services for Adults : Julie Lewis counselling

Relationships

Couples

There are 3 main reasons people seek couples or marriage counselling;

• confusion reduction - to assist them to decide if they wish to continue in their current relationship
• change - they've decided to stay together and need assistance to create the relationship they both want
• choice - they have decided not to stay together and want assistance in dismantling the family in a way that is supportive to their children.

Partners are often in different emotional places when they begin the process. After intake, all couples files are seen as individual files with the objective of strengthening the individual and relationship. Weekly homework is given to assist with the development of new, more effective patterns.

Clients may invite their partner to their session after deciding on an objective for that clinical hour to ensure the time spent is productive in moving the couple toward greater understanding and change.

Divorce

These sessions help those who are experiencing divorce to understand and work through the emotional stages of divorce.

They help clients understand the concept and process of divorce, think about and explore a framework by which to understand the divorce process and its impact upon their lives as a whole. It gives them a space to think about their own emotional condition, with respect to separation and divorce, and consider their own place on the divorce continuum.

Using the emotional stages of divorce framework allows clients to understand that they may be at a different stage than their ex-partner and practicing strategies that create more effective interactions.