I was grateful to have the opportunity of working with Leslie at a previous place of employment. Leslie is calm, warm, practical and insightful. She is able to get right to the heart of the matter in a way that facilitates growth and change for her clients. It is easy to recommend such a talented and thoughtful therapist!
- Morgan Lloyd.
Counseling for individuals and couples
Relationships can bring some of our highest highs and lowest lows. The need to feel connected to others represents the human condition. Feeling loved, understood, and a part of a community has far reaching benefits that serves to offer positive emotional health, stability, resiliency, & balance. When our relationships are rocky, destructive, unfulfilling, and/or ridden with frequent conflict, we run the risk of increasing feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, contempt, & rejection. When our relationships are going well, our lives feel more fulfilled, free, whole, and joyful.
Relationships can be difficult to navigate. Whether the relationship in question is in relation to a child, parent, sibling, friend, co-worker, or romantic partner, there can many challenges to experiencing relationships as easy, supportive, loving, & fulfilling. We all have a story and a unique history that leads to certain values, perspectives, and ways of being that can sometimes clash with others. The task of understanding the balance between knowing who you are, being true to your individual identity, and simultaneously knowing how to meet the needs of others can be confusing and overwhelming at times.
Old hurts, betrayals, poor communications habits, and the weight of daily life (e.g., children, work, school, finances, work stress, relationship difficulties) can greatly impact the health and vitality of your relationships. When working with and on relationships, I use an Emotionally-Focused & Solution-Based approach, which highlights the importance of intimacy, sexuality, independence/interdependence, and connection.
Relationship counseling can take the form of both individual therapy, and/or couples therapy. Individual therapy utilizes a one-on-one approach to exploring concerns and difficulties, whereas couples therapy, incorporates a dynamic based approach to exploring concerns. Couples therapy allows partners to be seen together to explore concerns within the context of a therapy room, which can help individuals feel safe to address concerns, and explore ways to foster a more meaningful and connecting relationship.
My practical approach focuses on developing a thorough understanding of personality traits, significant life experiences, communication patterns, values, and life goals that both unite and divide you. Once we understand what unites and separates you, what fosters safety and trust, and what allows each partner to feel like they are being heard, valued, and appreciated, we can work together to establish compromises and identify effective communication patterns. This collaborative process is intended to help couples learn to understand themselves in relation to their partner/partners, and to provide the tools to enliven your relationship. In addition, couples counseling offers an opportunity to increase relationship satisfaction, and the frequency in which each individual experiences love and connection. With couples, I am interactive, collaborative, emotion, & solution focused. I do my best to create a safe space that allows each individual to feel open to sharing their thoughts and feelings in an honest way without fear of judgment.
Couples counseling can additionally offer an opportunity that allows individuals to address ongoing issues and difficulties within their relationship in a productive and effective way. I believe that couples often find themselves stuck in cycles of conflict, which can result in feelings of dissatisfaction, anxiety, rejection, jealousy, contempt, & disconnection. Couples in this space, may find themselves repeating negative patterns of interacting that prevent them from truly connecting. By working collaboratively, we can address the concerns burdening your relationship and move toward a place of increased understanding and satisfaction for all parties in the relationship. Together, we will work to address each partner’s needs, and explore more effective ways that those needs can be better heard, understood, and met.
Relationship/couples therapy can help you:
- Improve skills, habits, and behaviors to bring energy and vitality into your relationship
- Examine existing relationships to determine if you are ready and committed to improving them, or if it might be time to move past them and say goodbye
- Improve communication styles so that you and your partner can actually hear each other and in turn feel heard, seen, and understood
- Break destructive patterns
- Identify tools that will allow you to become more confidant in expressing your needs within your relationships, and knowing how to be more effective in helping others understand how to meet your needs
- Better understand your relationship style/pattern, both that are helpful and unhelpful
- Bring your sexuality into focus; understanding that it is often more of a dialogue than a definition and that it is a central part of not only our relationship but our own self
- Look at and explore topics surrounding sex without labeling or judging
Helpful links for learning more about couples / relationship counseling and therapy
Relationship Communication Workbook - A Road Map For Improved Relationship Communication
By Dr. Leslie Hemedes
In day-to-day daily grind, relationships are constantly being challenged by a myriad stressors. Effective communication stands as the cornerstone of healthy, resilient partnerships. With this essential element in mind, this ebook has been created to serve as a roadmap for couples seeking to strengthen their relational bonds.
Purpose:
Created with the intent to bridge gaps in understanding and empathy, this ebook emerges as an essential tool for couples who aspire to deepen their connection. Whether you are in the early stages of a blossoming relationship or navigating the complexities of a long-term partnership, the insights and strategies contained within these pages are designed to help partners develop a greater capacity to connect to one another.
Target Audience:
This handbook is thoughtfully tailored for couples of all backgrounds and stages of their relationship. Whether you are looking to resolve conflicts, enhance intimacy, or simply understand your partner better, this guide is a valuable resource for everyone committed to the health and happiness of their relationship.
Contents:
Diving into the heart of communication, the handbook encompasses a wide array of topics, including active listening, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and expressing needs and desires effectively. It offers a breakdown of the components to an effective conversation with respect to greater attention to feeling states, active listening, understanding triggers that can detour a conversation, and mindful ways to create a more constructive space to move through a conversation.
Expected Learning Outcomes:
Readers can anticipate a transformative journey through the realms of communication. Readers will learn how to:
Develop the ability to express thoughts and feelings in ways that increases the likeliness that your partner can hear you.
Understand and validate your partner’s perspective, even when it differs from your own.
Recognize and break cyclical patterns of non-constructive communication.
Learn new communication strategies that encourage greater openness, deepen intimacy, and foster a sense of trust and security within the relationship.
This handbook is more than just a guide; it's a journey towards a deeper, more fulfilling partnership. It’s an invitation to explore the nuances of your relationship and an opportunity to cultivate a love that not only endures but flourishes with each passing day.
WARNING:
This ebook is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized distribution, reproduction, or sharing of any part of this ebook, without explicit permission from the copyright owner, is strictly prohibited. Legal action may be taken against violators.
Struggling to find a better way to navigate your relationship?
