Status
Accepting new clients ✅

Sessions
In-person & online

Relationships have a way of bringing out parts of ourselves that we don't always understand. We may find ourselves reacting in ways we later regret, struggling to express what we need, or having the same conversations without feeling any closer to being understood. Sometimes, even when two people care deeply for one another, the ways they try to protect themselves can unintentionally create more distance.

I'm Patrice, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with a master's degree in Counselling and Spirituality, specialising in Couples and Family Therapy. My interest in couples work comes from a curiosity about how our relationships shape us, how we learn to connect with others, and how patterns that once helped us navigate difficult experiences can become obstacles to intimacy and connection.

In working with couples, I'm interested in understanding what happens between partners, particularly in moments when they feel hurt, misunderstood, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Rather than focusing solely on the content of disagreements, I work with couples to explore the emotional experiences, expectations, and relational patterns that give those disagreements meaning. This may involve understanding how each partner responds to vulnerability, how past experiences influence present interactions, and what makes it difficult to reach for one another when connection is needed most.

My approach with couples is integrative, drawing particularly from Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), the Gottman Method, as well as existential, systemic and psychodynamic perspectives. I believe that understanding a relationship requires attention to both partners as individuals, as well as to the relationship they have created together. My aim is to help couples develop greater awareness of their patterns, approach difficult conversations with more openness, and find ways of relating that feel more secure, responsive, and authentic.

I also draw from Transactional Analysis (TA), schema-informed approaches, and trauma-informed care to explore how earlier experiences shape the ways we understand ourselves and relate to others. These perspectives help me attend to the beliefs, internal expectations, and familiar roles we may carry into our relationships, sometimes without realising it. I am particularly interested in how protective responses develop, how they continue to influence our emotional experiences and interactions, and how we can begin to respond differently when those patterns no longer serve us. Throughout this work, I place importance on safety, collaboration, and respecting each person's readiness to explore difficult experiences.

Alongside couples therapy, I work with individuals who want to better understand themselves, their emotional experiences, and the patterns that emerge in their lives and relationships. This may involve exploring anxiety, self-criticism, identity, emotional regulation, past experiences, or difficulties with boundaries and connection. I approach this work with curiosity and an appreciation for the complexity of each person's experiences, recognising that meaningful change often begins with developing a different understanding of ourselves.

Above all, I see therapy as an opportunity to better understand ourselves in relation to others. Whether working with a couple or an individual, I hope to create a space where difficult experiences can be approached with curiosity, where familiar patterns can be reconsidered, and where new possibilities for connection can begin to emerge.

Education 

Honours B.A. in Psychology (University of Ottawa).

M.A. in Counselling and Spirituality with a concentration in Couples and Family Therapy (Saint Paul University). 

Certifications and Licenses 

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) - College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) 

Level 1 Gottman Method Couples Therapy Certification. 

Trainings and Seminars 

Psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, and Schema Therapy (MHPO; Monica Forst, MEd, RP, CP, CCC).

Radical Therapy (TPN Health; Frank Gruba-McCallister, PhD).

Structural Sex Therapy (SST) (MAH; Ray Robinson, MA, MSW, RSW). 

Self-Directed Textbook Learning

Wired for Love - Stan Tatkin 

Hold Me Tight - Sue Johnson 

Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications - Jude Cassidy and Phillip R. Shaver 

Wired for Dating - Stan Tatkin 

Attachment Theory in Practice: Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) with individuals, couples and families - Sue Johnson 

Games People Play - Eric Berne 

I'm Okay - You’re Okay - Thomas Harris 

TA Today: A new introduction to Transactional Analysis - Ian Stewart and Vann Joines 

Fight Right - Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman 

Object Relations Therapy - Sheldon Cashdan 

Thinking for Clinicians - Donna Orange 

The Suffering Stranger - Donna Orange 

Systems Theory in Action - Shelley Smith-Acuna 

On Becoming a Person - Carl Rogers 

A Way of Being - Carl Rogers 

Men’s Road to Healing - Rick Goodwin 

Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy - Eric Berne 

The Gift of Therapy - Irvin Yalom 

Systems Theory and Family Therapy - Beevar and Beevar

Constructing Realities - Hugh Rosen and Kevin T. Kuehlwein

Psychotheray Rates

$180 / 60 Minute Session
$275 / 90 Minute Session

Insurance
Psychotherapy sessions (couples therapy offered by a psychotherapist) are covered by most extended healthinsurance policies. Check your insurance policy for “psychotherapy” coverage.

Receipts are sent via email after session for you or your partner to submit to your insurer for reimbursement.

New & Return Clients: Book Here
Contact: patrice@couplestherapyottawa.ca