Intensive Couples Counselling

A Vessel for Relationship Change and Repair in Nanaimo

A committed relationship is a shared container, holding both the habits that support connection and the ones that strain it. Unresolved hurts, protective strategies, or past experiences can surface in ways you don’t intend. When this happens, couples often feel stuck between love and frustration, distance and longing.

Intensive couples counselling offers a focused, intentional immersion; a space to slow down, see these patterns clearly, and work with them directly.

Over three days, the intensive format creates a concentrated environment shaped by effort and a willingness to meet all aspects of your history. Old defenses can soften, allowing more aligned ways of relating to take shape.

Unlike weekly therapy, which is often interrupted by the clock, the intensive format allows patterns to surface and be worked with while the relational cycle is still active.

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Truth Over Technique

Intensive work is not about solving problems faster. It is about staying with them long enough for what is usually avoided to appear. The goal is not simply improvement, it is truth: what is happening between you, and what each of you is carrying into the relationship.

Couples depth work is different from communication coaching. Skills are important, but they often fail when a deeper emotional cycle takes over. We address what is driving the conflict so you aren’t left relying on “techniques” alone when things get difficult.

At times, we may work with one partner individually. This allows us to focus on personal history that impacts the partnership, preserving the safety of the shared work while addressing individual triggers.

This work is for couples who can:

  • Take responsibility for their own part in the dynamic.

  • Stay present with difficult emotions without escalating or shutting down.

  • Allow deeper themes to surface, even when they challenge familiar roles.

  • Reflect on what each brings to the relationship, rather than focusing solely on a partner’s actions.

At its heart, intensive work is about seeing patterns clearly enough that both of you can respond differently.

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Who This Work Serves

This intensive format is especially suited for couples who:

  • Are traveling from out of town, including Vancouver, Victoria, or the Gulf Islands, and want a contained format without repeated weekly travel.

  • Feel stuck in recurring wounds, repetition, distance, or disconnection.

  • Are facing crisis or rupture (infidelity, grief, trauma, attachment injury) and need a concentrated space for repair.

  • Live demanding lives where the logistics of weekly therapy is difficult to sustain.

  • Wish to re-vision their relationship — not only to repair what is painful, but to clarify what things look like going forward.

  • Are open to a depth psychotherapy approach that works with both practical skills and the inner realities shaping the relationship.

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What the Intensive Provides

  • Continuity: allowing conversations, emotions, and repair to unfold without being interrupted by the clock.
  • Safe structure: designed to hold intensity. This helps the process stay integrated rather than overwhelming.

  • An orientation for your shared future: a sense of what has been addressed, what has emerged, and what will support ongoing connection and growth.

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What Intensive Work Looks Like

Formats are flexible depending on urgency, scheduling, and capacity. Before scheduling an intensive, we complete a brief intake and planning process so the time is focused and the structure fits your needs.

Three-Day Intensive
15 hours over 3 days — a full retreat. Provides the time and space required for deep work.

Day-Long Intensive
5 hours in a single day — ideal for couples needing a concentrated session without a full retreat.

Half-Day Refresher
For couples who have completed a previous intensive, and when a new issue arises or you want to re-ground and re-align.

Video / Remote Intensive
3 non-consecutive days or shorter formats — allowing integration time between sessions. Ideal for out-of-town or busy couples.

Custom Relationship Package
A tailored container shaped around your needs, your relationship, and your timing.

*Contact me for rates and availability.

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Why This Work in Nanaimo

The quiet rhythm and proximity to the sea and forest create a natural setting for a relationship to reset. A change in geography often supports a change in perspective. Local accommodations near my office facilitate a true “retreat” experience away from the distractions of daily life.

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Approach & Orientation

My work integrates clinical training in relational therapy, attachment, and sex therapy with a depth psychotherapy perspective.

We don’t just troubleshoot communication. We attend to the roles, wounds, and histories that shape how you meet each other. The aim is to strengthen trust, emotional honesty, and that primary relational need: the deep sense that your partner has your back.

Whether you are facing conflict, loss, distance, trauma, or simply want to deepen your connection, this work is for couples seeking a grounded, meaningful way of relating.

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How to Begin

Because of the concentrated nature of this work, we begin with a preliminary intake process. This allows us to understand your relationship history, review what is most urgent, and determine which format best fits your current capacity.

We will also talk through whether an intensive is the right entry point, or whether a weekly format would better support stabilization first.

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