Couples counselling in Vancouver, BC.
Couples therapy and marriage counselling in Kitsilano, Vancouver, and online across British Columbia.
For partners who keep landing in the same place and want to find a way out together.
You might recognize this.
You've had the same argument so many times you could both recite it. One of you reaches out, the other pulls back, and the harder one pushes, the further the other goes.
Maybe it's quieter. You get along fine, but you've started to feel like roommates. Sex has become rare, or a source of tension neither of you brings up. Or something broke, an affair or a long stretch of disappointment, and you're not sure it can be repaired.
Couples come to us at every stage: early in a relationship, years into a marriage, on the edge of separating. Most were never shown how to work through conflict, and that's what we help with.
How couples therapy works at Cala Counselling.
We use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and attachment-based approaches. In practice, that means we slow the argument down until you can both see the pattern underneath it: what each of you feels, what you need, and what you do when that need goes unmet.
Once the pattern is visible, it gets easier to step out of it. Partners learn to reach for each other in a way the other can actually hear. Sessions are structured but not scripted, and both of you get room to speak.
Marriage counselling and relationship counselling.
You don't need to be married, or in crisis, to come in. We see engaged couples preparing for marriage, long-term partners in a rough stretch, and couples deciding whether to stay together. If one of you wants to start with individual sessions about the relationship, we can do that too.
Sexual intimacy and desire.
Desire rarely matches perfectly between two people, and the gap can turn into hurt, pressure or avoidance. We work with desire discrepancy, low libido, intimacy that has faded and performance anxiety. These topics are a normal part of couples work here, and we talk about them plainly.
Couples of all constellations.
We work with queer and straight couples, monogamous and non-monogamous relationships, and intercultural partnerships, including the expectations families bring into a marriage.
Who you'll work with.
Every counsellor at Cala Counselling works with couples, each with their own focus.
Nevada Banks, RCC.
How sensitivity and self-worth shape the way each partner shows up.
Harshita Agarwal, RCC, PhD.
Couples becoming parents, fertility, and intercultural or arranged-marriage dynamics. English and Hindi.
Laura Avila, RCC.
Founder. EFT and attachment-focused couples work in English, Spanish and Catalan. Currently not accepting new clients.
Couples counselling FAQ.
-
That's common. You can start with individual sessions focused on the relationship. Many partners join later, once they know what to expect.
-
It depends on what you're working on. Some couples feel a shift within a few months; others stay longer to work through deeper hurt. We'll check in regularly about how it's going.
-
EFT is a researched approach to couples therapy based on attachment. It focuses on the emotional cycle between partners rather than on who is right in a given argument.
-
Yes. Rebuilding trust after an affair is slow work, but many couples come through it. Therapy gives you a place to talk about what happened and decide together what comes next.
-
Yes. Sessions are available by secure video anywhere in BC, and partners can join from the same room or from different places.
Ready to talk?
Book a free 15-minute consultation and we'll help you find the counsellor who fits.
Direct billing is available for most extended health plans.