COUPLES THERAPY

  • In-person sessions
    Hassocks, West Sussex

    Online sessions
    Via Zoom

    Session times
    9.15am–2.45pm · Tuesday–Friday

    Weekly sessions
    60 minutes · £90

    Intensive sessions
    3-hour block · £300

    Next step - Initial Consultation
    60 minutes · £90
    To see whether working together feels like a good fit.

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Couples therapy

Relationship health can be influenced by so many things—family history, childhood, finances, having children, past hurts, partner betrayals, health issues and life transitions.

Whatever has brought you here, we’ll explore how these experiences are playing out in your relationship now.

This is deep, complex work. I hold two people, two life stories and the relationship between you, all at once.

We track patterns, make connections, and pay attention to what your nervous systems are telling us, as much as your words.

Together we create a respectful space where difficult truths can be spoken courageously and heard compassionately—often for the first time.

Working together

I ask lots of questions.

I want to see the world through your eyes and really understand what happens between you.

Important work happens ‘live’ in the sessions. Sometimes we’ll slow an interaction, almost frame by frame: noticing a flinch, asking what story you attached to your partner’s words, checking intention and using curiosity to bring more accurate information into the conversation.

I love for us to get creative.

I might share a word, image or idea that has come up for me and ask you to try it on for size. If it fits, great. If it doesn’t, that too gives us useful information.

Sometimes I’ll use what I call ‘couple codes’: a word or phrase we create together and imbue with a particular meaning. Outside the session, that code could be used to communicate ‘can we connect?’ or ‘things are starting to escalate, let’s pause’. They act as an intimate shorthand when it might be hard to express yourselves in a difficult moment.

My intention in our work is for you to gain all the information you need to make informed choices about your relationship.

That might mean exploring how to repair after a betrayal, finding your way back to each other after drifting apart, or realising that separation is the best path.

If separation is where you land, I can support you to bring your relationship to a respectful close. If you have children, our work will keep them at the heart of that process.

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TESTIMONIALS

  • It is fair to say that counselling sessions with Michaela were the missing link between me and my girlfriend becoming an understanding and empathetic couple again. I am a much happier person and my relationship is now the strongest it’s been in over a year.

    Client Testimonial

  • When we walked into Michaela's warm and cosy space the first time, I was so broken, had nearly given up and wasn't sure where I would end up... wasn't sure if things in our marriage 'could' ever be different. After 38 years!! Now after only a few sessions, they have changed. I have hope. And the change is fundamental and MASSIVE. I really felt Michaela's calm, professional guidance has allowed me to be heard without judgement - for the first time really - to allow myself to be authentic and true and for my husband to hear and respond in a way I have longed for almost all my married life.

    Client Testimonial

  • Under Michaela's patient questioning and guidance we discovered new and constructive ways of communicating during difficult times, of better understanding our differences and of appreciating the other person's perspective. We began to enjoy the shared project of "doing better", appreciating the privilege we shared in our long and mostly very happy relationship. Michaela is an insightful, thoughtful and pleasant person. We are very glad to have met her.

    Client Testimonial

  • My husband and I started sessions with Michaela because we had stopped communicating and basically didn't like each other very much, but wanted things to be better. Right from the start our sessions with Michaela made both of us feel like we could talk openly and without judgement - she made us really think about what was going on and how we wanted things to be in the future. It's never easy changing the habits of a lifetime, but we both felt that our sessions with Michaela put our relationship No.1 on the list, at least for an hour a week. Michaela has given us some tools going forward and we're a much happier family now.

    Client Testimonial

  • When we started seeing Michaela, I was worried that our family situation had broken down irretrievably. I wasn't sure anyone could help us, but from the outset, Michaela was supportive, positive and understanding. Within weeks our relationships have improved immeasurably and we're already a much happier family unit. I'm so glad we found Michaela; without her, I worry our sad situation would have just kept rumbling along.

    Client Testimonial

If you’d like to explore working together…

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