An attachment injury is a deeply distressing relational experience in which trust, emotional safety, or connection with your significant partner is suddenly broken. This can occur through betrayal, emotional abandonment, repeated unreliability, or moments when one partner feels unprotected. Attachment injuries can leave lasting emotional wounds that shape how people relate, respond to closeness, and experience safety in relationships.

Emotional distance often develops without a crisis, betrayal, or defining issue. In high-functioning couples, it can emerge gradually, through slight shifts in how partners respond to each other, how available they are emotionally, and how much vulnerability feels safe to share. Couples who experience this drifting apart frequently report that nothing is ‘wrong’ in any obvious way, yet something essential is missing.

The first couples therapy session is a structured, 80-minute session designed to establish a shared understanding of what is happening in your relationship. It forms part of an assessment process, allowing me to understand your relational dynamics, current difficulties, and what has led you to seek therapy at this point.

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) provides an attachment-based framework for understanding and restructuring emotional responses and relational patterns.