The love and companionship of another can bring out the best in us.  A good relationship can be nurturing, supportive and enlivening.    However relationships can also be blighted by vicious arguments, affairs, mistrust, sexual issues including desire discrepancy, control, boredom or a deadening growing apart.   Sometimes a relationship can flounder when a big decision is faced (eg whether/when to have a child).

"We had reached a point where it was hard to see how we might move forwards but meeting with Katrina helped us to listen and truly hear and understand one another again.
Now we're back to how we were (and better!)"

Couples Counselling can help you set your relationship back on course for better times, (or it can ease the difficulties of a breakup).  We will look at the dynamics of what is going on between you, so that you both feel heard and respected.  You can discover and experiment with better ways of communicating what is most alive for you and grow in ways that you might not have imagined.   You can explore how you express love and caring to one another and how it is received. And better deal with differences between you, including discrepancies in sexual desire.

"I really appreciated the way that Katrina did not side with either of us, and never blamed anyone, but stayed fully focussed on "the relationship" as her client."

Counselling for family relationships -  I also successfully support adult family members who are having difficulty getting along with each other, eg a parent and grown up child.

Relationships don't happen in a bubble. Both parties bring hopes and fears of what a relationship can be, perhaps learnt from families of origin or from previous relationships. Changing circumstances and the demands of children, in-laws, health, home, culture and career can all strengthen or weaken a relationship. We can look at how a relationship can respond strongly and flexibly to these factors too.

Katrina helped us to really talk honestly with each other.  I got to say what I needed to say without it destroying us!  I am so glad we stuck with it because we have been closer than ever and communicate so much more helpfully.  What doesn't break you really does make you stronger!"

Good relationships needs attention and time - which is often freely given at the "falling-in-love" stage. Couples counselling can help you build that foundation of loving attention and time back into your relationship, so that it can thrive and flourish long after your couples counselling has ended. 

"We stayed together!  It surprised many of our friends who really thought we wouldn't make it through.  We are now 5 years on and going strong."

Discernment Counselling - this is a short term process of one to five sessions where couples on brink of divorce can decide whether they want to try and solve their problems, or to carry on as they are, or to divorce. 

If you are clear that they do not want to rebuild the relationship, then you can use couples counselling to look at what contributed to the relationship breakdown (so you are less likely to repeat the pattern in your future relationships) and/or to improve your relating enough to ease communication about any shared children and to achieve a non-combative separation.  

"We went to Katrina after 24 years of being married. She gave us a safe space to evaluate our relationship. She's facilitated us having difficult conversations candidly but considerately. Even though we've made the decision to get divorced, her support has meant we're coming out the other side still as best friends."