Couples therapy in English
Relationships can be a source of closeness, support and stability. They can also become difficult when the same arguments keep returning, communication breaks down or you begin to feel increasingly distant from one another.
Couples therapy offers a structured space to understand what is happening between you, how each of you experiences the relationship and how certain patterns may be keeping conflict or distance going.
Understanding what happens between you
Couples therapy is not about deciding who is right and who is wrong.
When relationships become strained, partners often develop ways of reacting to one another that make sense in the moment but gradually create a cycle that neither person wants.
One partner may push for a conversation while the other withdraws. Criticism may lead to defensiveness, which leads to more criticism. Attempts to protect yourself may be experienced by the other person as rejection or indifference.
The aim is to understand these patterns more clearly: what triggers them, what each of you experiences when they happen and what keeps them going.
Once the pattern becomes easier to recognise, there is more room to respond differently.
What we can work on
Depending on what brings you to therapy, the work may involve improving communication, understanding recurring conflicts, expressing needs more clearly, managing difficult emotions and developing more constructive ways of responding to one another.
We can also look at the assumptions and interpretations that develop within the relationship, particularly when each partner begins to anticipate the other's reactions or assign meaning to what they say or do.
Therapy can help create space for conversations that have become difficult to have without immediately moving into criticism, defensiveness, withdrawal or escalation.
The aim is not to eliminate disagreement. Differences are part of any relationship. The work is about finding ways to navigate those differences without repeatedly damaging the connection between you.
Reconnection is not the only possible goal
Some couples come to therapy because they want to feel closer again. Others come because they are unsure whether the relationship can or should continue.
Therapy does not assume that staying together is always the right outcome.
It can also provide a space to understand what each of you wants, what has happened in the relationship and whether there is a way forward that both of you can genuinely choose.
What may be useful to know
Do we need to be in crisis to come to couples therapy?
No. Couples therapy can be useful when the relationship is under significant strain, but it can also help when you notice recurring difficulties and want to address them before they become more entrenched.
Can we come if we are not sure we want to stay together?
Yes. Therapy can also be a space for clarification. The aim is not to persuade you to stay together or to separate, but to help both of you understand the situation more clearly and make informed decisions about the relationship.
Will you decide which of us is right?
No. My role is not to arbitrate disagreements or take one partner's side. We focus instead on understanding how the interaction between you develops and what each person contributes to the pattern. Both perspectives need to have space in the process.
Sessions
- Duration
- 50-60 minutes
- Format
- In person in Bucharest or online
In the first sessions, we clarify what brings you to therapy, how each of you sees the current difficulties and what you would like to be different. The focus is on the relationship between you and on the patterns that have developed within it, rather than on identifying one person as the problem.
Get in touch about couples therapy
Send a short message about what you are looking for, and I will reply with the next practical step.