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

As a 'poly' positive therapist, I celebrate all the ways couples and people in relationships may live and love. I welcome people of all genders and non-gender identifying experiences, polyamorous and non-monogamous people, 2SLGBTQ+ community members, and families of all identities. Often sessions with both individuals and the family unit are required. Together we will discuss everyone's needs and work out a customized plan to address the unique path of each group/couple.

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 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.

I’ve been helping people lead more intentional lives for over 20 years. Couples therapy supports you in reaching a fresh connection with your partner. You have the ability to have a meaningful relationship. I can help you learn the skills to communicate in a way that will get your needs met. I’m trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, developmental models,and anxiety and depression management. I will support you in creating a set of tools to help you discover your objective. Most importantly, you're a distinctive couple, with distinctive needs. My goal is to work with you as a unique couple, and focus on YOUR goals.

I often see couples when one side is experiencing an addiction. This can cause relatively predictable effects in the other half of the partnership. The person addicted needs their own recovery and the partner needs their own healing. The couple also needs to heal by restoring trust and dealing with underlying issues. At OWA Therapy, I focus on overcoming those underlying issues.

Loving, successful relationships need to be carefully and skillfully nurtured in the following five areas: Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, Sexual, Financial. Couples who are ready to do ongoing work on their relationships are richly rewarded with a loving, meaningful and joyful life together. Committed relationships that have the possibility of morphing into long term relationships benefit greatly by being guided by the Gottman research on relationships as well as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Premarital Counselling prepares a couple for a new stage in their relationship by identifying potential areas of conflict and strength and developing tools to create a strong foundation.

Working on the relationship requires an openness to learn, grow and reflect as a couple. The focus in sessions is to shift the oppositional energy, allowing the couple to come together as a team trying to overcome challenges. In sessions you'll learn to regulate emotions, communicate more effectively, understand the underlying parts of you that are getting triggered, and bring intentional joy into the relationship to strengthen your bonds as a couple and breed deeper connection for longer lasting, healthier love. Monogamous and polyamorous couples of all genders, sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds are welcome.

Relationships are important to our well being. Being together with another individual is not always easy and with the wear and tear of life’s issues and traumas it can be very difficult… Every relationship has its ups and downs but if you’re stuck in a negative holding pattern come and have a free consultation with me to see if I’m the right person for the two of you to rekindle your relationship. I have a Graduate Certificate in Couples Counselling from Saint Paul University (an affiliate of the University of Ottawa) and working with couples is my specialty. You establish your goals and I assist you in achieving them. It is possible for you to reconnect with your partner.

Communication is key to any relationship. It allows for emotions and thoughts to be explained and explored with others. Communication issues within a relationship can occur as a result of misunderstandings, heightened emotions and lack of validation. Communication is not just words; it also occurs through non-verbal communication. Body language and facial reactions are focused on and analyzed. This can cause frustration and criticism between those in the relationship. It becomes important to listen to what each other is saying as opposed to convincing the other person of your perspective.

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.

I prioritize creating a neutral, encouraging, and comfortable environment during our sessions to work collaboratively to restore your connection with your partner. Couples therapy offers a safe, supportive setting that promotes open, honest communication. Improving communication abilities enables you to explore hidden concerns and previous emotional traumas that might be present. By engaging in this process, you will gain a more profound comprehension of your partner, discover ways to assist you in the face of life's difficulties, and form an authentic, all-encompassing, and significant connection while cultivating the abilities and resources to handle tension within the relationship.

Couples who are deciding whether to invest further in their relationship, who want marriage preparation, want to deepen their love, heal hurts or rekindle relationship are all couples we work with. At Sandra Forbes, Relarionship Solutions, we assess communication, emotional closeness, attachment, and trust. From there goals are defined and the purpose for the sessions is established. The walk toward a deeper love and closeness, healling a hurt or hurts, improving the way couples talk with one another or preparing for marriage is guided by a structured approach to the therapy. The head and heart are both the focus.

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.

We’ll use the top two evidence-based approaches to marriage counseling: the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. Using these approaches, you can rebuild your friendship and create emotional safety for and with each other again. You’ll discover: How to replace entrenched patterns of arguing or retreating from communication. New conflict management strategies will dissolve the dread of confrontation. How prior relationships impact your current one and what to do about it. New ways to manage anger and anxiety, and to communicate your needs in ways that get heard. Finally, you’ll practice the non-judgmental, safe listening that you both crave.

Couples face all sorts of unique challenges and I believe in creating a safe and inviting space where both parties can share openly what they are experiencing. From there, we can determine a plan to help both parties work towards a common goal, this may include repairing/healing, rebuilding, reconnecting, focusing on better communication, among other things.

Couple Counselling Therapy involves learning how to do the following and much more: love your partner and be loved in return, reconnect with that person you fell in love with, communicate and be heard, transcend the spoken words to truly understand the meaning and importance of your partner's communication. This process necessitates a vision that neither partner is right or wrong and that the other has very different needs that we will probably not understand but that we will need to make central. Visit www.newhorizonscounselling.com for extensive information.

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.

An intimate partnership is a strong and powerful connection between two people, and it is often a complex dance of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. In couple and relationship therapy my goal is to assist couples in resolving problems and conflicts that they have not been able to handle effectively on their own. Therapy involves both partners sitting down with me to discuss their thoughts and feelings. My aim is to allow each partner to gain a better understanding of themselves and their partner and help them to decide if they need and want to make changes in their lives and in their relationship. I provide a supportive safe space to help couples learn new ways to relate to each other.

Romantic relationships can be hard work. They require regular care to keep them functioning well. Many couples expect romance to go on forever without doing the necessary work only to face the realities of relationships. Relationship issues become more magnified when one or both parties carry a history of trauma. Couples counselling can help individuals learn about one another, communicate effectively and grow as individuals while becoming loving partners. The therapist is an unbiased party who is there to help both partners function together well as a unit by providing solution-based interventions.