Relationships play a huge part of our daily lives and help influence our emotional, mental, and psychological development. From the time we are infants until our death, our relationships are constantly evolving and changing.
We have relationships with friends, parents, siblings, children, grandparents, coworkers, and other relatives, as well as partners and spouses. Sometimes these relationships can start to seem overwhelming and lead to communication problems,arguments, and disagreements.
While arguing and disagreeing are normal human behaviours, it is essential to be able to effectively express oneself using the proper communication skills. Couples that have mastered the art of communications find it easier to disagree and argue and still have a strong sense of love between each other afterwards.
At Ellen Starr Marriage Counselling we offer a variety of marriage and relationship counselling services for couples, families, teens, and individuals of all ages in a comfortable, understanding, and supportive environment.
Couples Counselling
There can be many symptoms that causes relationships and marriages to fail. You may find yourself fighting and arguing with your loved one on a daily basis. You could feel sexually frustrated from a lack of intimacy. You might be facing a financial crisis and fight over money.
Yet, regardless of these problems, they are merely symptoms that can drive a wedge between a once committed and loving couple. At the heart of the matter, many couples are surprised to learn the majority of their differences actually are caused by a lack of emotional responsiveness and affection towards each other.
Our couples and marriage therapists work with you and your loved one to help you develop effective communication skills while learning how to be emotionally responsive and affectionate towards each other.
Infidelity Therapy
The cause for sexual affair problems in relationships frequently vary from one couple to the next. Some people have a hard time viewing their spouse in a sexual manner after they get married and starting a family. This is not to say they do not care or still love their spouse. They just do not know how to keep sex in their marriage.
When there are other issues that extend beyond the bedroom, it can lead to one person withholding sex as a means to punish their partner. Eventually, the other person can become sexually frustrated and seek an outlet outside of the relationship.
What starts initially as a one-time thing could quickly turn into an ongoing pattern of sexual affairs if underlying conflicts are not addressed in a caring, constructive, and productive environment through infidelity therapy relationship services.
Individual Psychotherapy
Our ability to show affection and effectively communicate is directly related to our own life experiences. Some people are emotionally detached and have a difficult time with intimacy in a relationship. There can be a wide array of underlying reasons from sexual trauma and violence as a child to dysfunction and abuse in the family unit.
Addressing and resolving issues that have been buried away is just part of individual psychotherapy. This type of counselling is also beneficial for people that are experiencing excessive stress and anxiety or depression.
Some people seek the help of a certified therapist for help creating motivational and fascinating life goals, overcoming bad habits, career assessments, and others. Individual counselling provides the opportunity to discuss concerns, fears, and other emotions in-depth in a supportive and safe environment free from judgements.
Premarital Counselling
Prior to getting married, it can be beneficial to attend premarital counselling sessions. While many couples are deeply in love at this stage in their relationship, there can be much neither person fully knows about the other.
Counselling can help the couple get to know each other better and achieve a higher level of closeness. Additionally, it allows the couple to discuss different aspects of being married that might come up in the future, like how serious is monogamy to the couple and whether they want an open or closed relationship, or their thoughts about having children.
Furthermore, those couples that attend premarital counselling often have stronger relationships since they have learned how to effectively communicate with each other.
Separation and Divorce Counselling
In some cases, marriage counselling does not work for certain couples. They may gotten to a point in their marriage where it simply is no longer able to be salvaged and saved. Going through separation and divorce can be very emotional.
For these couples, separation and divorce counselling can help the couple to remain amicable towards each other while making important decisions. If the couple has children, they will need to determine living arrangements, who will remain in the martial home, visitation schedules and so on.
Post-divorce individual counselling is also beneficial for people experiencing grief over the end of their marriage.
Family and Teen Counselling
As adults, we can have a difficult time relating to our teenaged children. We can notice personality and behavioural changes. We may grow tired of our teen challenging our parental authority.
Family and teen counselling helps provide the needed guidance on how to best address these types of situations and others, such as reconnecting with a teenager after they have completed drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation.
Medical and Mental Health Disorders and Conditions
Finding out you have certain medical conditions and disorders can make us feel anger, anxious, discernment, distress, and other emotions. Counselling can help you with focused management while gaining self-awareness and understanding on how to best proceed with your life.
For additional information about marriage, couples, parent, teen, family, and individual counselling and psychotherapy services, please feel free to contact Ellen Starr Marriage Counselling at 416-488-3102 to schedule a consultation appointment.