Couples In Step Counselling
146 Brighton Ave., M3H 4E2 Toronto, ON, Canada

Contemplation Chant. This chant weaves 5 spiritual traditions together: Hindu, Buddhism, Jewish, Islam, Christianity, This song is sometimes referred to as the " Peace Prayer Mandala."

Ever heard about Stephen Colbert's romance with his wife (they've been married close to 30 years)?

PolyVagal Therapy: My latest interest. I love the autonomic ladder.

I am proud to be a social worker. In a nutshell, social workers focus on systems. The Ontario College of Social Work and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) is running a public awareness campaign in 2021. Check out this 30 second video.

This is funny. Early in my career/development as a therapist I fretted about my "philosophy of therapy". I put that worry away by calling myself "eclectic". Here's what eclectic looks like.

Good reminder from my colleague Larry Borins at #MindHealthToronto in this time of Covid. Get outside, limit scrolling for news, slow down and meditate AND nurture your relationships. That's what Couples In Step is about: maintaining, caring for, repairing your couple relationship.

Is your relationship in distress? Are you reeling from infidelity? Do you argue constantly? Are you living with destructive silences and distance? Are sexual matters weighing you down? Couples In Step works solely with couples to create secure and safe relationships through rebuilding, repairing, and recreating security and trust in the partner relationship. Couples In Step offers weekly counselling, couples retreats, and Three Day Couple Therapy Intensives. You can have a more loving relationship! To learn how Couples In Step can help you have a more loving relationship visit our website at www.couplesinstep.com."

Well, I'm a therapist. What to do? Do I admit on this page that I struggle sometimes too? That would be quite disclosing. Well here goes. Yes I do struggle too. I call them covid days. Covid days are when I feel listless, kind of anxious all day, can't stop pouring over the news, and on and on and on... Thankfully I have a good therapist that I can see every now and then. And a great partner too. And so far he and I have been able to time things so that we don't have covid days at the same time

Yesterday (Friday October 23, 2020) was such a lovely warm and sunny day. A gift in the midst of covid on a fall day when the leaves in this corner of Toronto are a lovely sight -- but are for sure thinning out as more and more fall to the ground. My emotions yesterday: grateful, sad, determined, lonely, loved, sad, happy... When I came back from my walk yesterday I watched this video from the National Film Board website. A perfect fit for my mood.

I'm a sex therapist and over the years have learned, and continue to learn, so much from my clients that defy sexual stereotypes (mine included). This article's author is also learning: Here's a quote: "I’m a journalist who writes about sex, and my work routinely complicates stereotypic assumptions about straight men’s sexuality." So before you pass over this article, give it a read. Digest. Muse. Reflect.

The couples therapists interviewed in this article talk of many, many requests for therapy. My experience too!

Nurture your relationship. Attend a Couples Retreat

Emily Nagoski is a favourite expert of mine when it comes to helping women, & the men who love them, understand their sexual selves.

Hold Me Tight coming soon!

A quick tip for you and your partner to help with covid stress. Requires a bit of risk. But payoff could be worth it.

Painting an image in your mind of walls and windows can serve as a powerful vaccine against the ravages of infidelity. This blog post tells you why. https://couplesinstep.com/affair-proof-relationship/

Here is a seriously excellent podcast worth subscribing to: Foreplay Radio. Take a listen to Episode 240, "Do Men Really Want Directions in Bed?" or Episode 226, "Do Women Enjoy Sex?" Here's another good one: Episode 231, "Sharing Your Sexual History." It's hosted by Laurie Watson, a sex therapist and George Faller, an Emotionally Focused Therapist. I am both a sex therapist and an Emotionally Focused Therapist. Let me know what you think! https://www.foreplayrst.com/

Ever consider a couples retreat? A Couples Retreat. Is that a group? you ask. Yes ... No thanks, I’m not interested in a group. I know. You can’t! imagine! working on your relationship in a group setting. And yet the feedback we get, again and again, is This was so worth it for us. Often this from the partner who wasn’t keen on coming. Check it out: https://couplesinstep.com/hold-me-tight-couples-retreats/ There’s an online Hold Me Tight coming up end of October.

Does parenting negatively affect couple happiness? Research says it does. Are parents doomed, then, to have difficult relationships? Not so fast... https://couplesinstep.com/children-change-marriage

Labour Day today. Relationships are labour. Labour of commitment, time, resources and more. Sounds hard and difficult and intense doesn't it? But can be fun and life giving too. Ultimately -- so worth it. Happy labouring on your relationship from this Labour day 2020 to Labour Day 2021 and beyond!