Great Couples Counselling in Oak Ridges, ON. Therapy to heal relationships.

In the downtown Toronto area, people come to see me for help with marital and couples-related conflicts. I am very comfortable helping couples who are in straight, gay, or lesbian relationships. Conflicts often come up between partners in relation to difficulties with intimacy, conflicts surrounding extended family members, and disagreements around family goals and priorities.

Beneath most intimate relationship struggles, there is a key defining question being asked, “Are you really there for me?” This question embodies many others: When I need you, can I reach you? Do you respect and support me? Do you care about me when I'm hurting? Do you still want me? When the answers to these questions become shaky in our mind, we get stuck in unhealthy patterns, and may need some help finding our way back to each other. Emotionally Focused Therapy is an evidence-based model that helps couples reconnect with each other and (re)discover the relationship they have always wanted. Reach out today to bring healing and enhancement to the most important relationship in your life!

There are many reasons why couples seek therapy. You may be experiencing communication problems that keep coming, feeling constantly criticized, not feeling heard, feeling emotionally distant from your partner, fighting over the same issues, feelings of anger and jealousy, feeling controlled by your partner, and differences in parenting styles. Couples therapy can help you strengthen your bond by learning healthy ways to communicate your needs, identify stuck patterns and learn new ways to be with each other. Often a few sessions is all that is needed for a “reset”.

Couples counseling can be a powerful and beneficial step—whether the goal is to strengthen a relationship or to part ways with clarity and care. In many relationships, partners may unknowingly bring unresolved trauma or patterns from the past into their dynamic. As a counselor, I support couples in identifying what may be blocking them from building a healthy, connected partnership. I offer practical tools and insights to help couples improve communication, understand each other’s attachment styles, and create emotional safety. Through this work, partners can learn to support one another more effectively and become each other’s allies in growth and healing.

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.

Healthy relationships and emotional connection are typically fostered by effective communication and boundaries. Therapy can help you and your partner understand the patterns you are currently feeling stuck in and learn how to communicate each of your needs and perspectives from a place of vulnerability, compassion, and care. I work with individuals, couples and families. Book a free consultation to explore if we are a good fit for therapy.

I offer couples the opportunity to explore the root causes of their relationship concerns within a safe, supportive environment. As an objective third party, I am able to facilitate enhanced communication between the couple to help them develop greater objectivity, learn to hear and meet one another’s needs more effectively, and overcome automatic defenses that may be hindering their connection to strengthen and restore their partnership.

Relationships are work in which both parties have to be committed to resolving any arising issues. Often, a lack of communication, having unsatisfied emotional needs and expectations causes constant arguments between couples. Therefore, couples seek outside help when they are unable to resolve the conflict between themselves due to other issues or underlying conflict. In therapy discussing each other’s thoughts and feelings about the issues helps couples to get to know each other once again and also help them to better understand their spouse as well as themselves. As a result, the couple may acknowledge the root of the disruption and the changes needed to mend the relationship.

Couples counseling includes discussions of goals for therapy, learning to understand and clearly communicate your feelings, identify when and how problems arise and develop effective coping strategies. Great results have been found after 3-5 sessions. Couples report feeling better about themselves and their relationship and find that they communicate more effectively which results in less fights.

Intimate relationships are like a dance – they can be quite joyful and energizing but when facing obstacles, partners need to find the steps and rhythm to move more freely. Couple therapy can provide a safe space in which you and your partner can gain a deeper understanding of one another and what contributes to difficulties within the dance of your relationship. Should you decide to attend sessions, I will work with you to facilitate honest conversations, help you to better understand what you may need from one another, and support you in finding a way to step toward more acceptance, intimacy, and connection. Contact me or book a free consultation if you wish to learn more.

In 2015, I began studying the PACT (Psychobiological) Model for Couples Therapy. Using this model, I am passionate about working with couples. Based on "secure-functioning", you discover exactly, what you wanted but didn't know how to get there. Increasing your awareness on many levels gives you many more options. Discover how you and your partner can feel the way you long to feel and experience a warm safe loving relationship. Rediscover the promise held within the love and attraction that brought you together.

Therapy with couples is amongst the most rewarding aspects of my work as a therapist. Not much gives me greater pleasure than helping couples develop a deeper understanding of both their situation and of one another that leads to a more meaningful and enjoyable shared life. In my experience, couples can make incredible progress when both parties are motivated to improve the quality of their relationship and learn to love one another in healthier, more fulfilling ways.

When a couple is in trouble, the act of seeking out a counsellor has to be motivated by the desire to stay together through hard work. Therapy is not for those who need it but for those who want it. This is even more true when it comes to working with couples. The journey is one of finding once more what brought them together in the first place. We work with forgiveness and building trust. We find ways for the couple to once again feel a sense of warmth and compassion as we break down the walls of resentment. We look at what is triggering the couple to fight. We go through the anatomy of a common and repetitive fight. i also teach the couple some body centered techniques.