Couples therapy uses a combination of evidence-based treatments from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and the basic principles of Gottman's Couples Therapy to help individuals, and members of relationships, understand their behaviours, underlying thoughts, clarify intentions, and focus on developing and enhancing effective relationship communication and healthy patterns of interaction.
Couples therapy can be helpful to address healthy relationship communication, conflict resolution, sustaining a relationship through life changes or long-distance (such as returning, or changes in career/job placement or location), adjusting to living together, adjustment to marriage, changes to members of the relationship, adjustment to open relationship, processing grief and loss, or as a means to proactively discuss relationship parameters before relationship decisions.
The initial session will involve all members of the relationship to assess the current strengths and challenges in the relationship. Goals are then defined collaboratively with the members of the relationship and the treatment plan is discussed. Couples therapy uses a strengths-based approach and focuses on healthy individuals in relationships as well as enhancing the bond and connection of the members of the relationship in healthy ways.
Working on activities or exercises that are discussed in session, and in-between sessions, helps to enhance treatment outcomes and is essential in couples therapy. As with any form of therapy, the outcomes of couples therapy depend on the individual's involved and their own positioning in the relationship, commitment, progress and process.
Couples therapy sessions are 90-minutes in duration.