Couples Therapy Toronto | Communication & Relationships

To find great couples therapy in Toronto, review a therapist's prices, in person options and experience. For 12 years, I have provided couples counselling - for communication and other relationship issues - to BIPOC, white, LGBTQ and straight partners. My pre marital relationship counselling office serves downtown Toronto - Rosedale, Cabbagetown, the LGBT Village, the Distillery District, Riverdale, the St. Lawrence Market and Yorkville - and Ontario online.

Couples Counselling

Couples Counselling downtown Toronto

Couples counselling and communication

Communication can make or break a relationship. I offer couples counselling which equips partners with communication skills for transforming their relationship. Learn how to listen and express your feelings, concerns and needs. Allow me to facilitate dialogue which improves your insight, interactions and quality of connection.

Couples Therapy in Toronto

Couples counselling can help with

communication - gaps or gridlock
concerns about moving ahead with the relationship
different approaches to chores, work, socializing, vacations
lack of attunement, openness, responsiveness, initiative, dialogue
contrasting love languages and conflicting needs for closeness versus distance
feeling unheard, inadequate, unappreciated, disconnected, discouraged
over-engagement with phones, video games, work, the internet etc.
emotional affairs, flirting, sexting, porn, dating apps, infidelity
tension over a past, current or future event

Relationship Counselling in Downtown Toronto

Relationship counselling helps couples get to the heart of their challenges and cultivate relational skills for strengthening their bond. Partners assume that similar interests, values and experiences will sustain their love. But when faced with recurring challenges, they discover lasting love may call for professional support.

Marriage Counselling & Couples Therapy

With training in 3 forms of couples therapy - Gottman, EFT and Gestalt - I help partners to speak from the heart and connect. Looking for an effective couples therapist in Toronto? I facilitate conversations which help partners get closer and better navigate their challenges. Contact me about me about gaining insight into your dynamics and developing a shared set of communication skills for taking your relationship to the next level.

Toronto Couples Therapy

Couples therapy in downtown Toronto helps you

develop communication skills which invite connection
gain insight into relationship interactions
positively frame concerns and requests
actively listen before advising, fixing or reacting
acknowledge good intentions, effort and progress
understand emotions evoked by seemingly trivial events
deepen emotional intimacy and rekindle desire

Marriage Counselling downtown

Toronto marriage counselling helps couples

improve communication and responsiveness
repair ruptures and establish rituals of connection
discuss the fears and wishes behind perpetual issues
identify gestures and comments which elicit loving feelings
sensitively engage non/verbal bids for connection
understand your anxious/ avoidant triggers
find common ground and accept influence

Couples Communication Skills

Is couples therapy key to better communication?

Couples therapy in downtown Toronto puts the spotlight on effective communication which is key to building fulfilling relationships. Your choice of words - and more importantly, your delivery - can either get you into a lot of trouble or positively affect your exchanges. Interestingly, great communication is not just about what is said, and how, but also very much about listening. An attentive, empathic listener can subtly shape a conversation - and by extension, a relationship - for the better. When both partners apply relational communication skills to their interactions, they enrich their connection, well-being and quality of life.

Couples counselling and communication skills

Couples counselling empowers partners with relational intelligence and communication skills for strengthening their relationship. Learn to express vulnerability, actively listen, turn towards bids for connection, express appreciation, accept influence and care about your impact. Partners coached in the art of relational communication speak calmly and slowly with the goal of deepening understanding and intimacy. Constructive discussion - versus debate - about differences can then pave the way to greater empathy and trust.

Couples Communication Skills Toronto

Communication and Relationships

I facilitate deeper communication and help partners develop communication skills which equip them to bridge gaps, talk through touchy topics, find common ground and strengthen their bond. If you hope to be heard, repair ruptures and engage in caring dialogue (versus debate or silence), please contact me. I offer customized communication coaching as well as therapy for the emotional issues which fuel recurrent discord.

When communication suffers, partners feel inadequate, rejected and alone. Struggling repeatedly with the same issues, couples wonder whether to try harder or throw in the towel. One person anxiously pursues with pleas or demands. The other withdraws and shuts down. Let me help you shift out of dynamics in which fears lurk, gaps widen and sparks fly.

Relationship Therapy in Downtown Toronto

How can relationship therapy help?

