Relationships are one of the most fundamental aspects of human life, and having fulfilling, meaningful, mutually supportive relationships is one of the keys to our living fulfilling lives. Sometimes, unfortunately, relationships that began hopefully and with a sense of fulfilment for both people can start to become stale, less supportive, conflictual, and, sadly, even toxic for one or both of the people involved.
Therapy can help heal relationships that are in difficulty. At Lemons to Lemonade we work with couples whose relationships are not working well, and also both people in other types of relationship that are in difficulty (such as the relationship between a parent and their adult offspring, between siblings, between friends, or between work colleagues).
Our therapy with couples aims to enable states of openness, trust and safety where both people can find fulfilment, pleasure, and joy in their lives. All sessions are built around encouraging open and honest communication, and interested, curious listening. Consistent with this spirit of openness, we ask each client to agree that anything shared by them with the therapist will not be kept confidential from the other client: neither client can expect the therapist to keep secrets on their behalf from the other client. Out therapy with people in other types of relationships is similar, though with aims tailored to the particular relationship.
As psychologists, we draw on an in-depth understanding of how people feel, think, and act, and the factors that influence them. We make use of several therapeutic approaches, particularly Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Narrative Therapy (all described in Therapy for Individuals section), and Imago Relationship Therapy. Imago Relationship Therapy focusses on helping people in relationships work through their misunderstandings, reduce conflict and find ways to communicate better to arrive at shared perspectives. The Imago approach helps both members of a couple (or people in another type of relationship) stop responding to each other in negative ways, to stop criticizing and blaming each other and instead become more empathic and understanding of each others’ needs and perspectives. For couples, when appropriate we also draw on Integrated Sex and Couples Therapy, which enables us to be able to address sexual issues within couples in a frank and open way, as these can be both the cause of and an effect of wider relationship difficulties.
We deliver therapy in one of two different ways:
1. Both people in the relationship, with one therapist (Dr. Stephen Skippon). This is the usual way that couples therapy is practiced. Joint sessions can be 50 minutes in length, but we recommend 90-minute sessions (which we usually have fortnightly). The cost per session is £95 for each 50-minute session and £170 for each 90-minute session.
2. Both people in the relationship, with two therapists (Dr. Rachel Skippon and Dr. Stephen Skippon. This is a less usual way to practice couples therapy that we are able to deliver at Lemons to Lemonade because we have two psychologists in the practice who have worked together often. We believe it has some additional therapeutic benefits, though that does mean it is more costly. If you are interested in this approach, please email us at contact@lemonstolemonade.co.uk to arrange a free informal discussion.
One therapist: £95 for a 50-minute joint session, £170 for a 90-minute joint session (usually fortnightly).
Two therapists: contact us at contact@lemonstolemonade.co.uk to discuss.