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Building a Relationship That Lasts
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Building a Relationship That Lasts is a couples psychotherapy group designed to help you and your partner strengthen your relationship to ensure that it goes the distance. We’ll meet once a week for 10 weeks, covering core areas of your relationship including trust, communication and conflict. Coming together with other couples not only enables you to feel less alone in your struggles, but will also help you to learn how other couples have overcome their challenges. 

 

Our main focus will be how to avoid the most common mistakes couples make that, in the long run, can spell doom for a relationship. We’ll draw from research-based approaches that are well established in the world of couples therapy, including the Gottman Method and EFT for Couples by Sue Johnson.

 

Some of the topics we’ll cover include:

 

  • How small, day to day actions can help you avoid conflict

  • The importance of recognising and expressing your needs to your partner

  • What to do when you’re in the midst of a fight to mitigate the damage to the relationship

  • Understanding your ‘why’: the deeper purpose of your relationship

  • The essential steps to repairing after a fight

  • Expressing fondness and admiration for your partner

  • Establishing daily rituals that keep the love alive in your relationship

 

A typical session will begin with an explanation of the focus of our session and why it’s important, followed by an activity with you and your partner. We’ll then come back together to reflect on what you’ve learned and how to implement it in your day to day lives to promote real change in your relationship. 

 

Applications for the group beginning April 2024 have now closed. If you are interested in hearing about the next group you are welcome to sign up to the mailing list using the form below. 

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About Your Therapist:

Shaun McMahon

 I’m a qualified psychotherapist and couples counselor with a passion for helping couples to improve their relationships. I first started running groups in 2019 focused around personality styles and am now combining my joint passions of psychotherapy, couples work and group therapy. I look forward to helping you and your partner make your relationship the best it can be. 

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Is Couples Group Psychotherapy Right For Us?

Building a Relationship That Lasts is designed for couples who are in a committed relationship and are intent on building a future together. This might mean you've been together for a few years, have moved in together, and are making plans for your future. While it's wonderful if you have kids, this group will primarily focus on the relationship and not parenting.

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In order for the group to thrive you will be asked to reflect on your personal experiences and voice them to the group. However, this will be limited to sharing and not giving others advice or feedback on their situation. I aim to create a supportive environment where people feel comfortable to share their experience without worrying about others trying to offer unwarranted solutions or opinions.

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Please note that a couples psychotherapy group can be helpful in promoting wellbeing and improving your relationship, but has limited resources to support couples experiencing significant challenges. The group is unlikely to be suitable in the following situations:

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  • If one partner is not interested in or willing to make changes to improve the relationship

  • If there is active addiction (alcohol or other substances, pornography etc.) on the part of either or both partners, from either partner’s perspective 

  • If there is serious violence in your relationship, threats by one or both partners that serious violence might occur, or fear of such serious violence on the part of one or both partners

  • If either partner currently has an untreated major mental illness (schizophrenia, recurrent psychotic depression, or bipolar/manic-depressive illness.) This does not include past, successfully treated psychotic episodes (e.g. postpartum depression with psychosis).

  • If either partner currently has an untreated personality disorder such as Borderline Personality Disorder or Narcissistic Personality Disorder

  • If either partner currently has significant unresolved trauma or untreated PTSD

  • If there is an undisclosed, current or past affair that has not been addressed in couples therapy

  • If either partner is currently experiencing suicidal or homicidal thoughts, or has a history of serious harm inflicted on him/herself or another person

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If you and your partner are still seeking help, it's possible that couples therapy is a more suitable alternative. I invite you to fill out a consultation form and provide some details on your circumstances.

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