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

Relationships can be hard but they do not have to be. Our couple's therapists work with the couples to identify problem areas, debunk, assumptions, and learn how to effectively communicate. Your therapist will help you to express your feelings in a respectively way, discuss issues, and resolve conflicts that are occurring. Couple's therapy aims to increase respect, affection, understanding, and intimacy between you and your partner. Our therapists stay neutral and focus on the couple as a unit rather than individually someone being "right" and someone being "wrong".

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.

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.

Couples benefit from working on communication, on practicing healthy skills, on unpacking the ways in which personal issues and triggers are interfering with active listening and healthy partnership. Clients benefit from being able to express their needs and feelings, from learning how to be assertive, and from witnessing that they are being heard, both by the therapist and their partner. Finding compromise without losing oneself, setting personal goals as well as relationship goals, learning to nurture oneself, as well as the relationship, are all benefits of therapy. Examining co-dependent patterns can lead to opportunities for growth. The therapist models respectful relating.

Couples come together for a reason–from a point of deep commitment or even for practical reasons–both by choice. Some come together for more fleeting reasons–even by chance. However it begins, couples evolve–either to create a resilient bond or to find themselves in conscious or unconscious division. All are tried by adversity, change, and time. Even accumulating stress of the daily humdrum can blind the vision of ‘us.’ Couples are unique. My role is to challenge communication, to help couples define their bottom-line: to accept what is; define limits of tolerance and compromise; respectfully support a new reality if resilience is not found; or to see the contentment in finding a way back.

When relationships work, they can be one of the most amazing aspects of our lives. But, when relationships turn sour, they can bring about some of the deepest pain that we can experience. These feelings are amplified when things like betrayal, neglect, abuse, lies, and infidelity are involved. At Whiteboard we work with couples of all types to help them better understand themselves, their partners, and the unique dynamic which exists between them.

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.

Using a client-centered approach for couples focuses on communication between individuals. Our sessions will involve an open conversation where each member can feel safe to share their emotions and feelings. We will discuss patterns of communication and behavior between the members and, using exercises, work on improving communication and emotional honesty. Using exercises, we will work together to identify negative behavior cycles and work towards building positive and reinforcing interactions.

In couples counselling, I focus on strengthening the bond between the couple by improving the communication between them and understanding the needs and wants of the other person and of themselves. I provide them with various skills that helps them build a healthier relationship that they could cherish.I follow Gottman's method for couple's counselling.

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.

We all long for connection. Many of us feel great in the times when a relationship is new and the connection is just developing. The problems come when we have to repair distance/rifts in that connection, or when we need to sustain and deepen our connection to our partners. Maybe we never learned how. Maybe we carry scars and trauma from past relationships. Maybe we have patterns in our histories that we never really dealt with. Maybe all of the above. Our work together will take all of that into account and in a non-judgmental environment, we will hold space for you both to learn how to repair, strengthen and maintain your most important relationships.

Couples therapy is an invaluable resource for partners facing challenges in their relationship. As a passionate couples therapist with specialized training in this field, my primary focus is working with couples to help them overcome their unique obstacles. I bring compassion and directness to the counselling process, creating a safe space for open communication and emotional exploration. Through my expertise, couples can develop improved communication skills, gain a deeper understanding of each other's needs, and address underlying issues effectively. I go beyond facilitation by offering practical tools and strategies, empowering couples to take actionable steps toward healing.

I specialize in helping couples to have a greater sense of intimacy and improve their communication. In relationships people often hold on to past resentments, which can erode the quality of happiness in a couples relationship. I can help couples communicate so that the resentments are lifted and individuals begin to connect again in a meaningful way. I would like to help support you both in feeling emotinally connected.

Relationships can be some of the most meaningful and yet challenging parts of our lives We so often forget that we only get out what we put in to a relationship. Often individuals have expectations that a relationship should be good without a significant investment of time and energy Increasing communication skills, reducing judgement, listening and empathizing, are some basic steps towards the growth of a relationship .

I provide a safe and empathetic space where both partners can explore and address the challenges they are facing in their relationship. Through a combination of evidence-based modalities such as EFT, Gottman Method Couples Therapy, and communication skills training, I assist couples in enhancing their emotional connection, improving communication, and resolving conflicts. By fostering understanding, promoting effective problem-solving, and facilitating healing, couples can experience increased intimacy, stronger bonds, and a renewed sense of love and partnership. Together, we work towards creating a healthier and more fulfilling relationship that supports long-term growth and happiness.

I use 9 steps of Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) to help couples identify their negative interaction cycle and each partner's role in that cycle. Steps 1-4 entails empowering the couples to access unacknowledged emotions underlying the interactional positions and to reframe the challenges in terms of underlying feelings and attachment needs. Steps 5-7 entails supporting and mediating couples to change interactional positions and creating new bonding experiences. Steps 8-9 entails encouraging the couples to integrate new solutions to old relational problems.

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.

When I work with couples I like to use the Gottman Model Couple Therapy; drawing from The seven principles of making relationships work book as well as my training (Level 2). The information is practical and easy to conceptualize and this means you can get to work to stabilize, fortify and protect your relationship quite quickly. It can be enjoyable too, in fact, I've found you're more likely to do the work if it is fun to do it together.

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.

Being in a relationship with another person is an intricate and reflective practice. Often, we find out that our perception of them is layered with our own needs. My clients begin to combine their individual needs with the relational needs of their partner, finding success through understanding and support. Clients who work with me develop an understanding of how their past is showing up in their present, using tools and strategies to help feel better in their relationship with themselves and their partner.

Healthy relationships take commitment & work. I help couples increase emotional intimacy & connection. I help them stop unhelpful ways of interacting, achieve resolution to their unresolved conflicts, & take responsibility for their negative contributions to patterns. Couple relationships require re-committing ourselves to each other repeatedly throughout the length of our relationship. I will help you to learn to "turn towards" one another. I will also help you to eliminate the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a phrase coined by couple researches John and Julie Gottman. Lastly, all couple relationships include pursuer-distancer patterns. I will help you identify these and work to stop them.

Couples counseling with me focuses on improving communication, increasing intimacy, and building a strong, lasting relationship. I use the Gottman method, which is an evidence-based approach that has been proven to be effective in helping couples work through issues and strengthen their connection. This approach emphasizes the importance of building a strong foundation of friendship, managing conflict effectively, and creating shared meaning in the relationship. Through counseling, couples can learn new skills to help them navigate challenges and deepen their bond. By working together, couples can improve their relationship satisfaction and build a fulfilling life together.

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.

The key to any relationship is …… 1. Communication. 2. Listening to the words, nonverbal communication & listening with feelings. 3. The ability to state your needs and desires even if they are not satisfied. 4. Putting your relationship first and everything else next…even your children. 5. Re-evaluating your expectations of the relationship. 6. Showing tangible love on an everyday basis. 7. Graciously saying sorry. Even after doing all you are struggling, then examine the gift you are to your partner. Are you able to receive and accept the, gift that your partner presents in person. If you are still struggling, then you need to seek relationship counselling or marriage counselling.

Couples therapy is expected to lead to increased satisfaction and stability in a relationship. As your therapist, our common goals include improved conflict resolution, enhanced problem solving and communication, and clarification of individual roles and needs. In our journey through treatment, I can be your advisor, expert, coach, educator, facilitator, observer, diagnoser and many other roles. Email me or Call me for a 15 min free initial consult; I am accepting new clients !