Couples and Family Counselling

You do not need to wait until it is too late or when you are in crisis to seek out support. Counselling is useful to strengthen couple relationships and navigate family dynamics at any point in the relationship.  Some reasons to attend Couples or Family Therapy include: communication difficulties or conflict, grief or loss in the family, becoming a new parent/step-parent, struggling as a caregiver, comorbid mental health conditions, exploring a transition or an unconventional relationship, experiencing changes or issues in intimacy, desire, or sexuality.  We also offer pre-marital counselling and counselling for family and couple transitions.

When couples begin therapy we often teach strategies such as fair fighting.  Avoiding name calling, staying in the here and now (not bringing up the past), reducing the use of harsh language, speaking for one’s own experience (I statements), sticking to one problem at a time, and reducing the volume of their voices can be useful tools.  As therapists, we try to get to know the couple’s individual communication styles, support them when working through conflicts of any size, help foster further intimacy, establish appropriate boundaries, navigate grief and loss, and provide a safe space to explore past issues and hurts.  We offer Gottman trained counsellors who can support couples in living their best lives in their relationship through enhancing communication patterns and identifying values that are key to their success as a couple.  Gottman therapy is an evidence-based treatment.

Family counselling can be useful when miscommunication, disagreements, and family conflict is occurring.  It is also useful as a preventative strategy in times of transition. Families come in all shapes and sizes; families change and expand as we age.  If you are looking for family counselling in Nanaimo or a virtual approach, Island Clinical Counselling can help.  Our family systems approach allow for families of all shapes and sizes to get the support they need in a timely manner.  In our work with you we will help encourage families to practice empathy, give listening cues to one another, paraphrase or clarify meaning, avoid interruptions, and be mindful of each others body language.

If you are looking for couples and family counselling, Island Clinical Counselling has several Registered Clinical Counsellors who provide this service.  Ashleigh Martinflatt, Kathryn Atkinson, Joel Martinflatt, Bree Stutt, Lisa Passarelli, Shante Van Horlick, and Brittany Hesketh offer these services.  Check out their biographies here.  For lower cost, but effective, counselling please schedule with one of our clinical interns.  We offer 50 or 80 minute sessions for couples and family therapy.