Relationships
Healthy relationships with others in our lives can make us feel fulfilled and deeply happy. Being in a positive productive relationship can enable us to find meaning in our everyday lives. These relationships help us to grow and allow us to take risks because we know we are loved and supported by those around us.
However these types of relationships require constant communication and lots of time and energy to stay positive and meaningful. When the lines of communication break down or become tangled people can be left feeling unloved, unwanted or lonely. Often they don’t know how to resolve the situation and react in ways that can make the situation worse. Sometimes the relationships we find ourselves in are unfulfilling and we don’t know what to do to alter the situation.
Types of Relationship Issues
There are many types of issues that can arise in relationships. A counsellor will be able to work with the individuals involved to determine the causes of the problems and help to explore different ways to reach a positive and fulfilling solution.
Couples
Long lasting relationships are never free of conflict and discord. When our communication lines break down because of these strains we can find ourselves struggling to find fulfilment and often begin to fill up with resentment and anger. When this begins to happen it might be time to find a counsellor or a therapist who can help you and your partner identify the issues and work through them together in a neutral environment.
Family
Familial relationships are a vital part of our lives. These relationships help to define us and often become the foundation on which we base our future relationships. When these essential relationships become stressed and strained the people involved are often damaged and frustrated. Whether it is one person causing the issues or problems that have built up over time it is essential to find a solution and a trained family counsellor can help the family to find balance again by providing a safe environment where each family member can communicate freely and listen to the other family members do the same.
Child Therapy
Realising that your child is struggling emotionally or psychologically can be distressing for any parent. Seeking the help of a professional can, in turn, enable you to either help the child yourself, or when necessary, help the child directly. Much like an adult, children can have complex internal struggles and only by understanding what is going on with them can you reduce the anxiety they are experiencing.
Useful Articles and Links
Below please find some articles and links you might find helpful.
TED Talk: Helen Fisher: The Brain in Love
Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.
The Most Common Relationship Problems and How Talk Can Help
Relationships can be wonderful—and challenging. We all feel uncertainty or dissatisfaction in our relationships from time to time. Some of the toughest conversations we have are with those we love the most.
TEDTalk: Laura Trice: Remember to say thank you
In this deceptively simple 3-minute talk, Dr. Laura Trice muses on the power of the magic words "thank you" — to deepen a friendship, to repair a bond, to make sure another person knows what they mean to you. Try it.
5 Words You Need to Remember to Make Your Relationship Last
A great relationship doesn’t just happen overnight. They are cultivated over many years and through hardships. They are born out of mutual respect and admiration. People with great relationships have them because each person in the relationship puts their partner’s well-being and happiness above their own. They take the time to learn each other’s needs and wants. They understand that they may give and receive love differently than each other. They respect boundaries that their partner sets out for them. They live their lives together by doing things together and spending time together. They laugh together and at each other. There are five things, five words that encapsulate what it means to have a great relationship with your partner.
Recommended Books
The Way to Love: Meditations for Life
The Way to Love contains some of the most beloved stories from Anthony de Mello.
Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships (Penguin Life)
The bestselling Games People Play is the book that has helped millions of people understand the dynamics of relationships, by psychiatrist Eric Berne
Bad Boyfriends: Using Attachment Theory to Avoid Mr. (or Ms.) Wrong and Make You a Better Partner
This book is a practical guide to using the science of attachment and relationships to find the right life partner by Jeb Kinnison
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find - and Keep - Love
How our attachment styles learned in childhoold affect our relationships.
Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers
International authority on child development Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D., joins forces with bestselling author Gabor Mate, M.D., to tackle one of the most disturbing trends of our time: Children today looking to their peers for direction their values, identity, and codes of behavior.
The Life Changing Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Sarah Knight
This irreverent and practical book explains how to rid yourself of unwanted obligations, shame, and guilt - and give your f**ks instead to people and things that make you happy.
Poems and Quotes to Inspire You
The Place Where We Are Right - Yehuda Amichai
From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.
But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plough.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood.
Love is Patient - The Bible: 1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast,
It is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil
But rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
Always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails
Helpful articles often written by our fabulous practitioners.