting out and express feelings and needs between couples. We will address trauma and hardship in the relationships and heal as a couple before building on mutual goals for you.

Couples therapy is not just for times of trouble, it is also important for building a strong foundation to an already strong relationship. Our couples therapists focus on learning about your unique relationship and what each of you bring to the table. We tailor this process to what your relationships needs, which could be healing from a trauma, infidelity, loss, and/or life stress. We are here to help and to support your relationship.

Couples often get stuck in negative patterns, or ways of relating to one another. These negative patterns can cause couples to attack each other emotionally, or worse, drift apart emotionally. It is vital to identify the emotions that drive this cycle, and through therapy, learn to create a dance that brings you close to your partner. We are relationship specialists who have advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).

My background in relational therapy allows me to understand individuals through the relationships they cohabit. Couple therapy may be a vehicle for growth to occur both relationally and individually. This in turn may assist in bringing you closer to your desired goals through understanding and breaking down language used in romantic relationships. Throughout couple sessions, I lean towards emotionally focused therapy, as I have witnessed its transformative effects particularly in romantic relationships. Please contact me for a free consultation to learn more about my approach and to determine if we would be a good fit.

In working with couples, the relationship is my client. My goal is to ensure that both partners feel heard and validated. I support the couple in creating space to have conversations that might otherwise be difficult to have. In working with me, couples will learn improved ways of communicating and being there for one another. They will also learn how to manage conflict in a way that is supportive of relationship growth. Further, the couples' strengths will be highlighted and accessed to continue to grow the relationship bond.

One of the biggest decisions we make in life is choosing our partner. And then the real work begins. Divorce rates speak to how difficult sustaining a healthy marriage can be. Evidence-based studies have shown essential elements to a healthy and nourishing relationship. Couples counselling focuses on a variety of these areas including, communication, conflict management/resolution, and connection. Presenting issues include communication, conflict, infidelity, parenting issues, separation and divorce.

Healthy relationships are extremely important to our happiness, health and well-being. In couples therapy, it is my ultimate goal to help both of you to come to a full and deep understanding of one another. Often times, couples get into disputes because of a lack of understanding of one another which can be due to time constraints, family difficulties, lack of knowledge of one another's beliefs, etc. In therapy, we will explore each person's background, beliefs and perspectives, and we will negotiate both so that they can work together in harmony. We will also look at the particular issue(s) that you have sought therapy and will work on remedying it by reestablishing an emotional connection.

Couples therapy can provide guidance, support and help you build upon your relationship, bond with your partner, and strengthen the connection that the two of you have so that you can continue to enjoy, appreciate, and experience fulfillment from your marriage or relationship.Couples therapy can also be helpful at any stage in your relationship. For example, you may be experiencing difficulties in your relationship or simply looking to improve your relationship further. There are always ways to strengthen a relationship, and the sooner you learn to communicate more effectively, build more trust, and receive healthy guidance, the more your relationship can grow.

Taking time with your loved one can be a beautiful and fulfilling experience. However, it can feel challenging when you and your partner are stuck in previous patterns of behaviour, communication, and interaction. As a couple therapist, I will support you in better understanding yourself, your loved one, and your relationship to navigate challenges (e.g., communication, attachment, trust, etc.). I seek to enable you and your partner to work as a team in navigating whatever struggles come your way and developing your own unique toolkit. Speak with me today for a free consultation to begin your journey.

Sometimes it can feel like you and your partner aren't on the same page. You can have the same conversation over and over again, but things don't change. In our time together, we will be uncovering the root of the issues and implementing strategies that will improve communication. We will also be focused on reestablishing a sense of security, safety, validation, and acceptance for one another.

My interest lies not only with how we can remove problems in the relationship but what sort of potential can be unlocked? Romantic relationships are one of the most common issues people come to counselling for and experience issues in. My approach is to fully understand each individual and the dynamics of the relationship to figure out what optimal improvement can look like.

