LGBTQ+ Relationship Counselling (Est. 2010)

LGBTQ+ Relationships Counselling (aka therapy for gay, lesbian, mixed-orientation couples, throuples and groups) is the specialised service you choose when intimate partners and platonic relationships need effective help in untangling unhappy, sometimes complicated behaviours that they’re unable to resolve alone.

Whether a gay male couple, a lesbian couple, a mixed-sexuality/mixed-gender-identifying couple, a throuple, or a polycule, ALL OF US can make use of a specialised, supportive therapy service for our relationship’s recovery.

So much more than just another ally!

Engaging in counselling can be short-term (tackling a specific goal) or a longer journey. At first, it might not be clear what your counselling experience will reveal, but as the sessions progress, we will begin to develop a direction together that helps you and your partner(s) become confident with your own ideas and resolutions.

This is not “marriage guidance“ (a very old term!). Counsellor Dean Richardson offers a more effective relationship solution for LGBTQ+ partners-in-conflict (there are no: “here’s how you do things correctly” instructions).

LGBTQ+ Relationship Counselling is the proven, effective therapeutic approach that you can learn to use together.

You may already have a good idea of what you want to work on in relationship counselling. You now need to discover whether you can trust Dean as your specialised counsellor (along with trusting your partner(s) and the counselling process).

You’ll want to learn how creating a tailored approach to counselling with your partner(s) can help you deal with and stay safe from sometimes grave, honest, and upsetting topics. You’ll want to discover how you might use counselling (not how others do; your counselling needs will be distinct). You will want the therapy process to evolve into one that is tailored to your relationship’s needs. You’ll want to know that you can use this process at home, too.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter how much experience Dean has assisting other lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, fluid, and asexual partners; it’s about the trust that grows from the tailored, specialised approach that evolves from your involvement, which helps your relationship. And many couples see this happening within the first few sessions.

How Our Counselling Work Develops

I will not try to explain in detail how a counselling process develops. I do want you to know that the working relationship that we will develop will be unique to the work that we tackle together. Our therapeutic alliance will be one where we all have a say, contribute ideas, and figure things out together to benefit your particular relationship style.

This is not prescriptive counselling (e.g. you describe your problems, and the counsellor then tells you what to do). Honestly, no therapist has a right to prescribe: “here’s how you do things correctly.” Instead, bespoke relationship therapy becomes a safe place where we look at what’s not working and consider substitutions that could work better, with homework to test things out, and a space to discuss what went wrong when you come back next session.

This is the kind of bespoke process that you will want to experience firsthand – to see and feel that it’s maturing sufficiently to handle the work we bring to each session.

This is how we will proceed: in a clear, trusting, bespoke alliance that takes the best of what you have and rebuilds the worst of it into the kind of healthy relationship that you want… together.

Video Conferencing Therapy: the right solution for you that you’d forgotten all about!

Even in terms of geographic locations, he may be many miles away from your hometown, but he can be right there on your computer, laptop, or smartphone every week.

Why Video Counselling Works.

Why didn’t you consider video counselling? I’ll bet that because it’s been a few years since we were all required to use video technology (in order to stay in our homes). You hadn’t considered that the medium remains the preferred option in a number of significant circumstances. Let’s take a look why…

1. Convenience and Accessibility: Offers partners the flexibility to receive counselling from the safety and comfort of their home. There’s no requirement to travel to a therapist’s office. This is especially helpful when you or your partner are away during the week for work or travel. You can call in remotely (from your office, hotel room, or even a quiet park bench) to meet with your partner and counsellor.

2. Cost-Effectiveness: Regularly more affordable than in-person therapy (even before costs of commuting, parking, and childcare). If you’re living in a major city (Brighton, Edinburgh, London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc.), then remote video counselling won’t attract a high pricing structure, regional weighting, or income supplement such as counsellors working from home.