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

We do couples therapy differently..........If you go to our web site and read our history you will find we were in the worst of marriage relationships. We have now been married 42 years in 2020 and are having a great relationship with each other. The secret of our success was in how we dealt with the resentment and bitterness which was keeping the arguments alive constantly.

My approach is to help people recognize that relationships are two-sided and understand how each individual contributes to the couple’s dynamic. With that understanding, we work toward reaching a win-win situation, aiming to restore the satisfaction of the relationship. Together, we create a safe space for you to grow past the areas of “stuckness” -- that is, the old patterns that are learned when we are young and are brought to our current relationships. This is true for all of us. Therapy enables us to form new and healthy attachment patterns that are nourishing and nurturing, providing opportunities for new growth and satisfaction.

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.

Would you like tips on how to communicate with your partner? How about learning how to argue fairly and come to a compromise or solution? Would you like help in restoring the gratitude you once had for your relationship and loved one? My therapeutic technique(s) using both talk therapy and active therapeutic strategies I.e. worksheets, couples homework assignments, etc can help you acknowledge areas in your relationship you would like to improve and provide practical strategies toward accomplishing both your individual and partnership goals.

Couples Counselling Most relationships will become strained at some point and will begin producing maladaptive patterns. Relationship problems are rooted in our distorted egos, insecure attachment, emotional immaturity etc., which create to the many issues that develop for couples - infidelity, financial stress, poor communication, ill health, sexual divergence, household responsibility conflicts, addictions, etc., .... or just simply growing apart. Relationships can often be restored if help is sought soon enough. A counsellor can help reorient perceptions and emotions (how we look at a situation and how we feel about it) and assist the couple in adopting conscious structural changes.

This service is not solely for romantic partners, which is why I use the term 'Relationship Counselling' and not 'Couples Counselling'. The relationship involved may be between co-workers, family members or two individuals in a professional or business arrangement. Relationship counselling involves guiding the members of a human relationship in order to enhance what is working, improve communication, and address areas of disconnect or conflict.

My Couples' 12 Emotional Needs Survey will allow you and your partner to compare your individual emotional needs in your relationship. You first must understand each other's emotional needs before you can dance in synchrony. Clients often are surprised to learn which emotional needs their partner rate as high or low priority, for example, conversation, admiration, affection, power-sharing, emotional closeness, and sexual intimacy. Excellent enrichment exercise for couples!

We specialize in couples! We know conflict doesn't mean your relationship won't work. We recognize it's often the beginning of more growth and a sign you and your relationship need to grow into more and become more fulfilling and successful. We're highly trained and have lots of experience. We can help you feel heard and understood. We'll help you discover how to move forward together in a way that feels more whole and satisfying for you both.

It can be difficult to rediscover your emotional intimacy with your partner when it seems to be buried underneath layers of hurt and anger and misunderstandings. I can help you to unpack these layers in a safe space that promotes healing and understanding. We can also work on better communication patterns so that misunderstanding aren't as likely to flare up again in the future. Conflict in a relationship is normal, but it is how you two manage your conflict that will ultimately impact the quality of your relationship.

Our couples counselling approach include increasing closeness and friendship behaviours, addressing conflict productively, and building a life of shared meaning together. Therapy is structured and involves customizing principles from research to each couple’s particular patterns and challenges. It focuses on developing understanding and skills so that partners can get their needs met (especially when they are hurting), manage conflict, and learn how to repair their relationship when necessary, even in cases of infidelity. Overall, the goals of Meristem's approach is to assist couples in achieving a greater sense of understanding, respect, awareness and empathy toward each other.