Relationships

 

Good relationships don’t just happen. They take time, patience and two people who truly want to be together”

– Unknown

 

All human relationships are complex, requiring considerable effort to sustain in the long term. So why bother? We bother because successful human relationships are fundamental to our well-being; they can determine our overall life satisfaction and happiness.

Many people I work with have relationships that are suffering. Relationships cannot thrive when we are struggling with other aspects of life. In addition to an individual’s emotional pain, I often hear about relationship dissatisfaction, conflict, poor communication and emotional distress.

CBT provides a practical and reliable approach for dealing with relationship issues. It can help improve relationships by enabling individuals to be more present, attentive and supportive, and less anxious or depressed. Unlike some passive therapeutic approaches to couples’ therapy, CBT helps develop the attitudes, skills, behaviours and emotional responses which are found to be present in adaptive, fulfilling and resilient relationships.

At The Cove, I work with individuals, couples and/or families to improve their relationships. Underpinning most successful relationships is also psychological flexibility – the ability to think about things from a range of different perspectives. Through my work, I support the development of psychological flexibility, helping individuals become more mindful of how to make sense of situations, through considering alternative perspectives.

The evidence shows that good communication is also vital to maintaining healthy relationships. I frequently help people improve their listening and communication skills, enhancing their joint problem solving so that they can more easily resolve future conflicts, thereby developing resilience in their relationship.

Relationship sessions at The Cove acknowledge each person’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as their values, goals for the future, expectations and perceptions. This builds a shared future for a couple based on empathy, kindness, trust and respect. These positive feelings create a sense of safety in a relationship, again making it more resilient to future challenges.

We highly, highly recommend Melanie for couples counseling. She has helped us work through issues surrounding new parenthood, depression, anxiety, and being an expat. She is understanding, direct, and helpful. We’ve really appreciated her help with boosting the health of our marriage.

K&S

USA