Relationship therapy in downtown Toronto offers couples the choice of: 1. Preventative Maintenance - tools for handling anticipated or evolving malfunctions. 2. A Tune-Up - help trouble-shooting and fixing a few squeaky issues. 3. An Overhaul - deeper work around rusty or recurring relationship issues. An experienced relationship expert will investigate the mechanics of your relationship and offer customized service, tricks of the trade, and a box of relationship and communication tools to help you steer clear of gridlock on the road ahead.

Relationships in 2023

Modern relationships are complex. Roles, no longer scripted, must be discussed and negotiated. But couples lack the communication skills they need for these difficult conversations. Adding to challenges, partners expect from each other what a community used to provide: Each person wants the other to be a companion, confidant, protector, nurturer, provider, sounding board, problem solver, soul-mate, financial planner, household project manager, brilliant conversationalist and passionate lover.

Relationship challenges today

Relationships challenges are exacerbated by the current global context. Inflation, the impacts of climate change, 60-hour workweeks and longer commutes result in stress and work-life imbalance. The dominant culture - which determines human value in terms of income, racist ideals of beauty, credentials and the extent to which we produce and consume etc. - insidiously erodes self-esteem. Multiple forms of oppression intertwine and compound family of origin experiences and inter-generational trauma. It seems we can never quite have or be enough. Negative core beliefs and unfinished emotional business from the past can then play out in troublesome relational dynamics.

Manners, attunement, initiative, responsiveness and diplomacy - all so integral to quality relating and therefore to individual well-being - have succumbed to self-interest. Our devices, vices and to-do lists steal our attention, making us less present to our partners than ever. Relationships, once fun, become laden with responsibility and resentment. Time for enjoying life - either alone or together - gets harder to come by. Values and priorities change. Through the years, differences become more apparent and the qualities we once admired become irritants. Problems get entrenched, we lead increasingly separate lives and wonder what to do. Interestingly, research indicates that relationship therapy is the only intervention which improves satisfaction with one's long-term relationship. There is otherwise a steady decline in satisfaction.

Relationship therapists or the costs of complacency

Relationship therapists know about the costs of inaction: Research shows that without couple therapy, many relationships succumb to the challenges of everyday life. Discover how to navigate recurrent disagreements about personality traits, decision-making, finances and lifestyle preferences. Many partners wrongly assume that their differences make them incompatible. But differences are inevitable and sometimes add zest. What matters is how you deal with your differences. In other words, compatibility is an achievement of love. Love is a verb. Love is hard work. It requires consistent use of a skill set acquired in relationship therapy. The truth is, the grass is greener where you water it. Allow a professional to show you how to actively care for and strengthen your partnership.

Couples Therapy in Downtown Toronto

While providing couples therapy in downtown Toronto, I not only facilitate communication about recurring issues or gridlock, but help partners develop communication skills needed to discuss evolving concerns. Great couples therapists will help you to resolve resolvable issues, explore the deeper meaning of perpetual issues, repair past ruptures and lovingly reconnect.

The idea of seeing a couples therapist might be unsettling, especially if you've never tried therapy before. Facing your interpersonal and communication issues could feel daunting. You may fear you are somehow inadequate or to blame. Maybe you feel ashamed that the problems you've been unable to solve warrant professional attention. You wonder if delving into issues might make them worse: You could be hurt or hurt the one you love.

The questions are: How can we collaborate to ensure you have the best couples therapy experience possible? I will do my utmost to help you feel comfortable. I will ask about your hopes and help you identify as well as carefully express your feelings and concerns. And together, we will find ways to improve your relationship.

Couples Therapy

Couples therapy can be effective if partners are

genuinely motivated to invest time, effort and money in the process
interested in honing communication skills and gaining insight
willing to be open and honest
aware that therapy is a process vs. a quick fix
committed to weekly or bi-weekly sessions
willing to reflect on their part in interactions
willing to initiate, adjust, collaborate
capable of self-control and follow-through
willing to apply concepts introduced in therapy

Premarital Counselling in Toronto in 2023

Premarital counselling - the best prep for marriage

Premarital counselling could be the best investment you ever make. Why? Because a great relationship is the foundation of personal and financial well-being. (If your relationship goes south, what happens to your home and emotional health?) Premarital counselling empowers you with the latest, greatest insight and tools from top relationship research. Acquire skills for strengthening your bond and preempting common relationship killers.

