Individual issues
Individuals may seek help because:
- They lack confidence
- They find it difficult to make decisions
- They feel uncomfortable with others, and lonely on their own
- They want a romantic relationship but keep picking the wrong person
- Their attachment to a parent or a child, or the parent or child’s attachment to them is so strong it is disruptive
- They wish to move on but cannot get over the trauma of past events, or the loss they have experienced through betrayal, separation or death
- They are concerned about their couple but their partner won’t come to sessions, or they prefer to attend on their own
- Fear of failure, which goes hand in hand with fear of success, is interfering with their relationships and/or with their work
- Sex is an issue
- Gender identity is an issue
Couple issues
Couples may seek help with their relationship because:
- Past the honeymoon period, they feel let down and disillusioned
- They are no longer communicating. One or both partners feel that their voice is not being heard. When emotions run high, or on the contrary seem dead, frustration and resentment make dialogue impossible
- Their constant arguments escalate
- They feel stuck in a toxic relationship, but don't know how to separate
- They are struggling with the aftermath of an affair
- Sex and/or intimacy are or have become an issue
- Intercultural/interracial issues in the couple are causing tensions
- Ageing and retirement are having an impact on the relationship
- Or partners just want to make things better than they are, and are interested in sharing the process of therapy together
One of the benefits of couple therapy is that it provides the opportunity to be together as a couple and talk about issues there is no time to discuss when the obligations of ordinary life (work, children, etc.) take over.
Family issues
Individuals or couples may want help about family issues because:
- They have conflicting views on parenting and/or step-parenting. This can be an issue whether they live together or are separated or divorced
- They argue a lot and are concerned about the impact of this on their child/children
- They are hesitant about starting a family
- They have concerns about fertility and fertility treatments
- The birth of a child has brought on unexpected feelings of incompetence or jealousy and altered the couple’s dynamic
- Adopting a child is having an impact on the couple
Artwork by Lucile Notin-Bourdeau.
