Couples Therapy - Supporting Your Relationship
Improve your Relationship with Couples Therapy
When things Don't feel the Way they Used to
Most relationships don’t break down overnight. They shift slowly—through missed conversations, misunderstandings, distance, or the quiet build-up of hurt. You might find yourselves having the same arguments again and again, feeling disconnected, or unsure how you got here. Or perhaps things look “fine” from the outside, but inside something feels off. Relationship counselling offers a space to pause, reflect, and begin to understand what’s happening between you.
A Space to be Heard - Both of You
In our work together, there is no taking sides, no blame, and no deciding who is right or wrong. Instead, we focus on the relationship itself—on the patterns that have developed between you, often without either of you fully realizing. My role is to hold a neutral space in our relationship counselling where both of you can feel heard, understood, and supported. Here, we can gently explore what sits underneath the conflict, the distance, or the disconnection.
Why Couples Come to Therapy
There are many reasons couples reach out for relationship counselling, including:
- Feeling stuck in cycles of conflict
- Struggling to communicate or truly hear each other
- Growing emotional or physical distance
- Difficulties with trust or experiences of betrayal
- Differences in intimacy or desire
- Navigating big life changes—such as planning for or becoming parents, relocating, illness, or retirement
- Family or in-law dynamics
- Fertility processes, parenting, financial, or day-to-day pressures
- Questioning the future of the relationship
You don’t need to wait until things feel unbearable. Sometimes, the earlier you come for relationship counselling, the more space there is for change.
Who This Space is For
Couples therapy can be supportive whether you are:
- Wanting to reconnect and strengthen your relationship
- Feeling stuck and unsure how to move forward
- Going through a transition or period of uncertainty
- Trying to decide whether to stay together or separate
It’s also not limited to married couples—this relationship counselling is open to all relationships, at any stage. My approach is not linked to any religious framework.
When Couples Therapy may Not be appropriate
There are certain situations where couples therapy may not be suitable, or where additional support may be needed alongside individual psychotherapy and counselling. This can include: ongoing domestic abuse or fear for safety - if you are concerned about this please reach out to https://www.womensaid.ie or Men’s Aid https://www.mensaid.ie; active drug or alcohol addiction that is not being addressed; a current untreated significant mental health issue; situations where one partner is unwilling to engage in the relationship counselling process; and ongoing affairs that are not part of an open-polyamorous relationship. If this is the case, we can discuss alternative supports that may feel more appropriate.
My Way of Working
I have completed a Professional Certificate in Relationship Therapy with the Institute of Couples Therapy. My work is informed by a developmental and differentiation-based approach, which means we gently explore: How your early experiences may shape how you relate now, your attachment styles and emotional responses, the patterns you find yourselves caught in, and how each of you can stay connected to yourselves while also being in a relationship. In our relationship counselling sessions, rather than focusing only on what is happening on the surface, we take time to understand what is underneath.
Practical Details
Couples therapy sessions run for 90 minutes and the fee of the session is 140€. This longer session gives both of you enough time to speak, and for us to slow things down. However, I understand that due to work/life commitments, longer sessions might not be possible consistently, so there is also the option of doing 60 minutes long sessions when needed, and the fee would be 100€.
Individual sessions, as part of the couples work process, are 60 minutes long and the fee is €70.
The frequency of sessions varies—usually starting weekly or fortnightly and becoming less frequent over time. The length of the therapeutic process is important; meaningful change in a relationship takes time. For many couples, this work unfolds over the course of about a year, starting more regularly and spacing out as things begin to shift. While it can feel like a big commitment, it is also an investment in something deeply important—your relationship and the way you experience each other.
At times, individual sessions can be a helpful part of the process. These sessions are always held within the context of the couples work, and their purpose is to support the relationship as a whole—not to create separate or competing narratives. We would discuss this together and agree on what feels appropriate.
If finances are an issue, please let me know. I hold a few spaces for low cost relationship therapy sessions.
What you Can Expect
Couples therapy is not about quick fixes; it's a form of psychotherapy and counselling that focuses on slowing things down enough to really see and understand each other again. Together, we will: Bring awareness to the patterns that keep you stuck, explore the feelings and needs beneath those patterns, support more open and honest communication, and create the conditions for new ways of relating to emerge. This work unfolds gradually, at a pace that feels manageable for both of you, making it an effective approach in relationship counselling.
What you may begin to Develop
Over time, relationship counselling can support you in building: Healthier, more open communication, the ability to address small “niggles” before they grow into larger conflicts, a deeper understanding of each other’s emotional worlds, greater awareness of the patterns you fall into together, and more capacity to stay present with each other, even in difficult moments. These shifts don’t happen all at once—but gradually, as new ways of relating, often explored through psychotherapy and counselling, begin to feel more possible.
What kind of outcomes are possible?
Couples therapy is not about creating a 'perfect' relationship or guaranteeing a happy ending. For some, this relationship counselling leads to a new sense of connection, closeness, and understanding. For others, it brings clarity about what is or isn’t possible—and supports a more thoughtful, less difficult separation. In either case, the aim is to help you move forward with greater awareness, care, and intention.
The boundaries I hold in my practice
In couples work, I hold a no secrets policy. This means that any information shared individually cannot be kept from the other partner if it is relevant to the relationship and the therapeutic process. Additionally, if one partner sends me an email between sessions, please ensure that the other person is copied, as I will reply to that email including both partners.
Regarding confidentiality, everything we discuss during our sessions will remain confidential. However, there may be situations where there is a disclosed risk of harm—such as an intention to harm oneself or someone else, or concerns about the safety or welfare of a child. In these circumstances, I have a professional and ethical responsibility to take appropriate steps to ensure safety.
I strive to create an environment where both of you can speak openly and feel heard, which is essential in relationship counselling. For this to be achievable, a basic level of respect must be maintained throughout our work together.
Difficult emotions are a part of the process and are welcome here. However, behaviours such as raised voices directed at each other, insults, or demeaning language are not permissible in sessions. If this boundary cannot be upheld, it may not be appropriate to continue the work.
If only one partner shows up for the session, and it was not a planned individual session, that session will not go ahead - it will be rescheduled to a different time when both partners can be there. The full session fee will be charged.
As part of my collaborative approach to therapy, I invite you to share feedback with me at any stage. If something I say doesn’t feel right or doesn’t resonate well, I encourage you to express that—this feedback helps me support you both more effectively.
Next Steps - How do we start?
If working together in the context of psychotherapy and counselling feels like something you’d like to explore, you’re welcome to reach out by email.
From there, I will arrange a brief phone call with each of you individually. This is an opportunity to hear what you are each hoping for from the relationship counselling process and to get a sense of whether this way of working feels like the right fit.
If you both decide to move forward, we will schedule a time for your first session. Before we meet, I will ask each of you to complete a pre-therapy questionnaire and contract individually.
Our first session will then be a space to begin understanding your relationship and what has brought you here. After that, you can take some time to reflect and decide whether you would like to continue with the couples therapy process.
