BUILDING THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTNER

Welcome to Rise Up Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy, Coaching and Consulting. I am a Registered Psychotherapist and I am honored and thrilled that our roads have crossed. I am trained and experienced in working with couples from an Emotionally Focused Therapy lens. I believe that it is the gold standard for couples work. 

I serve couples who are local to the Niagara Region, in person at our St.Catharines clinic as well as couples across Ontario, online over secure video conferencing.

In Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), I aim to build an alliance with both you and your partner and to keep your relationship and your safety at the forefront of my priorities in the therapy process. My goal, with your consent, and in working from an emotionally focused therapy orientation, is for you and your partner to learn a novel dance and work together to break the negative cycle of arguments, as you also begin to learn about and share your deepest fears and needs, in a corrective emotional experience. In this approach, there is no "find the bad guy" and we work with a 'no secrets' policy.

We work as a team, yourself, your partner, and myself (your therapist), in a non-judgmental and safe space where all thoughts and feelings matter and all parts of you who feel conflicted are honored. One of the first goals we have as a team is to hone in on your negative interactional cycle (the bad guy if you want!) I will encourage you to communicate with me (your therapist) and your partner with transparency. I will make every effort to support you and your partner to begin to share your fears and needs with each other, in a safe environment where you feel valued. The hope is for you to begin to dance to new music in your communication and solving problems, together, becomes more manageable, with the progress of therapy.

My skills are suited to provide support to your marriage if you are experiencing a crisis. This can look like a disconnect between you and your partner that extends over days or even months. This can involve supporting one of you to trust the other again, after infidelity or another stressful life event, including family conflict which may also involve your families of origin (in laws). This can also include challenges with re-marriage, impacting your relationship with your new partner and your children from your previous relationship. And it could include other challenges in relation to a change in your career or financial situation. I can also support your relationship in pre-marital counseling.