Does insurance cover couples counselling?

Many extended health benefit plans in BC cover sessions with an RCC or RSW — but couples counselling specifically is sometimes excluded. Check your policy carefully, or ask your HR department. We provide receipts for all sessions that you can submit directly to your insurer.

Do both partners have to come to every session?

Yes — couples sessions are designed for both partners together. Occasionally a therapist may suggest an individual check-in with one partner, but this would be discussed transparently with both of you. If you're looking for individual support alongside couples work, we can arrange that too.

What's the difference between couples counselling and marriage counselling?

Nothing — it's the same service. "Marriage counselling" and "couples therapy" are used interchangeably. We work with married couples, common-law partners, dating couples, and any two people in a committed relationship regardless of structure or label.

Do you offer couples counselling in Chilliwack?

Yes. We have therapists available at our Chilliwack location at 229-8472 Harvard Place. We also offer virtual sessions if in-person doesn't work for your schedule. Book online and select your preferred location.

What if we've already tried couples therapy and it didn't work?

That's more common than you'd think — and it doesn't mean therapy doesn't work for you, it might mean the fit or approach wasn't right. We'd encourage you to try again. A different therapist with a different lens can change everything. Book a free consultation first if you want to talk it through before committing.

Can we use couples counselling to help us separate consciously?

Absolutely. Sometimes the most honest outcome of couples therapy is a mutual decision to part ways. We support conscious uncoupling, co-parenting agreements, and helping two people end a chapter with care and clarity — especially when kids are involved.

FOR DYAD'S, COUPLES, PAIRS

COUPLES COUNSELLING

Real help for real relationships. In-person and virtual sessions with Registered Clinical Counsellors and Social Workers who don't do fairytales.

Your relationship deserves a real shot.

Couples counselling in Abbotsford isn't just for relationships in crisis. It's for any two people who care enough to stop pretending things are fine when they're not — and to show up and actually do something about it.

Our Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC) and Registered Social Workers (RSW) work with couples at every stage and every struggle. Relationships that are thriving and want to stay that way. Relationships on life support wondering if there's still hope. And everything messy in between.

VIEW ABBOTSFORD TEAM

VIEW CHILLWACK TEAM

You might be newlyweds hitting unexpected friction. Long-term partners who've slowly become strangers. Engaged couples wanting to start strong. Parents tag-teaming life so hard you've forgotten you're also partners. Or two people who co-parent together and need to learn to do it without tearing each other apart. Whatever brought you here — we're glad you came.

THERAPIST MATCH QUIZ!

For Couples — Starting The Process

HOW GETTING STARTED WORKS:

Our intake process for couples starts with you. We'll set both partners up in Jane.app, set up a shared couples profile, and match you with a therapist!

FIRST CONTACT

You don't need a referral, a crisis, or certainty that this will work. You just need to take the first step. We handle the rest.

Fill out an intake form, give us a call or email to start the process!

MEET THE THERAPIST

We'll match you both with a therapist who has experience in relationship and couples work. Not sure who's right for you?

Take our Therapist Match Quiz or ask us — we're good at this.

YOUR FIRST SESSION

Think of it less as therapy and more as a conversation. Your therapist will get to know you, understand what's happening, and start building a picture of what you need.

No judgment. No taking sides.

DO THE WORK TOGETHER

Sessions are typically 50 minutes. You'll get tools, frameworks, and honest feedback — not just a place to vent. The work continues between sessions too. Real change happens in the room and in daily life.

Policies & What To Know

Couple's Session's Non-Negotiables

We've summarized the key policies below so there are no surprises.

Everyone is involved

Dragging someone to therapy who doesn't want to come rarely works. Both people need to be willing — even if one is more hesitant than the other. That's okay. Hesitant and present is a good place to start.

We don't take sides

Our therapists work for the relationship, not for either individual. If you're looking for someone to validate that you're right and they're wrong, this isn't that. If you want to actually understand what's happening and change it — we can do that.

48HR Cancellation Policy

Life happens, but please give us 48 hours notice if you need to reschedule. Late cancellations may be charged the full session fee. This protects your therapist's time and keeps appointment availability open for other clients.

Sessions are confidential — with limits

What happens in the room stays in the room, with the standard legal exceptions (risk of harm, child safety). We take your privacy seriously. Both partners are considered clients, which affects how we manage individual consent.

Progress isn't linear

Things sometimes feel harder before they feel better. That's not a sign it's not working — it's usually a sign that real conversations are finally happening.

WE WORK WITH YOU.

