Relationships with people you love

Relationships are at the centre of most people’s lives. Romantic partners, friendships, family, parents, children. The people we love most are often the ones who can hurt us most, and the dynamics we fall into with them can be hard to see from the inside.

Usually, something specific brings it into focus, like an argument or a slow distancing, often unspoken. Sometimes, we spot a repeating pattern — the same argument, the same dynamic, a different person.

Some of the people I work with are processing the impact of past abusive relationships. These experiences often leave a long shadow. They show up in how we move through the world and relate to others. Sometimes they draw us towards relationships that repeat the harm.

Therapy is about understanding what you bring to your relationships. Your patterns, your needs, what you find easy to give and hard to ask for. That understanding tends to change things, slowly and for real. Our relationship, you and me, will be part of the work too. We’ll pay attention to what happens between us. We might learn a thing or two.