Relationship Counselling
As human beings we are social creatures, and from the moment we are born, and throughout our lives, we need others, and the quality of our relationships with others is vital to our sense of well-being. As adults we hope and expect our relationships to be loving and harmonious, providing the warmth and security that allows us to deal with the pressures and demands of life, and to feel valued and appreciated.
And yet most of us know from our own lives or from those of our close friends and families that quite often relationships break down, or that one or both partners are living not in harmony but in states of unhappiness, frustration and insecurity. Television and newspapers constantly remind us that the pressures and stresses of modern life lead to increased breakdown of marriages and partnership relationships, often with much consequent misery for individuals, their families, their children and their friends.
In other words, we may find in our own lives, or of those we are close too, a big gap between what we hope for in relationship, and what we are actually experiencing. And perhaps if we look at it, this is not really surprising - after all, a relationship is ultimately about two people seeking to live together, and each person will bring their very different life experiences to the relationship. They may have grown up in very different families, with different norms and values and expectations. Equally, we are all bound to have experienced losses and painful events in our lives, and these too we will bring to our relationships. At the beginning of our relationship these differences may seem small and irrelevant, compared to our loving feelings. But they may grow in time, especially in the context of the pressures of our lives, of work, children, families, and friends.
And if they begin to grow, we may find our experience of our relationship changing - misunderstandings occur more often, and good honest communication seems to shrivel in comparison. We begin to feel that our partner does not really understand us, and yet they are saying the same thing ! We are increasingly frustrated by their irritating habits, and arguments occur more often, and they never seem to be completely sorted out. Sometimes they seem to be about small matters, sometimes about the things that are most important to us - how we are with our children and our families, how we express our love and our sexuality.
For some the crisis is temporary, but for others, communication really seems to become increasingly difficult, eroding all the feelings of love, warmth and security. Where this is happening, it may feel as though hope for resolution is fading, and this can be where relationship counselling may offer vital help. Just as in individual counselling and psychotherapy, it can provide a safe and secure place where both partners are treated with care and respect, by a counsellor who is separate from the relationship and the complex world in which exists, and therefore able to be objective and neutral, and creating the conditions whereby painful areas can be shared and explored rather than ignored or simply blamed on the other. The confidentiality and the security provided through the relationship counselling can help to re-establish genuine communication, promoting understanding, and realization that with honesty and commitment wounds in relationships can heal.
Personal and Relationship Counselling (PRC) is an agency that provides such Relationship Counselling. Our team of counsellors and psychotherapists have had thorough training supplemented by specialist courses in relationship counselling, supervision, tutoring, life coaching and cognitive behavioural therapy. Situated in Looe Street, in the historic Barbican area of Plymouth, PRC can probably claim to be the oldest private counselling practice in the city, having been set up in 1984, by Gwen Cawse and John Washbrook. John has now retired from the practice and Nigel Summerton runs it with Gwen, and the team has grown to include 6 full-time accredited counsellors, with 2 other counsellors available to be co-opted when needed.
Located in one of Plymouth’s few remaining Elizabethan houses, close to Plymouth Art Centre, and two of Plymouth’s historic harbours, we believe PRC provides a calm and peaceful environment where individuals and couples can benefit from our counselling teams’ experience and expertise, and realize through the experience that counselling can have a positive effect on our lives and on our relationships.
Over the years PRC has made a real impact on the lives of hundreds of clients, as well as providing a counselling service to local business, including DML. Our Looe Street practice will, however, remain at the heart of PRC, and our team of counsellors will continue to be passionately committed to providing the conditions whereby the quality of the lives of individuals and couples can be improved and enriched!
Telephone: 01752 266000
e-mail: nsummerton465@btinternet.com