Breaking Cycles

That dance you do—where one pursues and the other withdraws, where criticism meets defensiveness, where nothing ever actually gets resolved? We show you how to recognize it happening and choose something different in real time.

Understand Catalyst

The fight about dishes isn't about dishes. The argument over sex isn't just about frequency. We help you both articulate what you're really asking for underneath the frustration.

Learn To Listen

Most couples think they're communicating when they're really just waiting for their turn to talk. We teach you how to hear your partner's pain without making it about defending yourself.

Repair What's Breaking

Betrayal. Harsh words said in anger. Years of small disappointments building into resentment. We walk you through the uncomfortable, necessary process of acknowledging harm and rebuilding safety.

Spark Desire

When physical intimacy disappears, it's usually telling you something about emotional connection. We address mismatched needs, shame, past trauma, and the vulnerability required to keep desire alive long-term.

Fighting without destruction

Conflict will always exist. But it doesn't have to be toxic. We equip you with tools to disagree respectfully, repair quickly, and come out stronger instead of wounded.

Moving Forward

Sometimes therapy means staying together with renewed commitment. Sometimes it means consciously choosing to part ways. We support whichever truth emerges, without agenda.

Individual Growth

We help you navigate the tension between personal growth & staying connected—so one person's transformation doesn't threaten the whole relationship, and you learn to support each other's becoming.

WE HELP YO U WITH:

FAILING
COMMUNICATION

+ Can't Talk Without Fighting
+ Shut Down & Stonewalling
+ Feeling Constantly Criticized
+ Talking Past Each Other
+ Avoiding Hard Conversations
+ Nobody Feels Heard

BROKEN
TRUST

+ Cheating & Infidelity
+ Emotional Affairs
+ Lies That Built Over Time
+ Jealousy & Insecurity
+ Snooping & Control
+ Trying to Move Past Betrayal

LACK OF CONNECTION

+ No Physical Intimacy
+ Different Sex Drives
+ Feeling More Like Roommates
+ Emotional Withdrawal
+ Lost the Spark
+ Can't Be Vulnerable Anymore

TRANSITIONS & CURVEBALLS

+ New Baby Stress
+ Parenting Young Kids
+ Blending Families
+ Money & Career Problems
+ Health & Aging
+ Major Transitions

SELF-IMAGE & IDENTITY

+ Partner's Mental Health
+ Addiction Issues
+ Unresolved Trauma
+ Personality Clashes
+ Different Love Languages
+ Mental Load Imbalance

BOUNDARIES & BARRIERS

+ Codependent Dynamics
+ In-Law Interference
+ Extended Family Conflicts
+ Losing Yourself
+ Need for More
+ Independence

THE HARD QUESTIONS

+ Should We Have Kids?
+ Parenting Philosophy
+ Is This Worth Saving?
+ Considering Separation
+ Non-Monogamous
+ Conscious Uncoupling

WHY CHOOSE COUPLES COUNSELLING

Relationships aren't Instagram posts. They're complicated, exhausting, and worth fighting for; or they're not, and you need help figuring that out too. Either way, we're the right place.

At Eterna Counselling, our couples therapists in Abbotsford and Chilliwack use evidence-based approaches including Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method, Imago work, and attachment theory. But we also just talk to you like human beings. We meet you where you are. We don't lecture, take notes in silence, or leave you with homework you don't understand.

Whatever this relationship needs — more honesty, more connection, more tools, or more clarity on where things are headed. We're here for it.

EXPLORE CHILD & YOUTH THERAPISTS

COUPLES COUNSELLING
IN ABBOTSFORD & CHILLIWACK

Our team of RCC and RSW therapists are ready to meet your family where you are — no judgment, no pretense, just real support for the real stuff.

THERAPIST MATCH QUIZ!

VIEW ABBOTSFORD TEAM

VIEW CHILLIWACK TEAM

Bailey Murphy

RCC | AGE 6+

Lia Bishop

RSW | 18+

Kali McVeigh

RCC | RSW | AGE 18+

Kayla Wild

RSW | RCC | AGE 25+

Sarah McKay

DACP | RCC | AGE 18+

Tamara Dueckman

RCC | RSW | AGE 16+

Couples Counselling

Session fees vary by therapist. Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC) and Registered Social Workers (RSW) fees typically range from $140–$180 per session. Intern counsellors offer sessions at reduced rates — a great option if cost is a barrier. Extended health benefits often cover registered therapists; check your plan for coverage under "registered clinical counsellor" or "registered social worker."