Marital counsellors often see married couples struggling with longstanding, complex issues which could have been prevented if addressed earlier. I strongly encourage common law and unmarried couples to proactively implement strategies for handling their inevitable differences. Learn how to solve the solvable problems, repair ruptures, create rituals of connection and support each other's dreams. Lasting love requires intention and attention. I would be honoured to facilitate important conversations in which you explore key questions and discuss your shared vision of an ideal future.

Premarital Counselling

A premarital counsellor in downtown Toronto can help you to

discuss your concerns and dreams
develop key relational and communication skills
explore love languages and attachment styles
talk about touchy topics - wedding plans, kids, income, careers, home, in-laws,
deepen emotional intimacy
explore ways to deal with key events and shifts in your life as a couple

How pre marriage counselling can help

Pre marriage counselling in Toronto can help you build a strong foundation of skills for creating a fulfilling marriage. Your success as a couple will likely be determined by whether and how you choose to deal with common challenges. Will you discuss or avoid hot topics? You want important conversations to go well, not awry. Allow me to facilitate conversations in which you can express fears and preferences. It's 2023 and after 12 years of helping couples, there is much I can tell you about what it takes for relationships to thrive.

If the big day is rapidly approaching, anxiety and stress could be catching you off guard. With a life-changing event on the horizon, you might be having second thoughts. You and/or your fiance are quibbling about wedding plans and recurrent relationship issues. Suddenly you question whether marriage is the best thing right now. Contact me about finding a way through this common premarital strife.

LGBT Couples Counselling in Toronto

Couples therapy that is LGBTQ-friendly

My LGBTQ-friendly couples therapy office in downtown Toronto is just east of the Gay Village. Unless you are out as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or queer person, you might feel uneasy about discussing your relationship with family, co-workers, straight friends or members of your cultural and religious communities. Even if you are comfortable discussing relationship issues with people you know, you might prefer talking to an unbiased professional.

If you have exhausted your efforts to improve your relationship or marriage, you might now be looking for expert help. I have provided LGBT couples counselling in Toronto for over a decade and would be happy to help you clarify issues, improve communication and reconnect. I try to facilitate meaningful dialogue and provide tools which pave the way to better interactions. I provide queer couples therapy online throughout Ontario and in my Toronto office, which is near Rosedale, Cabbagetown, the LGBT Village, the Distillery District, Riverdale, the St. Lawrence Market, and Yorkville.

Marriage Counselling

Marriage counselling helps partners get to the heart of recurrent relationship issues, make repairs and reconnect. A Toronto Marriage Counsellor can facilitate difficult conversations as well as help you acquire a shared set relational and communication skills for cultivating a more intimate, fulfilling relationship.

Benefits of Marriage Counselling

Marriage counselling in downtown Toronto helps couples become

emotionally present and responsive
reliable, collaborative, connected
communicative and affirming
attuned, accessible and engaging

Where will your marriage be in 5 years? Every interaction gives you the chance to either enhance or erode your bond. Marital counsellors help partners to: 1. identify the situations, assumptions, fears, expectations and actions which lead to disconnection and 2. improve the love skills needed to reach, respond, repair and reconnect.

Can you and your partner discuss your respective feelings? Do you actively nurture each other's dreams and personal growth? After misunderstandings, do both of you reflect on what you could have done differently and make repair attempts?

Relationship Counselling

benefits of relationship counselling

Relationship counselling can help you to

improve relational and communication skills
discuss unresolved and evolving issues
access your partner's inner world
gain insight into your relational dynamics
shift out of dysfunctional patterns
experience hope and re-connection
identify respective love languages
establish rituals of connection
create a shared vision for your relationship

Best Couples Counselling in Toronto

If you are looking for the best couples counselling in Toronto, you should know that relationship improvement usually stems from a couple's comfort or rapport with the "right" relationship expert and the couple's commitment to the process. Try to find a skilled professional who offers customized help for improving your communication, interactions and bond. Top-rated couples counselling is usually provided by registered psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists who are trained in world-renowned approaches to couple therapy - such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman.

