Relationship counselling

Relate counselling is open to everyone. Whether you are married, living together, in a same-sex relationship, separated, divorced or single, our confidential service can help you deal with your relationship difficulties. You can come on your own or with a partner.

Everyone experiences difficulties in their relationships from time to time -it's how you handle these which make the difference. It can be very hard to admit that you could do with some help in resolving your problems, and we try to encourage people to come to us before years of anger and bitterness have built up. Some of the issues which clients bring to us involve problems with communication and conflict, step-families, affairs, coping with major life changes, health or money worries, unsatisfying sex lives, balancing work and home, or the effects of past sexual abuse. Some clients have particular difficulties such as depression or mental health problems, alcohol and/or drug problems, or domestic violence in the relationship. In these cases the first appointment is an important opportunity to discuss your problems and make sure that we can work with you in a safe and appropriate way.

Relationship counselling is a process during which you and your counsellor work together to explore and gain an understanding of how the difficulties in your relationship arose. Once you have gained this greater understanding, it is then possible for you to decide what changes you want to make and how to achieve them. Put simply, the counselling room is a safe, quiet place where you can calmly set about untangling confusion, restoring communication and exploring options for change. The length of your counselling will be tailored to your own needs but would normally not exceed about 8 weeks.

Counselling sessions are usually once a week and last approximately one hour. You will see the same counsellor each week.