Couple Therapy

About us

We are two clinical psychologists who have worked closely together since 2004 and have a combined total of 17 years of experience. We have worked with couples in difficulty from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, including same-sex couples. We aim to provide a non-judgemental and safe therapeutic space for couples to share their struggles and dilemmas and to help them negotiate and find a way forward.

Why have couple therapy and how will it help you as a couple?

Couples seek therapy for many different reasons. There may be problems in the relationship around sex and intimacy, communication, negotiating sexual or other boundaries, trust, and safety. Sometimes couples seek therapy because they are unsure whether to continue the relationship but think it might be helpful to set aside time to explore this question on neutral ground.

In our experiences couples have often tried hard to make things better before seeking therapy, but may have achieved only partial success, met a dead end, or found themselves going round in circles. We appreciate therefore that seeking couple therapy can feel daunting, and it can take courage to make the important first step of seeking additional guidance and support.

How does couple therapy work?

Our model of couple therapy draws on systemic (sometimes called family) therapy and the use of the reflecting team approach, which has accumulated a wealth of evidence supporting its effectiveness across a wide range of relationship problems. This highly specialist reflecting team approach involves the use of two therapists working with you to develop effective tailor made treatment plans. This approach together with the session length of 75 minutes often produces high therapeutic impact, meaning a much shorter duration of therapy than in traditional couple therapy provided by a single therapist.

Our Aims

• To provide non-judgemental effective interventions for couples
• To provide an individually tailored treatment package based on our expert assessment of the problems you are facing.
• To use validated outcome measures at frequent intervals to monitor the progress of therapy.

What will happen when we first meet?

We usually meet for 75 minutes and we aim to cover the following areas at a first session:

• What triggered you to seek therapy
• What do you see as being the problem(s)
• What effect the problem(s) has or have on each of you
• History of problem(s) and the situations in which it does and does not occur
• Strengths and resources of each of you and your relationship
• Ideas about what would help

On the day one of us will take the lead talking with you, while the other will take some notes and be thinking about the discussion and forming ideas. We then take a pause after 45 minutes or so, and share with you our ideas about the interventions that could help you. If we all agree it would be useful to meet again, we will decide how often we should meet. In our experience, most couples find meeting fortnightly for 75 minutes sufficient.

Confidentiality

What we discuss is confidential. The only exception to this would be if we judged there was an imminent risk to your safety or that of others.

Fees

The cost of an appointment is £250. Please note we operate a 48 hour cancellation policy so if you cancel an appointment with less than 48 hours notice, you will be charged the full cost of the appointment, i.e. £250. This is because we cannot offer the slot to someone else. If you cancel with more than 48 hours notice we will refund the money or re-arrange your appointment - whichever you prefer.

Contact us

If you would like to discuss arranging an appointment please contact either of us, either by phone or email. If not available we will usually return your call within 24 hours.

Dr Robert Watson
Telephone: 07941 027765

Dr Samantha Leaity
Telephone: 07803 084165

Email: contact@become-psychology.co.uk

Contact form

If you prefer, please use the form below and either Samantha or myself will get back to you at a time that suits you.