Couples and Relationship Counsellor - Bude - John

	Relationship Counselling Bude Neetside Community Centre EX23 8LB Bude
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✓ I also offer online therapy

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John | Couples and Relationship Counsellor

Introduction

Relationships can be hard. Whether you're caught in cycles of conflict, feeling distant from each other, or facing a transition that's put your relationship under strain, couples counselling can help you find a different way forward.

I'm a counsellor and psychotherapist based in Bude, Cornwall, working with couples using an integrative relational approach. This means I draw on a range of frameworks, including psychodynamic thinking, person-centred values and polyvagal theory, to understand what's happening between you, and what might be keeping you stuck.

In our sessions, I'll aim to create a space where both of you feel genuinely heard, not just your words, but the underlying feelings and needs that can be hard to express, especially when things are difficult. I work at your pace, and I don't take sides.

I see couples dealing with communication difficulties, patterns rooted in past experience or attachment, intimacy and emotional distance, and the pressures of life changes such as bereavement, parenting, work stress or health issues.

I'm registered with the NCPS and a student member of COSRT. I work in person in Bude and online via Zoom.

Online therapy

I offer couples sessions online via Zoom. This works well for couples who are geographically spread, have busy schedules, or simply prefer the flexibility of working from home. Online sessions follow the same format as in-person work.

Qualifications and registrations

Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.

Certificate in Couples Counselling

Advanced Diploma in Relational Psychotherapy (in training), NAOS Institute

Registered Member, NCPS (National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society)

Student Member, COSRT (College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists)

Registrations

I offer therapy in

✓ English

Specialisations

1. Communication problems
2. Recurring conflict
3. Emotional disconnection
4. Attachment difficulties
5. Relationship trauma
6. LGBTQ+ relationships
7. Cultural - identity difference
8. Trust and betrayal
9. Life transitions
10. Intimacy issues

Specialisations and Expertises

I welcome couples of all genders, sexualities and relationship structures. I'm also mindful that cultural background, faith, ethnicity and identity shape how we experience relationships and what feels possible within them, and I aim to work in a way that is genuinely responsive to that.

My work centres on what happens relationally, between you, and within each of you, when the relationship comes under strain. I'm particularly interested in how patterns from earlier experience, including attachment history, can show up in the present relationship, often without either partner fully understanding why.

I use polyvagal theory as a framework for helping couples understand their nervous system responses, why one partner might shut down while the other escalates, for instance, and how to create more safety in the relationship so that real communication becomes possible.

I don't work to a fixed number of sessions. Some couples come for a focused piece of work over six to ten sessions; others find longer-term work more useful. We'd discuss this together in an initial consultation.

Most common issues I support people with:

Communication breakdown and recurring conflict
Emotional distance and disconnection
Attachment difficulties and patterns from the past
Life transitions putting the relationship under pressure
LGBTQ+ and identity in relationships

Therapies offered

Areas of counselling I can help with

Fees

Couples 90 minute session online £120
90 min face to face in Bude £120
You can request a discount if you live in Cornwall to £95

Availability (Opening hours)

Monday	13.00 -19.00
Tuesday	12.00 - 17.00
Wednesday	9.00 - 20.00
Thursday	9.00 - 20.00
Friday	-
Saturday	-
Sunday	-

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