It’s important to understand that supporting each others’ endeavors whether they are big or small can strengthen your connection as well as individual personal growth.

DBT is a form of therapy that is used to reduce self harm behaviors, to decrease anger and other problems related to emotional regulation. However, DBT can also be very useful and beneficial during couples therapy by focusing on skills to improve dysfunctional behaviors related emotional regulation.  You may be wondering what this means or even looks like in a relationship.

In the anticipated days of the coming Fall months as new schedules arrive, we ask ourselves how do we stay intentionally connected with one another?

Picture this: you and your partner are in a disagreement, and your partner says or does something that suddenly cascades you into a different space. Rather than feeling minor frustration or annoyance, your emotions suddenly turn a sharp corner. It's like these emotions are pushing you into a deep dark hole and whatever your partner is saying, you can't hear anymore.    It's likely that you (and maybe your partner) are feeling flooded.

Studies show that the first 3 years after babies were born, a whopping 2/3rd of parents experienced a significant drop in their relationship quality. Being with the baby was so sweet but being together as partners turned bitter causing a significant increase in conflict in your realtionship.

Think of coming home from work after an awful day. Maybe you had a customer who was challenging, or a business meeting that may not have ended well. Maybe your car battery ran out and you had to travel longer in the rain, or your child was unwell all night and you haven’t slept a wink. What small things do you think would bring a smile to your face or a sigh of relief after facing such challenges?

You may be at a point in your relationship where you realize that you want couples counselling, but you’re unsure about what to expect from it and how it would work if you chose to pursue it with your partner.

This blog is for you! I’ll help you to understand what couples counselling is, what you can expect from your time, and also three ways couples counselling can be approached for it to be the most effective. I will also note a few misconceptions that I have heard surrounding couples counselling and what might be helpful to consider instead.

As life-altering as experiencing trauma in your relationships is, it should not prevent you from experiencing intimacy and romance in the future. Learn about the various ways relationship trauma manifests itself and how to deal with it in an informed manner.

One suggestion is to be intentional in planning time together with your partner. This doesn’t have to be daily, and it doesn’t mean taking hours out of your weekly schedule. Planning small pockets of time to sit together, talk (not about work, kids, pets, or schedules) is deeply important. Spending even ten minutes daily sitting quietly together, can be significant. You might want to create a boundary that you only want to know about your partner. Sitting with, listening, touching, and empathizing with your partner (and them with you)…these are almost like micro-moments. Their effect is powerful, however.