Couples therapy
Working on connection, safety, and honest contact
Intimate relationships ask a lot of people. When two partners truly connect, not only love and desire meet, but also old patterns, vulnerabilities, and unresolved experiences. Each person brings their own history, with beliefs about closeness, safety, autonomy, and attachment. It is therefore not surprising that relationships can come under pressure.
Relationship problems rarely arise overnight. Often distance gradually creeps in, conflicts repeat themselves, or partners lose each other on an emotional or sexual level. Sometimes there is a significant event, such as an affair, loss, illness, or a period of prolonged stress. In all these situations, relationship therapy can help to pause, understand what is really going on, and find direction again.
How I work with partners
In my work with couples, restoring emotional safety and connection is central. Not by assigning blame or solving problems at the surface, but by looking together at the underlying patterns, needs, and fears that are active within the relationship.
Relationship therapy always takes place with both partners present. I guide you in speaking honestly and carefully with each other, including about what is difficult or painful. There is attention to communication, attachment, emotions, the body, and the nervous system. When partners feel seen and understood again, space emerges for change, closeness, and trust.
Engaging in this process together often brings a new level of intimacy, regardless of the outcome.
Who is partner and relationship therapy suitable for?
Partner and relationship therapy may be appropriate when you:Partner and relationship therapy may be appropriate when you:
- want to deepen or restore a loving, emotionally and sexually connected relationship
- feel stuck in recurring conflicts or experience distance
- struggle with trust, for example after an affair
- are facing an important decision, such as whether to continue together or separate
- would like guidance in carefully ending the relationship
Relationship therapy can be aimed both at restoring the relationship and at guiding a respectful closure.
Approach
The process starts with an intake session, in which we explore together what is going on and what your question is. Based on this, a direction for the treatment is agreed upon. The sessions last longer than individual conversations, so there is sufficient space for both partners and for deeper exploration.
During the process, we regularly reflect on what is working, what feels difficult, and what is needed to move forward. The number of sessions is decided together.
When this therapy is appropriate and when it is not
This form of therapy is appropriate when you are willing to look at yourself with attention and honesty, and when you sense that healing does not lie in quick solutions, but in carefully approaching what lives within you. It aligns well if you have already tried many things, when complaints keep returning, or when you notice that they express themselves not only mentally, but also physically or relationally.
The therapy asks for a willingness to take responsibility for your own process, at a pace that matches your capacity. We do not work in a solution-focused way in the sense of “fixing,” but relationally and embodied, with attention to the nervous system, emotions, and old survival patterns.
This therapy is less appropriate if you are looking for a quick intervention, a strict protocol, or a direct solution to one clearly defined problem. It is also likely not the right fit if you expect change to come mainly from outside yourself, or when self-exploration does not feel possible.
The goal is not to become someone else, but to reconnect with who you are, beneath the layers of adaptation and survival.
Pracitical information
Relationship therapy takes place in my practice and always with both partners together. For questions or to make an appointment, you can get in touch.
📞 06 51 81 11 98
✉️ info@anoukbindels.nl
Intake: 1 to 2 sessions of 90 minutes
Follow-up appointments: sessions of 90 minutes, frequency by mutual agreement
For current rates and any waiting times, you can get in touch via the contact form or by email. Relationship therapy is, in most cases, not reimbursed by health insurance. My fees are in line with specialized, non-reimbursed therapy.