Couples & Relationships

Practical guidance on the ups and downs of being in a relationship, from communication and repeated arguments to trust, infidelity, commitment and separation. Whether you’re working through a difficult patch or simply want to understand each other better, you’ll find a place to start here.

Relationship OCD (ROCD): Signs, Causes, and How to Quiet Relentless Doubt

Key Takeaways The Core Issue: Relationship OCD (ROCD) causes intrusive, distressing doubts about your partner, feelings, or compatibility. The Trap: Compulsions like checking feelings, comparing partners, or seeking reassurance offer…
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Can Couples Therapy Help If We Keep Having the Same Argument?

Conflict is not a sign that a relationship is failing. Two people can love one another deeply and still disagree, disappoint each other, misunderstand each other and lose their way…
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Codependency in Our Relationships: When Love Becomes Loss of Self

We often think of love as an act of giving. We celebrate those who are endlessly supportive, who anticipate the needs of others, who show up no matter what. In…
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Healing After Infidelity with Couples Therapy: Can a Relationship Survive Cheating?

Infidelity can feel like the ultimate betrayal: a rupture, a moral failure, an ending. Yet, the journey of healing after infidelity can also become a path to transformation and renewed…
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What Is Micro-Cheating? Signs, Examples and How to Heal

A Guide to Understanding and Addressing Micro-Cheating Micro-cheating is a relatively new term used to describe subtle behaviours that, while not overtly unfaithful, can lead to emotional distress or the…
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The Aftermath of Infidelity: Rebuilding Trust After an Affair

Infidelity strikes like an emotional bomb explosion: sudden, shattering, and profoundly disorienting. In its aftermath, couples are left picking through the rubble, trying to understand what remains and what can…
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How to Rebuild Trust in a Relationship After Betrayal or Doubt

How to Rebuild Trust Rebuilding trust in a relationship after betrayal or doubt is one of the hardest emotional journeys a couple can face. Whether the trust was broken through…
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Trauma Bonds: When Relationships Become Toxic

What are trauma bonds? The term “trauma bond” has entered popular terminology in recent years. On social media, a common phenomenon occurs where psychology terms go “viral” and, over the…
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Seeing Through Gaslighting: A Reality Check

The Origins of Gaslighting The origins of the term "gaslighting" trace back to the 1938 play 'Gas Light' and its subsequent film adaptation. In this psychological thriller, a husband attempts…
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It’s over – Why Can’t I Stop Thinking About Them?

Coming to terms with the end of a relationship can be like trying to find your way out of a labyrinth. No matter how long or short the journey was,…
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The Silent Retreat: Quiet Quitting in Relationships

Ending relationships is rarely easy and often comes with emotional and mental challenges. But, perhaps even more difficult to come to terms with is when a partner begins acting as…
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Love Languages: The Art of Speaking Your Partner’s and Discovering Your Own

Within the varied and intricate strands which weave our relationships, the tender experience of feeling unloved or unappreciated is a common thread which drives many couples to seek counselling. Questions…
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Accountability in Relationships: Ending the Blame Game

Embarking on the heartfelt journey of self-improvement and deepening connections with those around us, we stumble upon a profound truth: the grace of admitting our mistakes is not just an…
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Relationship Doubts as a Catalyst – Transforming Questions into Connection

Today's conceptions of romantic relationships are largely shaped by narratives of fairytale endings and romcom rides into the sunset. Although these simplistic notions of romance as being an endpoint, a…
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What is Infidelity? – What If It Happens To Me?

Infidelity can significantly impact a relationship, but it does not necessarily mean the relationship is over. Many couples can recover and rebuild their relationship after infidelity with the help of…
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Navigating Polyamorous Relationships and Communication

Polyamory, or having multiple romantic partners, is a growing trend in modern relationships; however, polyamorous relationships can be complex, and effective communication is key to making them work. In this…
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The Benefits of Relationship Counselling

Relationships are at the core of human existence, and yet they can be the source of our deepest struggles and pain. Whether it's romantic, familial, or platonic, our relationships shape…
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Relationships and Codependency

Codependency in Relationships Codependency in relationships is an unhealthy partnership where one feels they cannot be without the other person and the other person often takes advantage. Key themes in…
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What is Marriage Counselling?

What is Marriage Counselling? Every relationship is a process that evolves and changes over time. As such, relationships require an ongoing commitment and effort and love isn't always enough to…
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Back to Therapy Resources

Wynand Jordaan

Empathic yet pragmatic. Helped me through a period of extreme decision fatigue, stress, and uncertainty. Advice was grounded, calm and delivered at the time and pace needed for it to be received and processed. Would highly recommend

clelia supparo

Luise Sargent is a very professional and skilled therapist and she helped us find our original balance in the relationship. We are so grateful for these sessions at the Leone Centre and highly recommend her. We learned how to communicate again and she also gave us some very useful wellbeing tips. Her approach and guidance were exactly what we needed to restore a calm and constructive family dialogue. Thank you Luise!

Isabella B

I would highly recommend Leone Centre as it provides very professional support.

Helen Carr

Excellent - professional , ethical and educated. Cris Vrech is an experienced, bi lingual therapist with a considerable client portfolio. The Leone Centre is of especial use to those requiring cross cultural therapy - essential in a multi cultural city such as London. I endorse.

David Staff

Thank you so much for the care and help you gave me. I had never had counselling before and being of the 'older generation' where one was supposed to 'pull yourself together' and 'get on with it', I was dubious about how you could help. Your highly skilled and kind therapist has completely changed me! I am now much more positive and have the tools, that if I do dip down again, to use to help me. Thank you! I highly recommend the Leone Centre. Don't hesitate. Contact them and experience for yourself.

Carol

I completed my sessions with Cristina Vrech and would highly recommend her. I felt that for the first time someone was reaching me and I was able to navigate my thoughts and understand my issues. Leone Centre was efficient and arranged my initial appointment in a timely manner, responding to all of my queries.