Contact our psychologists directly:
Who is it for?
Some couples come to couples therapy to strengthen their connection and prevent future difficulties. Others seek help when their relationship is already under strain.
Therapy provides a space where couples can work through challenges, rebuild trust, and foster emotional safety. Couples can also enhance closeness, improve communication, repair old wounds, and cultivate a deeper sense of shared purpose.
Common reasons couples seek therapy include:
- Frequent conflict or recurring arguments
- Communication breakdowns
- Feeling disconnected or distant
- Intimacy and sexual concerns
- Breaches of trust, including infidelity
- Differences in values or priorities, such as finances or parenting
- Premarital counseling in preparation for marriage
- Therapy to safeguard the relationship from future problems
Relationship problems can be broadly divided into hard and soft problems. Hard problems are often referred to as the “three A’s”: addictions, abuse, and affairs. When these issues are ongoing and unaddressed, they create conditions in which a healthy relationship cannot function. In such cases, the partner engaging in harmful behaviors must first take responsibility and seek individual support to change their behavior. Once meaningful progress has been made, couples therapy can play a vital role in helping the hurt partner heal and in rebuilding a healthier relationship. Our therapists can guide you in finding the right individual support and advise if couples counseling is appropriate.
Soft problems are relational difficulties that both partners share responsibility for. These include difficulties such as ongoing conflict, emotional distance, or a lack of intimacy. While deeply painful, they are generally less damaging to the long-term survival of the relationship than hard problems.
Our couples therapists have experience in working with multicultural and multi-faith couples across different stages of life. We honor each partner as a unique individual, while valuing and respecting the relationship you are building together.
Process
Assessment. Couples therapy usually begins with an assessment process spread over four sessions.
Session 1: You and your partner meet with your therapist to share what has brought you to therapy, your main concerns, and your hopes for the relationship.
Sessions 2 &3: These are individual meetings, giving each partner the chance to speak about their perspective and personal concerns.
Session 4: The therapist provides feedback on the relationship dynamics observed and discusses whether couples counseling is the most suitable way forward.
If therapy is recommended, you will set goals for treatment and decide the frequency and length of sessions. If therapy is contraindicated, your therapist will share alternative options and resources with you that may be more helpful at this stage.
Couples therapy. You attend your sessions together, although your therapist may also meet with one or both of you individually at times. Sessions are typically scheduled on a weekly basis and last between 50 and 80 minutes. Sessions can be in person or online.
Approaches to couples therapy
Our couples therapists use a range of therapeutic approaches when working with couples. You can read the individual bios of each therapist to learn more about their training and style, and to see which approach might feel right for you.
Below is a brief description of the approaches most used by our couples therapists. If you are uncertain, keep in mind that the most important factor in therapy is not the specific method, but the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Choosing a therapist with whom you feel comfortable and safe will have the greatest impact on your growth as a couple.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a structured attachment-based approach that helps couples identify and change the negative cycles that create distance or conflict. It strengthens the emotional bond between partners.
The Gottman Method is a research-based, integrative approach to couples therapy that helps couples strengthen the foundation of their relationship, manage conflict constructively, and build a relationship that improves and grows stronger over time.
Relational Psychodynamic Therapy explores how each partner’s past experiences, attachment history, and relational patterns shape the dynamics of the relationship today. This helps couples better understand recurring conflicts, heal old wounds, and develop more compassionate ways of relating to one another.
Areas of specialization
Our couples therapists are able to help you with a wide range of relationship difficulties, such as:
- Affair recovery
- Addictions
- Mediation
- Sex and intimacy
- Discernment counseling for couples on the brink
Contact Us
We will do our best to get back to you promptly.
Relevant Reading
The Path to Forgiveness, Part II – By Matleena Vanhanen, M.A. (UK)
How to Ask for Forgiveness In our own ways, we are all broken. Out of our brokenness, we hurt others. Forgiveness is the journey we take toward healing the broken parts. It is how we
The Path to Forgiveness, Part I – By Matleena Vanhanen, M.A. (UK)
How to Forgive When You Have Been Wronged “There have been times when each and every one of us has needed to forgive. There have also been times when each and every one of us
Parenting Gifted Children – By Dr. Clarice Mendonca-King, PsyD (USA)
Remember that you are your child’s adult figure Children need to feel they are safe and protected and they need to depend on the adults in their lives, regardless of their intellectual capacity. Avoid assuming
