The people closest to us are often where the hardest feelings live.

You might be the one who keeps the peace. The one who remembers the birthdays, absorbs the tension at the table, and holds things together while a marriage quietly comes apart. From the outside, it all looks manageable. Inside, you're tired of being the steady one. Or it might be a pattern you recognise and can't seem to stop. The same argument in a different year. A family you love and can only be around for so long. A relationship that ended and took more of you with it than you expected.

Why these patterns are so hard to shift

Most of how we relate to other people was learnt early, long before we had any say in it. Those patterns made sense at the time. Many still serve us, until suddenly they don't.

Therapy is a place to see them clearly, without blame, and to decide which ones you want to keep.

How we work with it

We won't ask you to relive every chapter of your family history, and we won't take sides. We'll help you notice what's happening in your relationships as it happens, loosen the hold of old rules like "keep everyone happy" or "don't need anyone", and act more like the partner, parent, child or sibling you want to be.

Sessions are one-to-one. You don't need anyone else's agreement to come, and you don't need to have decided what happens next in the relationship.

If you feel unsafe in your relationship, please contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. In an emergency, call 999.

Start with a conversation

Fifteen minutes. One honest conversation. A free chat with one of our BACP-registered clinical therapists, to talk through what's going on and whether we're the right fit. You don't need to prepare anything, and there's no obligation afterwards

Areas we support

Choose the one that sounds closest. Most people's experience crosses more than one, and that's fine.