Relationship Issues and Online Therapy

You might feel discouraged if your partner is unwilling to discuss relationship issues with a couple therapist. All hope is not lost however. I provide online therapy to individuals in Ontario who would like to explore their relationship issues and options. I regularly help clients to connect with their true feelings and find ways to better express their concerns and needs to their partner. Therapy offers a private, caring, professional space where you can explore common relational patterns and strategies for improving dynamics, communication and self-care.

To learn more about psychotherapy for a relationship or relationship issues, see my home page.

Couples Therapy Toronto Prices in 2023

Couples therapy prices vary widely across downtown Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario. Some psychotherapy training institutes offer lower cost therapy. And therapists who are new to working with couples might offer more affordable rates. Psychologists, who bring extensive education and experience to the table, may charge higher fees. Social workers and psychotherapists, who are also well-trained, typically offer lower couple therapy fees than psychologists. If you hope to use work health insurance benefits to cover the price or costs of couple therapy, ask your provider about the details of your 2023 policy.

Relationship Therapist in Toronto

A relationship therapist - in Toronto or online - can help you explore your past experiences, relationship choices and attachment style. People who are highly adaptive in their relationships often experienced abuse/neglect in childhood and may have an anxious attachment style. While growing up, did you minimize your needs and become increasingly self-reliant? As an adult, do you find yourself with emotionally distant partners - giving to them what you long to receive (attuned attention, emotional support etc.)?

Unsettling questions - Do you...

wish your partner was more emotionally available and responsive?
take more interest in your partner's needs than your own?
base your self-worth on your partner's perceptions of you?
feel painfully alone and purposeless without your partner?
downplay your vulnerability, disappointment and resentment?
feel ashamed and confused about your relationship?
avoid doing things you enjoy so that you can keep tabs on your partner?
increasingly adopt your partner's responsibilities?
routinely parent, direct, prod or coddle your partner?

Gottman Therapist and EFT Couples Therapy

EFT Couples Therapy or a Gottman Therapist in Toronto helps partners become emotionally attuned, responsive and engaged. Quality relationships are less about being compatible and more about knowing how to deal with relationship issues - yes, the issues that get you thinking you are incompatible. With training in relational therapy, Gottman and EFT couple therapy, I provide the communication tools, insight and facilitation needed to help you improve your interactions and build a stable, intimate bond. I offer online couples therapy in Ontario from my downtown Toronto office near Cabbagetown, Rosedale, the LGBT Village, the Distillery District, Riverdale, the St. Lawrence Market and Yorkville.

Couple Therapy Toronto Reviews

Couple therapy Toronto reviews might help you find a great Toronto couple therapist. But finding the most effective couple therapy is less about finding the most experienced/credentialed therapist and more about a couple's commitment to the therapy process. Once you find a therapist you feel comfortable with, you and your partner should be willing to invest in at least 8-20 sessions. It really takes that long for two people to process their issues, learn new skills and apply those skills (well) to past, current and evolving concerns. Sustained improvement requires ongoing effort and commitment.

Review your options. Despite differing approaches or the odd unfavourable review, most Toronto couple therapists have a lot to offer. Of course, a therapist's training, experience and passion for job matter. To gauge fit and rapport, request a consultation.

Before reading Couple Therapy Toronto reviews ask yourself:

What specifically do you want from couple therapy?
What is important to you in a good marriage therapist?
Does the relationship counsellor offer a free consultation?
Do you feel comfortable when speaking with the couples counsellor?
Is the relationship expert a registered professional who is experienced in working with couples?
Does the marriage counsellor work with individuals as well as couples?
Can the professional customize their modalities to your relationship issues?

Lisa M Kelly, RP, Offers

a free consultation call (up to 15 minutes)
weekday and weeknight couples therapy in downtown Toronto
virtual or online counselling by video call in Ontario
the option of in person couples therapy in the coming months
experienced, lower cost premarital and marriage counselling
Gestalt, Gottman and EFT Couples Therapy - tailored to your specific needs
help improving your relational and communication skills
customized coaching for interpersonal communication
help getting to the heart of the matter and reconnecting
genuine interest, thought provoking questions and insight into relationship dynamics
support for developing emotional presence and responsiveness
a collaborative approach - helping partners find mutually satisfying solutions