Does Couple Therapy work if my partner is a Narcissist?
First, I just want to say I am not here to diagnose Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). I hear the term “narcissist” thrown around rather a lot in my couple and family therapy work. I can’t tell you the number of times I …
Why Couples Fight: The Hidden Role of Stress on Relationships
In couples therapy I see four main reasons couples argue:- There are underlying resentments which are unresolved. There is external stress on one or both people in the relationship. There are values differences (you’ll find a recent blog on this issue here) …
Why some couples fight over and over?
I have had a few young couples in couples therapy lately. Aged in their 30’s. No children yet. Their issue? Constant conflict. Sniping and niggling. Arguments that are often the same arguments over the same issues. “It feels like we’re fighting over …
Why some couples struggle to recover from an affair
In Couples Counselling Sydney CBD we see a lot of couples grappling with the aftershocks of affair discovery, or infidelity of some other type. It may be that one partner has admitted to a full-blown affair. Other times, one partner has been …
How do you stay connected as a couple after your baby arrives?
In this blog I am showcasing one particular practitioner at the Sydney Couple and Family Specialists. Denny Maclaine. Denny has over 25 years helping couples manage the change in life and relationships that occur when a baby arrives. She has supported couples …
How to know when a marriage is really over
In nearly 30 years as a couple’s therapist, I have never seen it quite like this. A surprising number of people are coming to me for separation counselling because they are at the point of breaking up or actively seeking help to …
Couples Counselling to Increase Connection in your Relationship
Do you feel closer to your children or work colleagues than you do to your partner? Does your spouse or partner feel like someone who just happens to live in the same home as you? How long has it been since you …
10 ways to immediately reduce conflict in your relationship
If conflict is a chronic problem in one of your significant relationships (such as with your partner, your child, or your sibling), my advice is to seek couples counselling or family counselling as there are likely some underlying resentments that need attention. …
Q. What causes high conflict in a relationship? A. It’s mostly about differences in values.
There are many different reasons high conflict can be present in a relationship. The one I want to discuss here today is very common with couples who come to Sydney Couple and Family Specialists looking for marriage or couples counselling. It’s a …
A cautionary tale about choosing the right couples counsellor
The skills required by a couples counsellor to work with a relationship and two people in the room are very different to the skills required to work with an individual. Many counsellors I train quickly find this out and can be quite …