^{Counselling, Couples counselling, Supervision and Hypnotherapy}

Couples counselling and relationship therapy

Couples and relationship therapy is suitable for any couple, heterosexual, same-sex, or family, such as mother and daughter.

Whatever difficulties you are experiencing in your relationship, couples and relationship therapy can help you work through these issues, deepen your understanding of each other and find a way forward.

My role is to facilitate a deeper understanding of yourselves and to improve interactions within your relationship. My aim is to gently yet effectively help you uncover underlaying factors that influence your connections, such as family background and personal behaviour patterns, unravel and reframe your thoughts and feelings, leading to a more harmonious relationship journey.

Together we will explore and cultivate a more meaningful, loving and understanding relationship with yourself and others.

The relationship between us is key to supporting you in your journey. It is therefore important for you to choose a counsellor that makes you feel safe, accepted and treated with respect and perhaps also challenges you in a positive constructive way. I therefore offer a complementary 15 minute introductory telephone call, to explore your needs and for both of you to be sure you feel comfortable talking to me.

How to get the most out of your couples and relationship counselling

You’ll get the best results from therapy if you’re open and honest and say how you’re really feeling. Our relationship is very important and if we are to work effectively together, you should feel safe and able to take risks by disclosing and discussing sensitive issues. That includes being able to give me honest feedback on how you feel about your therapy and how we’re working together.

I would describe my working style as being respectful and collaborate.  Whilst I am supportive, empathetic, and compassionate, I can also be very direct and challenging, so it's important to let your feelings be known to me. It’s empowering for you to initiate an uncomfortable conversation and address negative feelings about therapy.

Therapy is often the first place where disturbing, distressing and perhaps traumatic memories and events are acknowledged. It is important that you are prepared for this. Be honest about the material you feel comfortable working on yet be open enough to trust me.  A good clinician is attuned to their clients’ experiences and knows when to alter the pace and direction of the intervention.

Therapy is all about change. Changing those things that we can and acceptance of those things that simply cannot be changed. Once you have an awareness and understanding of why things are happening in your life you have the opportunity to make changes.  For whatever reason you decided to have counselling, positive change will occur when you commit to changing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

It is helpful to keep a journal so that you are able to write down your most troubling negative thoughts and feelings experienced during the week, including when, where, and with whom they occur. These automatic and unhealthy ‘scripts’ can be subconscious, and you may be unaware of their existence. Journalling on how you feel can help to bring more awareness which can in turn help to change your thinking.

There may be a lot going on in sessions and with so many different ideas floating around your head, you may not remember some of the important points discussed. So, bring a notebook to sessions to jot down anything you want to remember or think about later.

I give you homework. It is important to do your homework as it forms part of the work, helping you to make the changes you want to make.

Self-care is an important aspect of therapy. Small lifestyle changes can significantly increase emotional and physical well-being. I may from time to time suggest exercise, deep-breathing, relaxation and visualisation exercises that are designed to help your mood and energy levels.

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