Intimate relationships are an integral part of our lives, and the quality of those relationships has a considerable impact on us. However, relationships can be difficult. Couples therapy helps people to improve communication, develop new ways of solving problems, and increase emotional and physical intimacy. If there has been a significant breach of trust or marital infidelity, therapy focuses on coping with the event, increasing understanding of the factors that contributed to it, and if required, helping the couple decide whether to remain in the marriage or end it. When the couple desires to remain together, the focus is on helping the couple to heal and repair their relationship.

Relationships can be both satisfying, and frustrating. Although we can get along with some people some of the time, in close relationships we can sometimes get stuck, over-reactive, or even too distant. In couple counselling we can explore what's not working in your relationship, what your individual and 'couple' ideals and dreams are, and then strategize and work together on getting your relationship to a better place.

You are at the end of your rope. You love your partner, you don't want to end the relationship but your partner is so distant and disconnected, so you are looking for help. Perhaps you just found out the awful truth that your partner is having an affair. Maybe you have tried couple therapy before and things improved a bit then you found yourself back in the same sad stuck place. Couples often need help to find their way back to each other. Please visit my website or call me to find out how I can help you heal wounds and create the strong loving connection with your partner that you deserve.

All relationships go through ups and downs but seeing a trained and experienced therapist can make a big difference in how situations get resolved. We have over a decade of experience helping couples improve their communication, find healthy ways to manage conflict, go through life transitions together, get their parenting styles on the same page, address trust issues, deal with lack of intimacy or sexual issues, recover from extra marital affairs, manage the division of labor for household responsibilities and many many other issues. We approach each situation uncovering and building on peoples’ strengths, helping them to reach successful resolutions.

Conflict and loneliness can be most painful when they arise in our most cherished relationship. Therapy can provide a supportive space to explore your concerns in an open and honest way with your partner. My approach to couples therapy acknowledges the importance of relationships in our lives and focuses on strengthening these relationships by fostering safe, honest and open communication. Contact me to start your healing journey and book a free consultation

I often hear 'Why would I go to a couples counselor? I know the problem and will figure out how to solve it.' This is logical but does not work. Why? A lot of the information you need is in the unconscious and unavailable to you. As an example, you do not realize that when your parents did not respond to your emotional needs you decided, at a young age, not to let anyone know those needs as you would only be disappointed and hurt. This negatively effects your relationships. Since I offer a free consultation I suggest we meet to help you see areas, that you ae unaware of, that need to be worked on for the kind of relationship you deserve.

A satisfying relationship is one of life's greatest pleasures. The good news is we have the research available to know the predictors of relationship success and demise. Let me work with you to gain insight into the strengths in your relationship and provide you with the skills to overcome the challenges to create the relationship experience you each desire.

All relationships hit rough patches from time to time. However couples who have the skills to identify and talk in a mature and calm manner are able to manage these rough patches before they become mighty marriage mountains to scale. When couples struggle to communicate, be active and present participants in their relationship, take responsibility for their part of the problem and the solution we end up with a breakdown of the relationship. It is possible to learn the skills that will improve your relationship. Working on improving communication skills, conflict resolutions and negotiating skills, stress and self management skills and much more will help grow your relationship.

I believe that marriage/relationship is not about finding the right person, but rather about becoming the right person. When you focus on your own behaviors and the way you treat the person you love, it will not be long before things begin to change. None of us have the power or ability to change another human being. We cannot make someone do what we want them to do. But, we can make ourselves do what we need to do in order to become the kind of person who is worthy of being in a good, healthy relationship. I will help you be a better person, more worthy of being in a healthy relationship. Focus on what you can do to make things better without any agenda toward the other person and watch what ....

Shyamala has a Masters in Counselling and a Doctorate specifically in Marriage and Family Therapy. As a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist, her expertise is in working with couple relationships. She practices Emotionally Focussed Therapy for couples; one of the most researched and effective ways to treat couple distress. Her goal is to help couples create secure and meaningful connections so that they no longer need the assistance of a couples therapist and are able to work through life's challenges on their own.