Couples and Family Counselling

The quality of our relationships directly impacts our overall wellbeing and quality of life. Support is available for individuals interested in learning ways to build and maintain healthy connections with others. Topics that may come up if you are looking for support in this area include: identifying and exploring relationship patterns, creating awareness of unique values, needs, and expectations in relationships, assertive communication, boundary setting, safety planning, codependency, healing from painful relationship experiences, resilience-building, fostering self-compassion, and learning to trust yourself.

Dr.’s John Gottman and Julie Gottman and the Gottman Institute believe that couple intervention must be grounded in basic research. They have been studying why some couples sustained their relationships while others did not for over 30 years.

The Gottman Method of Couples therapy is based on a longstanding program of research on the factors that improve versus deteriorate a relationship. This intervention involves assisting couples in reducing negative interactions and improving positive interactions in three main areas – friendship, conflict management and creation of shared meaning. This form of therapy strives to help a couple find meaning as well as gain better conflict resolution strategies.

The Gottman Method is based on the Sound Relationship House Theory that is comprised of nine components of healthy relationships. A Gottman trained couples therapist will guide couples through these components using a series of exercises to facilitate improvement in their respect, love, trust and affection with each other.