Couples Therapy
“I saw Rita for treatment of an OCD/anxiety disorder that I had been suffering from for approximately two years. My symptoms had been of sudden onset and had caused serious difficulties – suicidal thoughts and feelings, depression and problems in my long-term relationship. Rita was an extraordinarily effective therapist. With her help I was able completely to overcome my difficulties and go back to being a happy, relaxed person who enjoyed life. What I found most helpful about Rita’s therapy was its thoroughness. The mechanics of my problem were explained in detail, from the most basic physical level, so that I could fully understand the process of how my mind was working and why it was causing me distress. This helped to diffuse the emotional significance of hurtful thoughts and feelings and enabled me to start curing myself, by recognising patterns and processes and redirecting them in more helpful ways. Rita was always supportive and warm but remained able to be challenging, which was often vital for me. She also helped my partner immeasurably, using some quite different techniques equally effectively. I had been to two previous therapists before Rita. She was significantly more knowledgeable and technically proficient than either – I genuinely cannot think of anything I would criticise or was unhappy with about her therapy. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t had her help.”
“Working with Rita was extremely helpful not only to help my wife to overcome strong anxiety related to work issues, but also to re-establish trust and complicity in our relationship. For a long time I had felt completely powerless with regard to my wife’s anxiety, as she was very unhappy but she did not want to talk about it. She finally decided to seek help and began a CBT therapy with Rita, who quickly understood that my involvement in the therapy could be beneficial. I was very happy to join the therapy, as I felt I could have a better understanding of my wife’s struggle and therefore I could help her better. Rita’s approach made it easier for us to communicate and open up. This almost automatically created a stronger bond and made me feel we were finally facing the problem as a couple and I was no longer a passive watcher.”
“I met Rita when she asked me to join my partner of eight years in his cognitive behavioural therapy session with her. For nearly two years he had been having an extremely difficult time with OCD, which was primarily focused on the seemingly inevitable breakdown of our relationship. Given I was also affected by this, she wanted to involve me in the therapy. She quickly identified patterns of behaviours that we had both adopted as a means of coping with the stress. She explained the processes behind the behaviours and then asked us both to challenge our individual impulses. She also worked with us on how and when to communicate our anxieties to each other, which was extremely effective. The effects of the therapy were perceptible almost overnight. For the first time in two years, my partner was quickly able to manage and overcome his OCD by using her simple techniques, and I was able to get ongoing support for anxiety I hadn’t even realised I was struggling with. In four months, we went from an almost desperate couple on the brink of break-up, to a resuscitated pair, happy and confident enough to go travelling around the world (and get engaged!). It seems like an exaggeration, but I genuinely feel Rita saved us. She has an amazing ability to make you feel at ease and a fantastic way of empowering you to identify and develop techniques for yourself. She has been incredibly supportive, kind and always made us feel that we were in safe hands. Writing this actually makes me feel quite emotional- I couldn’t have imagined finding such a person during that dark time.”