Postnatal Depression: Understanding the Emotional Impact
Explore the emotional challenges of postnatal depression, its impact on relationships and how to find appropriate support.
Separation and Divorce: Navigating the End of a Relationship
Separation and divorce can bring grief, uncertainty and difficult decisions. Explore how couples therapy can help you understand your relationship and navigate the way forward.
Affairs and Betrayal: Can a Relationship Recover?
Discover how couples therapy can help you navigate infidelity, rebuild trust and decide what comes next. Couples therapy in London.
Anxiety in relationships
Anxiety is a common emotion amongst humans, because at its core, its function is to detect threats and danger and therefore protect us. Anxiety keeps us alert. There is a very natural level of anxiety that we need - to be cautious. But then there is another level of anxiety that can debilitate us, as it becomes a disproportionate response to our environment and reality.
In a relationship, anxiety can manifest in a way that challenges the dynamics between two people, leading to many things such as communication breakdown, distance/withdrawal, sexual difficulties and more.
How long will we have to be in couples therapy?
The type and severity of issues you're coming with, your motivation for change, the length of your relationship and frequency of sessions can all play a factor in how long you need couples therapy for. Communication problems, disagreements about topics such as parenting, finances, career, lifestyle could be worked through within a relatively short time in couples therapy. However, deep chronic issues such as infidelity/affairs, trauma, trust breakdown require longer therapy.
Is it OK to talk about sex in couples therapy?
You should talk about sex in your couples therapy especially if your couples therapist is a psychosexual therapist/sex therapist as well as a relationship therapist. Couples that struggled with emotional intimacy are also likely to struggle with physical intimacy.
Talking about your sexual relationship with your couples therapist is going to help you understanding your needs and boundaries (that might be the root of your communication/relational issues), explore the unmet emotional needs showing up in both your sex life and relational domain. It can also lead to building a healthier and more satisfying connection and bond in your relationship.
Is couples therapy going to save my relationship?
Whilst couples therapy can help your relationship, you cannot lean in too much on the idea that it will "save" your relationship. It is important to be realistic of the various factors and complexities of relationship and power of therapy. Unfortunately, couples therapy is not a magic wand that can put a spell or magic dust on your relationship to save it or "fix it".
How often do most couples have sex?
There is no normal amount of sex to have. The only normal is to have sex worth having! Comparing your relationship with others' is pointless. If someone is having sex that feel likes a chore, that is not okay. No sex should feel like a chore. Rather, you should want to have sex that is fulfilling and pleasurable (both physically and emotionally). So, if you're having mind-blowing sex once a month, that is great.
"Why am I losing sexual interest in my partner?"
Losing sexual interest/attraction towards a partner is not uncommon or abnormal. The loss of sexual interest (also seen as low sexual desire/libido) is influenced by a variety of variables that can be psychological, relational or biological. The most important thing to know is that loss of sexual desire or attraction is often a symptom — not the root problem.
Marriage counselling/couples therapy - near me or online?
Does marriage counselling or couples therapy have to be in-person, or can it be online?