I offer couple therapy which is an in-depth treatment for couples. In individual psychotherapy the focus is one the individual, the main focus here will be on your relationship. I work from a psychodynamic perspective with heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender couples who are having relationship difficulties and want to explore how these problems have arisen and what interferes with resolving them.

My approach is grounded in psychoanalytic thinking, in which it is understood that your presenting relationship problems often reflect underlying difficulties from each partner’s experiences in earlier life. One of the gifts of intimate relationships is that they provide an opportunity to use the couples therapy to work things through that have been painful or traumatic in the past. Together we explore both the conscious and unconscious factors affecting your current difficulties, in order to bring about change in both of partners. We all know that intimate relationships can be very challenging. But through couple’s work, they can also be a source of profound healing of past hurts, and a dismantling of frustrating and counter-productive relationship patterns. My aim is to help you get your relationship to become a partnership from which you can both think about yourself and your partner and both grow. Should either partner require more help, I would refer you to individual therapists.

Couples therapy usually involves weekly sessions. The couple attends all sessions together. Some common problems that are central to being a couple, are those of intimacy, separateness, and sexuality, a crisis event, conflicts around money, and children. Couple therapy can include premarital therapy, adjustment to parenthood and uncoupling: separation and divorce therapy

Premarital Therapy

For most couples who are considering marriage or long term commitment, it is often the case that after a period of time the early romance has faded, and that you have come to know each other in more complex ways. Therapy at this stage may be very helpful in articulating and expressing your differences and in exploring how they can influence the family/couple life you would like to create. Mostly you will discover that many differences are acceptable, at least, and vitalizing at best. But undertaking marriage/committment when done with eyes open, as well as with hearts open, greatly increases the chance of fulfilment and longevity for your relationship.

Uncoupling: Separation and Divorce Support

Sometimes couples work can involve exploring your decision whether to work on the relationship, or rather to separate or divorce. Honouring yourself and your relationship enough to undertake this process has enormous emotional benefit for both parties, regardless of whether the outcome is staying coupled or separating. Coming to mutual understanding of incompatibilities that cannot be accommodated releases each of you from the bond in ways that usually enable you to move forward, and eventually create a better relationship.