RELATIONSHIP & MARRIAGE COUNSELLING IN BURNABY

Do you want more joy and connection in your relationship?

Can you relate to these common scenarios?

  • You love each other and yet somehow your relationship has become infested with built up hurt and resentments
  • Addiction, Anger or other issues have eroded the emotional safety and trust  in your marriage
  • Your erotic connection has taken the back seat in the face of child-rearing, job stress and financial pressures. You feel more like a team or roommates with a specific set of responsibilities  rather than lovers
  • You feel like your partner doesn’t see, hear (or care) how you feel. When you try to talk to each other,  you seem to get caught in the same conflicts and miscommunications over and over again.
  • You’re feeling lonely and there isn’t a lot of closeness between you.
  • When you think about your partner your “inner narrative” is filled with negativity and frustration

Do you need to change how you communicate?

Couple’s counseling can help with the consequences of  relationship stress such as anxiety, depression, sadness or low self-esteem.

When you commit to a partner, no one really teaches you how to navigate the tough times and stay close. Most of us are poorly equipped to move from the honeymoon phase thru the next phases into a mature loving  relationship without getting hurt. Research shows that even the best-matched couples experience  5 – 7 areas of  significant core differences.

Couples counselling or marriage counseling can help you return to a place of calm discussions that focus on understanding each other first and then collaborating to find a solution that honours both of your needs.

"He thought I was controlling, I was trying to avoid his angry outbursts. When we decided to see Ina for relationship counselling, it was our last effort to try and save our marriage. We’d been married for 8 years. Looking back, we know that some of the issues we minimized or ignored in the beginning got bigger over the years. We stopped treating each other nicely, never mind romantically. Rick thought I was controlling, his angry outbursts had me walking on egg shells. One of the first things Ina did with us was boundary work. That was an eye opener and became really helpful as we learned different ways to communicate. We really liked the creative solutions Ina came up with to help us start trusting each other again. It took some time and willingness on our part to do things differently and sometimes we can still fall back into old habits. But we’re recommitted to put our love first and are happy to say our relationship has become very loving and close again."
Shelley and Rick K.

Marriage Counselling: The Next Step

Sex therapy and relationship counselling can help you deepen your emotional and physical intimate connection.

As a marriage counsellor in Burnaby and Lower Mainland, it is my aim to help you recreate an haven of intimacy and trust, where you feel seen and heard by your partner. A place of knowing that you’re a priority and that your heart is safe with this special person.

During family counselling or couples counselling sessions you will discover how to leverage the strengths that already exist in your relationship and use them to resolve  areas of conflict.

Couples counselling, sex therapy, and marriage therapy  with me will help you discover how to:

  • Resolve conflict successfully – especially around tricky issues such as sex, money and children
  • Shift arguments into effective communication so that you feel heard and seen
  • Develop and agree on  shared  values and goals so you can both be accountable and contribute to the success of your marriage
  • Self-soothe and stay grounded so your discussions don’t derail into hurtful arguments
  • Resolve and avoid the feelings of stress and anxiety that can accompany your relationship because you get triggered into old injuries
  • Deepen your ability to give and receive affection generously
  • Feel loved and genuinely understood in bed and beyond
  • Continue to feel “hot” and “turned on” and present during love-making for the years to come
  • Discover how to be proactive in making your relationship better and maintain a high level of positive energy in your connection
  • Develop boundaries and address co-dependent behavior which leads to “score cards”
"We'd become a functioning team, but the romance was gone. We decided to give marriage counselling a try because our relationship had boiled down to managing a family and business. We were so busy that when we talked or sat down together it was to discuss what needed to be done or update each other. We were no longer romantic and our sex life had almost disappeared and become another chore on the list. We were both feeling neglected and had gotten into the habit of blaming each other for how we felt. After every session with Ina we felt like we could repair or change something in our marriage. We’re so glad we didn’t wait until our kids are grown up to rekindle our love for each other. We’ve stopped only assigning each other tasks and talk about how we feel again. It feels like we’re getting to know each other all over again. We feel open, loving and connected and have moved from roommates back to being lovers again."
Jenn and Peter M.

Marriage Counselling Burnaby: Build Long-Lasting, Mature, Loving Relationships

Divorce is costly on every level… a 20-minute marriage  counselling phone consultation with me is complimentary.
Call me today at 778 558 8207 or email me at info@positivelifechanges.ca to set up an appointment.

I’d be honored to sit down with you and discuss the challenges you’re facing  and how you can rekindle the passion, commitment and communication you once had. LGBTQ Couples welcome.

Ina Stockhausen, M.T.C. Evolutions – positive LOVE changes to help you nurture the love you have and get the love you want.

 
Couples and marriage counselling Burnaby, tri-cities and Vancouver. Offering sex therapy relationship counselling, pre-marital counselling, long-term commitments counseling, life-transition counselling and addiction recovery counselling.