Relationship Counselling
Relationship counselling improves understanding and communication between people. It creates an understanding of your differences and how to manage these for a happier relationship.
Relationship counselling is often thought of counselling for romantic couples but it can also be for different family members (such as parents and children, or siblings), or friends.
Relationship counselling is NOT about identifying who is to blame. In fact, I don’t like the idea of blaming because it isn’t helpful. What is helpful is recognizing how each of us contributes to positive and negative patterns in our relationships. As with any other type of counselling, relationship counselling requires compassion for ourselves and also for the other person.
When I work with relationships, my focus is on:
In relationship counselling, I work to develop empathy, appreciation and acknowledgment - the building blocks of good relationships
Understanding what has given rise to your current difficulties.
Creating a better understanding of who each of you are. What you have experienced in your lives and how this has affected you. Has your past taught you to distrust other people, feel judged by them or feel like they don’t care? What pushes your buttons? What makes you feel loved?
Learning to relate with empathy and care. This means taking time to understand the world from the other person’s point of view. It means understanding how their struggles challenges and fears affect their behavior. It also means having empathy for yourself. The more we can relate with empathy the more we can disagree without destroying one another in the process.
Understanding what each of you wants from your relationship and exploring how your needs can realistically be met
Finding constructive ways of dealing with your conflict
Improving listening and communication skills
Finding new forms of thinking, speaking or behaving that can accommodate both of your needs
Understanding the strengths of your relationship