Couples Therapy & Relationship Counselling

Every relationship faces challenges. Whether you’re experiencing ongoing issues or unfamiliar difficulties, couples therapy provides a safe, supportive environment to improve your relationship and strengthen your bond.

I provide accepting, non-judgmental therapy to couples at all stages of their relationship journey. I help couples improve communication, overcome conflicts, and strengthen their relationship. My Bristol-based couples therapy helps partners rebuild intimacy, develop mutual understanding, and create a stronger, more fulfilling connection.

How Couples Therapy Can Help You

Couples therapy can support partners struggling with:

• Communication breakdown and recurring arguments

• Trust issues and infidelity

• Emotional intimacy and attachment issues

• Sexual intimacy concerns and difficulties

• Financial disagreements

• Cultural differences and blended families

• Life transitions, including co-habitation, marriage, parenthood, relocation, and retirement

• Different parenting styles

• Pre-marriage counselling

• Separation, divorce, and co-parenting support

• Work-life balance challenges

My Approach to Couples Therapy

Every couple’s journey is unique. As an integrative therapist and counsellor, I tailor therapy to your situation. I offer practical strategies to enhance your relationship while helping you understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Healing happens with new felt experiences of compassionate connection.

The Importance of Self and Connection within Relationships

My approach balances theories of differentiation and attachment. This allows you to explore and understand yourself as an individual in the relationship while strengthening and deepening your shared bond together.

Differentiation in a relationship means staying connected with a partner while maintaining a secure relationship with oneself. It allows each person to understand and express their thoughts, feelings, and needs without losing their sense of self or becoming overly dependent on the other. This balance creates deeper intimacy and nurtures healthy interdependence as both partners can be close while honouring their identities.

Attachment refers to the emotional bond between partners, shaping how they seek closeness, security, and support. Secure attachment allows individuals to trust in the relationship, feel safe expressing their emotions, and turn to each other for comfort without fear of rejection or abandonment. Partners can navigate challenges with confidence, knowing their connection is a source of stability rather than uncertainty.

Therapeutic Modalities

To support your exploration and healing, I use an integrative model of therapeutic approaches, including:

• Humanistic Therapy

• Psychodynamic Therapy

• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)

• Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) - Internal Family Systems (IFS) for Relationships

What to Expect

Consultation Call

Before your first couples therapy session, each partner is invited to complete a 20-minute consultation call with me. These initial conversations will help me understand your situation and ensure that what I offer fits your needs. We’ll discuss practical matters such as scheduling, fees, and confidentiality, and I can answer questions you may have about working together.

Initial Session

Your first session, which lasts 80 minutes, allows both partners to share their perspectives and concerns. We’ll discuss your relationship history, current challenges, and what you hope to achieve through therapy. We can also identify key areas of conflict or disconnect, understand your communication patterns, and discuss your goals for therapy.

Couples Therapy Sessions

80-minute sessions provide space to:

• Improve communication and resolve conflicts constructively

• Rebuild trust and emotional connection

• Address intimacy and sexual concerns

• Process difficult emotions and experiences together

• Repair attachment injuries

• Work through specific relationship challenges

• Explore patterns and experiences from your past that affect your current relationship

• Understand each partner’s background and consider how this may impact your relationship

• Navigate life transitions

• Practice new communication techniques in a supported environment

• Create and maintain positive changes in your relationship

Who I Support

I provide therapy for all relationships regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or relationship structure. Whether you’re in a monogamous marriage, a polyamorous partnership, or any other consensual adult relationship configuration, you’ll find a supportive and non-judgmental space.

Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Therapy

How long does couples therapy take?

Every relationship is different. Some couples achieve their goals in six to eight sessions, while others benefit from longer-term support. During your initial consultation, we’ll discuss timeframes.

Do we need to attend sessions together?

It is typical for both partners to attend all sessions together during the first few months of therapy. After that period, we can discuss whether it would benefit one or both partners to have individual sessions.

How often do you see clients?

Sessions are held weekly for the first two to three months of working together. After that period, we can discuss the frequency of sessions.

How long are the sessions?

All couples therapy sessions, including the initial session, are 80-minutes.

What are your fees?

The fee for an 80-minute couples therapy session is £180.

Begin your journey towards a stronger, more vibrant relationship.

Contact me or email francesca.sciandra.therapy@gmail.com.

In-Person Sessions in Bristol

Contact me or email francesca.sciandra.therapy@gmail.com →