Relationships can bring joy, connection, and support – but they can also face challenges. Over time, many couples experience difficulties such as communication breakdown, repeated conflict, loss of intimacy, or navigating major life changes. Relationship therapy, including couples counselling, provides a safe and supportive space to explore these issues together and improve communication, while also offering strategies to rebuild trust.

Couples counselling, often referred to as relationship therapy, is a form of psychotherapy designed to help partners improve their communication and enhance their relationship. The focus is not on taking sides but on supporting both partners to understand one another better, rebuild trust, and discover healthier ways of relating to each other. 

I offer couples and relationship counselling to everyone, embracing all gender identities, sexual orientations, and relationship dynamics. 

Relationship therapy can also be beneficial for non-romantic relationships, including those between siblings, parent and adult child, friends, or business partners.

Couples counselling can support partners to: 

- Improve communication and listening skills 

- Resolve recurring arguments or conflicts 

- Rebuild trust and intimacy 

- Manage stressors such as parenting, finances, or work-life balance 

- Recover from breaches of trust or difficult past experiences 

- Decide on the future of the relationship with clarity and respect through relationship therapy.

In couples therapy, my role is to provide a supportive and balanced space for both partners. I don’t take sides or look for who is right or wrong. Instead, I focus on understanding how each of you experiences the challenges in your relationship and what you hope to gain from our work together to improve communication and rebuild trust.

We’ll take time to explore your perspectives, how the difficulties have been affecting you both, and the ways you’ve already tried to address them. The goal of relationship therapy is to build a deeper awareness of what’s really happening between you, so that new, more fulfilling ways of connecting and communicating can emerge.

I’m committed to treating each of you with warmth and respect, and I invite you to bring curiosity, openness, and a willingness to learn more about your relationship and each other.

As in all therapy, I take an ethical, safety-first approach. This means that I prioritise the wellbeing and safety of both partners at all times. There are some situations where couples therapy may not be suitable or safe. These include:

1. An abusive relationship where safety is at risk. When relationships experience ongoing difficulties, it’s common for tension to manifest in unhealthy behaviors such as shouting, cursing, name-calling, or slamming doors. These patterns can be explored safely in couples therapy if both partners are open and committed to improving communication and rebuilding trust. However, if there is fear, violence, or controlling behavior in the relationship, couples therapy is not appropriate, as it can increase the risk to your safety. If you are concerned about abuse, please contact Women’s Aid or Men’s Aid for confidential support.

2. An ongoing, untreated drug or alcohol addiction. If substance use is currently active and untreated, it can interfere with the ability to engage meaningfully in therapy. In this case, recovery and individual support need to take place first.

3. An ongoing, untreated significant mental health issue. This includes conditions such as clinical depression, severe anxiety (including OCD), psychosis, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. Couples therapy can be emotionally demanding, and if someone is struggling significantly, it could cause psychological distress. If these issues are being treated and well-managed, we can usually proceed safely with the work.

4. An ongoing affair. Couples therapy cannot be effective if one partner is continuing an affair or relationship outside the partnership without transparency. This does not apply to open relationships where such arrangements have been mutually agreed upon.

5. Only one partner is willing to engage. Therapy relies on the participation and willingness of both partners. If only one person is open to the process, couples therapy will not be effective, and I do not work with this presentation. It’s natural to feel that your partner is 'the problem,' or to hope that therapy will help you get through to them when you haven’t been able to. While understandable, therapy doesn’t work that way. Even if you feel angry or hurt, there’s always the opportunity to learn about yourself within the relationship dynamics and explore new, more effective ways of relating.

I like to be very upfront in saying that couples therapy can be deeply rewarding, and it is also a challenging process. On average, meaningful and lasting change takes around 12 months. For some couples, it may be a little shorter or longer, but a year is a good guide for the depth of work we aim to do together to improve communication and rebuild trust in your relationship.

Sessions are 1.5 hours long. In most cases, it’s helpful to begin with weekly sessions for the first 4–8 weeks. After that, we usually move to fortnightly, and later, as therapy progresses and things stabilize, we transition into a maintenance phase with monthly sessions.

This structure can vary depending on each couple’s needs, and we will talk through what makes the most sense for you both during the first session.

My goal is to support you in creating sustainable, lasting change in your relationship through effective relationship therapy, and this level of consistency is what most couples find most beneficial.

Sessions must be paid for in full before the start of a session.

Revolut, card payment and cash accepted.

If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, please provide at least 48 hours’ notice.
Cancellations made with less than 48 hours’ notice will result in the full session fee being charged.

Session Length and Late Arrivals

Sessions are 90 minutes in length. If you anticipate arriving late and let me know in advance, we can still proceed with the session; however, it will end at the originally scheduled time and cannot be extended.

If you have not arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time and I have not heard from you, the session will be considered a late cancellation.

Attendance and Scheduling Needs
If you’re experiencing challenges that make regular attendance difficult, please let me know. We can discuss adjustments to help ensure the schedule works for your needs.

The first step in exploring whether couples therapy is right for you is to arrange a short phone call with each partner. During these calls, I will: 

- Gain a brief understanding of the issues you’d like to work on, including how to improve communication and rebuild trust in your relationship. 

- Go through the presentations that are contra-indicated for couples therapy. 

- Cover practical details such as session times, fees, and location. 

After this pre-assessment, I’ll email you a therapy contract and a short questionnaire to complete and return before our first session. 

Our first session together will be an opportunity for both you, as a couple, and me, as the therapist, to see if we’re a good fit to work together. I’ll explain the boundaries of therapy, outline my approach, and invite you to share what has brought you to relationship therapy. 

At some point in the process, I may suggest one or more individual sessions with each partner. The timing of these sessions can vary—they may take place early on or later in the work—and I’ll discuss with you when I feel this would be most helpful. 

For many, picking up the phone to arrange an appointment can be very daunting. If you feel you're ready, I'm here to listen. Click the button below to find out how to make contact. I'm looking forward to working with you both!