Counselling for Couples
Why Come to Couples Counselling?
Are you struggling with problems in your relationship that you don’t know how to fix on your own? If you are facing any of the issues below, relationship counselling in Vancouver with Leanne can help.
- Communication break-down
- Lack of connection or time spent together
- The spark is gone and you feel like roommates instead of lovers
- Stuck in the same old arguments
- Tough Decision making
- Affairs and infidelities
- Trust Issues
- Unreasonable behavior
Most couples turn to counselling because they want to make a change in their relationship, but don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve tried resolving arguments on your own, only to feel unheard and misunderstood. At some point these unresolved conflicts will turn into irritation, and resentment.
If you’re struggling to resolve conflicts, looking to move your relationship forward, or want to reconnect emotionally with your partner, couples counselling in Vancouver with Leanne can help.
Many couples assume they are failing when they get stuck in recurring conflict or emotional distance. In reality, most couples are struggling because their relationship has reached a new developmental stage — one that requires different skills, boundaries, and ways of relating.
Many couples assume they are failing when they get stuck in recurring conflict or emotional distance. In reality, most couples are struggling because their relationship has reached a new developmental stage — one that requires different skills, boundaries, and ways of relating.
My work is grounded in a developmental understanding of relationships, adapted from the work of Ellyn Bader and Pete Pearson, which recognizes that growth often looks like tension before it looks like closeness.
You can learn more about the five stages of relationship development here → The 5 Stages
“We find that what topples relationships and leaves little choice but divorce are not problems but rigidities in one or both partners. It’s the not the size of the problem that determines whether a couple holds together or splits, but rather their ability to stay open to the situation and each other.”
– Tell Me No Lies, Ellen Bader & Peter Pearson
When Couples Reach Out for Support
Most couples don’t come to counselling because their relationship is failing. They come because something no longer feels workable — the same arguments keep repeating, emotional distance has grown, or important conversations feel too risky to have alone.
Seeking support earlier rather than later allows couples to understand what’s happening beneath the conflict, learn effective tools, and decide, with clarity, how they want to move forward together.
Couples often wait years before seeking support, hoping things will resolve on their own, even when the same patterns continue to repeat.
Many couples are working hard, but without a shared map. Couples counselling offers a structured way to understand your patterns, regulate conflict, and decide how you want to engage with each other moving forward, rather than continuing to repeat the same cycles.
Give Your Relationship theChance You Both Deserve
The annual number of divorces in Canada in 2016 was over 70,000. First marriages that end in divorce was 33% and second marriages was much higher. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, many couples don’t consider counselling as an option, and even when they do, the average couple waits up to 6 years before deciding to try couples counselling. 6 YEARS! That’s 6 years of unresolved issues and built up resentment in a relationship that could have been avoided.
So, don’t wait until your relationship is heading towards a crisis to start marriage counselling, make a change today! The truth is, no relationship ever runs smoothly all the time. Whether it’s past issues that have resurfaced, new challenges, or stressful times – all couples can benefit from counselling at some point in their relationship.
What You Can Expect FromCounselling With Leanne:
As a trained couples therapist, my role is to create a safe, non-judgmental space where you and your partner can explore difficult conversations and conflicts in a way that is respectful, structured, and productive.
By providing a structured approach and effective tools, I teach couples to:
- Stop arguments from escalating by teaching you an effective process to manage your conflict
- Identify and change ineffective patterns of behavior
- Reconnect with respect, compassion and love
Before our first session, I ask each partner to complete a comprehensive questionnaire. This allows me to understand your relationship history and identify which stage of relationship development you may be navigating, so our work is focused and tailored from the very first session.
Together we will work on identifying your own feelings and how to listen and remain calm during arguments. An important part of this is learning to listen openly without taking things personally. We will focus on relieving tension between you and your partner and uncover the true feelings beneath the conflicts you are experiencing.
In our work together, you can learn to:
- Repair conflict effectively and constructively.
- Communicate needs clearly without resentment or defensiveness.
- Work through unresolved issues
- Develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your partner
- Strengthen emotional and relational intimacy
“The changes made thanks to Leanne are phenomenal. We will forever be indebted to her for helping us to get through what was by-far the toughest time in our relationship. We have learned to listen to each other, open up to each other & bring up sensitive topics without feeling defensive. Leanne was very patient and empathetic. Working with her has been a team effort rather than a “therapist-couple” dynamic. We have been able to apply Leanne’s lessons and communication techniques not only within our relationship but also with colleagues, family and close friends.”
“Thanks for the session yesterday, we both feel a lot more hopeful about our future.”
Get Started with Leanne for Relationship Counselling in Vancouver
Are you and your partner struggling with communication breakdowns, lack of intimacy, or repeated fights and need to change it fast?
Now doing free consultations into my Couples Intensive course.