The choice to embark on couples counselling is a brave and courageous one. It requires dedication, vulnerability and honesty. It is not easy.

The results however, can be more rewarding than anything you have ever experienced.

HAPPY relationships require work

CounselLing Benefits

Services

  • The decision to begin couples counselling is not easy. To admit that we need extra help when we believed we "should" be able to fix our problems ourselves is a scary and painful one. But the truth is, we don't fix our own teeth and we don't teach ourselves to drive. This is a gift that you give yourselves that will keep on giving as you learn life skills to keep your relationship fullfiling for years to come. Using research based Emotionally Focused Counselling (EFT), we help you identify what you feel what you need from  your partner to feel loved and supported and how to band together to turn your backs on old patterns and cycles that are destructive to your relationship. EFT is one of the only couples counselling models that is science and research based and proven to work very effectively with all kinds of couples.

  • Having a new baby is overwhelming. Whereas you focused solely on each other before, now you are in the throws of a new life that requires new rules, new habits and new ways of being with each other when you two become three. You have no precedent for this period in your life. With little to no sleep to nurture and repair you and everything changing,  it is common to  find yourself turning against your partner. The truth is that during this time you can feel the loneliest and you need your partner more than anything. Counselling can help.

  • The divorce rate for marriage is at an alarming 50%. This is a sobering statistic but you can beat the odds. Come in for counselling proactively before issues begin. Learn what your communication styles are and how to communicate more effectively with each other so that you continue to feel close and loved by your partner. Premarital counselling can help a  relationship grow through the inevitable conflicts that marriage can bring. We can actually feel closer to our partner through productive conflict. Learn how to navigate conflict around family, money and sex- the most loaded topics for newly married couples.

  • If you are dealing with anxiety, perfectionism, depression or low self esteem, individual counselling can help. Using the ISTDP (Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) model, we help you understand how the coping behaviours you are using to deal with your painful feelings and hard truths may be hurting you and causing more problems than you realize. Through individual therapy, we learn how to identify and accept what we truly feel and need in order to have our best possible life. We turn our backs on old, dysfunctional ways of coping that have left us feeling alone, exhausted and resentful and reclaim our voice, power and freedom by facing the truth.

  • Sometimes for some people,  it is too difficult to come and see a counsellor in person. For many people, this means not coming in to counselling at all. We can meet over zoom or even over the telephone to do the work that you want to do. No need to hire a babysitter or drive anywhere. From the comfort of your home, let's work together to help you have your best life.

  • Using ISTDP, we explore your feelings and needs and how you manage them. Often it is not our feelings that are the problems, but how we manage and communicate them to our partner. We learn many of these patterns of feeling, naming and expressing our needs in our family of origin. As children, many of these patterns worked to keep us safely attached to our parents, but as we continue to use these skills as adult life partners, it can leave us mired in conflict, confusion, dissatisfaction and resentment. Learn how to turn your back on old behaviours and learn new and vulnerable ways of expressing yourself to bring your partner closer and increase intimacy and understanding.

Testimonials

Iona gave us the tools that helped break the fighting pattern that we were locked in. When we began therapy, I was just happy to stop fighting all the time, but I never thought that I would ever feel “in love” with my wife again. Nothing is perfect and we still argue sometimes, but at least we feel good at the end of it and I feel as if I've learned something new about her.

— BL, Vancouver BC

I thought couples therapy would be really bad, like all touchy feely and uncomfortable. But it wasn't. It was actually fun and funny at times. Iona does a great job of being funny at times to lighten the mood  when it got too heavy. I really liked her and our relationship has really improved.

— JM, Vancouver, BC

My husband and I had been growing apart for quite some time. Finally he agreed to come to counselling with me. He can be very closed and untrusting, but somehow, Iona got him to open up and really say what was going on in his head. We continue to work on our relationship through counselling and it really has improved a lot since we started.”

— VD, Vancouver, BC

Book an appointment.

To book a session, call 604-734-7839 or email ionamon@gmail.com.

My rate is $160 per 60-minute hour and a sliding scale fee may be available.