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

The single counsellor option is available as well as the CO-THERAPY MODEL: Two therapists - one man and one woman: a therapeutic square rather than the traditional triangle. This tends to provide a sense of equal representation in the therapeutic team and liberates each member of the couple in bringing his/her issues and positions forward. Each partner receives clinical attention and support as does the couple relationship.

Our most intimate relationships are where we are often challenged the most to grow. Much of my work with couples is helping each person feel entitled to their feelings and feel able to advocate for their needs within the relationship. So often we have expectations of how our partner or spouse is supposed to be, how we are supposed to be with them and there are unspoken expectations to navigate between us. These assumptions can easily lead to very destructive patterns that we act out with the person we want to feel the closest to. Our work is to strengthen ourselves from the inside out so that we can meet our partner "full of ourselves" and then find ways to be together that are a win win!

Saint Paul University’s Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre welcomes a diverse clientele, for individual or couple’s therapy. Services are provided by counselling interns at the Master of Arts and Doctoral level in Counselling and Spirituality at Saint Paul University. *Services in French available

Couples can often feel disconnected and can have long standing patterns of interaction which feel like they can't move away from, no matter how hard they try. Couples work can help unlock this feeling of 'lock down' and help people understand the pain and fear under the behaviours -their own and their partner's. Through exploring together couples can heal old wounds and begin to feel safe, understood, connected, engaged, and fulfilled bringing vitality back to the relationship.

Getting married soon or recently engaged? Premarital counselling helps couples explore their marriage assumptions & expectations. Together we can work to recognize your fight patterns and identify where you both get stuck. We can help you learn how to listen to each other without becoming defensive, talk about your hot buttons and your raw spots. We identify your strengths and use them to help build your relationship. Couples counselling can bring you closer together and help you achieve the intimacy and love that you both desire. We offer couples counseling to repair relationships, rebuild trust, communication and intimacy. Call us today at 613 287 3799.

My intention is to support you to: • speak a language of love, compassion & joyfulnes in your relationships; • strengthen your relationship & emotional intimacy; • improve communication together, & with family; • heal from childhood trauma; • rebuld after an affair; • deal with sexual issues; • recognize the impact of family of origin & attachment issues; • handle your differences & issues that lead you to conflict; • cope with transition through separation &divorce. When you ackowledge you have a problem & want to find a solution, you are much closer to resolving it. I use an EFT approach with couples. I serve adults, young adults 16+, & seniors. I am here to help.

Couples are sometimes stuck in their cycle of communication where the "dance" has stopped and no one can move smoothly. Negative patterns have taken hold and both partners are caught in a rut. In a supportive and empathic environment I help clients understand and experience where they have been caught in their cycle, where they no longer hear or understand their partner. With new insights and understanding they become able to hear the music again, join the flow and move ahead with new choices in a clearer channel of communication.

Have you been finding your relationship to be a source of frustration and pain rather than a place of safety and support? Do you find yourself locked into similar arguments with your partner again and again? Would you like to feel closer to or reconnect with your partner again? Do you feel as though you need to re-establish trust because trust has been broken in your relationship? There are many reasons why couples seek therapy. Whatever your reason for seeking support, couples therapy can be a powerful and meaningful way to strengthen trust and the emotional bond between two partners.

Staying as a couple, like any relationship reqires work. There has been a lot of myths surrounding relationships that we have learned from our parents, grandparents, etc. Couples benefit from knowing what myths they may have incorrectly learned about relationships. Couples will greatly benefit from identifying the "shoulds" and "musts" in their heads that they are bringing into the relationship. Once identified, we can work on making replacement thoughts that would work for each individual when confronted with difficult relationship issues. And the best part is that they can use the skills they have learned in therapy for their lifetime, either individually or as a couple.

Several different professions can offer counselling to a couple. For example, when a couple is in conflict over financial issues, they might seek help from a financial counsellor or a pastor. These types of counselling may have similarities to counselling with a Psychotherapist, but the focus and approach are different. The psychotherapist focuses on deeply held core beliefs that each partner brings to the relationship, and how these contribute to the dynamic within the relationship. The emphasis would be on what is driving the emotional and psychological conflict within the couple relationship.

Couples will be guided in finding a common ground in their relationships. They will learn about each others' communication styles and gain better understanding of each other along the way. They will learn to reconnect by rediscovering each other and engaging in various homework activities in the goal of enjoying spending time with each other again.

Whether it is a fight over the dishes or over an affair, it is important for a therapist to be able to identify and understand interaction patterns in a relationship. Our counsellors are trained in identifying and understanding interaction patterns between individuals in a relationship. Once couples are able to identify interaction patterns and understand how unwanted interactions develop, they are more able to make the changes they desire . Proper interaction allows each partner to feel heard and avalidated and facilitate forgiveness and restoration.

Much of life satisfaction depends on our ability to create and maintain meaningful and mutually satisfying relationships. Our attachments to partners can be a great source of love, comfort, soothing, and pleasure. Emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy together form the cornerstone of couple bonds. The CFIR couple therapist will create safety in the therapeutic environment. He or she will not ‘side’ with any one partner, but instead will explore how emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy has been blocked and how each member in the couple inadvertently may be contributing to the disconnection.