Relationship Counselling
Relationship Counselling
At Psychotherapy Dublin, we offer psychoanalytically oriented relationship counselling, an approach that delves beyond surface conflicts to explore the unconscious dynamics at play between partners. In relationships, patterns of communication, recurring tensions, and emotional struggles often have roots deeper than what is immediately apparent. By examining these patterns, couples can begin to understand how their unconscious histories shape their present interactions.
Understanding the Couple Dynamic
A relationship is more than just two individuals—it is a dynamic structure shaped by unconscious forces. Couples often find themselves caught in repetitive cycles of misunderstanding, frustration, or distance, without fully grasping why these patterns persist. Relationship counselling provides a space to uncover the deeper structures at work, including how past experiences, unspoken desires, and early relational attachments influence the present.
Rather than focusing solely on conflict resolution or communication techniques, this approach seeks to illuminate the underlying psychic tensions that manifest in the relationship. By working with the spoken and unspoken aspects of the couple’s dynamic, counselling allows for a more profound shift in how partners relate to each other.
Transference in the Couple’s Relationship
In psychoanalytic work, transference—the way we unknowingly repeat past relational dynamics in the present—plays a key role. In relationships, each partner brings unconscious expectations and assumptions shaped by their own history. These elements often surface in the form of frustration, idealization, or resentment toward the other. Relationship counselling helps couples recognize and work through these transferential dynamics, allowing them to step outside of rigid patterns and engage with each other in new ways.
Common symptoms that our therapists have experience of working with include:
Importantly, we do not believe that each person’s mental suffering can be described by a mere label, such as ‘anxiety.’ Decades of clinical experience tells us that each person’s symptom is entirely individual to them. One person may experience anxiety as pains in their chest, another may suffer from a repetition of a specific thought, another may wake at a certain time each night. With such a variety in the experience and cause of mental distress we begin to see how important it is for each person to work to the root of their very singular issue.
Why Choose Psychoanalytic Relationship Counselling?
This approach does not offer quick fixes or predetermined solutions; rather, it provides the couple with a deeper understanding of their relationship’s unique structure. Sessions focus on creating a space where each partner can speak openly, hear the other in a new way, and begin to reshape the dynamic that has brought them into counselling.
If you find yourselves caught in familiar struggles, unable to move past certain tensions, or simply curious about what lies beneath the surface of your relationship, psychoanalytic relationship counselling offers a way to explore these questions with depth and clarity. If this resonates with you, we invite you to begin the conversation.
