Jennifer and Dexter have been together for five years. They met when they were both going out a lot and were juggling work, friends, hobbies and travelling to see family at weekends. When they moved in together they both felt the relationship changed. Jennifer realized that her standards of housekeeping were way above Dexter’s but she didn’t want to moan at him and change the laid-back dynamic they
had enjoyed. Dexter was also feeling the strain since he wanted more commitment and was considering getting engaged but every time he brought it up, Jennifer told him that she didn’t
believe in marriage as her parents divorced when she was young.

They called Relate for help and attended four sessions at their local Relate Centre. The counsellor helped them to talk about their expectations and they worked out a way of asking each other for help and support. Jennifer talked about her experiences growing up and she realized that this had made her avoid commitment. They learnt some helpful exercises for negotiation and both felt more secure and confident in the relationship when the sessions ended.

Services for couples

Thousands of people come to Relate every year for help with their relationships.  We help all sorts of people in all sorts of situations, and we can help you, whether you’re in a new relationship, in a long-term relationship, or not currently in a relationship at all.  We help with large relationship threatening problems to issues that just make things a little less than perfect.  Even if things are going perfectly for you, we can help keep things that way.

Find out how we can help in our ‘Help with your relationship section’