Zara Heber Percy

Why Couples Therapy?

Is your relationship in trouble and you don’t know how to resolve things? Are you continuously arguing or has communication broken down? Has the impact of recent events and lockdown heightened issues in your relationship, which now, more than ever, you feel the need to work through?

Perhaps you’re struggling with specific issues related to a lack of intimacy and trust, an affair, addiction, illness, parenting or depression. You may be wondering how or when you lost the connection to each other and longing to get it back?

While all relationships can suffer under the increasing pressures of everyday life, ongoing and unaddressed stresses can leave you feeling exhausted, depressed and desperate, with no time for each other.

Talking through your problems with a trained relationship therapist can help you get to the heart of your conflicts and come to value each other’s differences. Relationships, like everything else, go through periods of transformation and navigating that can be difficult. Bringing a greater awareness and intentionality into your relationship helps establish a deeper connection, ensuring the relationship thrives rather than breaks down. 

How does it work? 

Couples Therapy is the process of attending weekly or fortnightly sessions together. My aim is not to resolve the issues for you, but to help you develop your own insights and skills, so you can resolve issues yourselves.

I combine my Jungian training with both Imago and The Developmental Model Couples Therapy trainings, to help identify some of the deeper, more underlying issues being played out in your relationship. 

Imago Couples Therapy is based on the work of psychotherapist Harville Hendrix and his partner Helen LaKelly. It is a wonderfully effective approach, helping partners to understand each other better and relate more honestly. It teaches the skills necessary to transform yourself and your relationships.

The Developmental Model is an approach to couples therapy that focuses on the growth and development of each partner individually in addition to the growth and development of the couple as a unit. This approach assumes long-term relationships naturally change over time as they progress through a series of predictable developmental stages. It was developed by Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson and emphasises the role of development in relationships rather than focussing on pathology.

What to Expect?

Please ring or email me to arrange an initial session with your partner. The first session is for an hour and a half and takes place without any commitment on your part to continue the therapy. 

In this session we will discuss your current situation and why you are seeking help. It's important for me to get to know both of you to assess whether I can be of assistance therapeutically. It is also for you to get a sense of the way I work. 

During this first session you will learn new skills for communicating with your partner and gain a better understanding of your relationship. After this, you and your partner can take some time to share your experience of the session and decide whether you would like to continue working with me.

If you decide to continue, we will arrange to meet either weekly or once every two weeks and then I will tailor a bespoke process based on the goals we set out during the first few sessions.

Each follow up session usually lasts for an hour and a half, an hour and a quarter, or sometimes one hour.

I see couples for both long and short-term therapy. The duration is determined by the aims and circumstances of each couple. I suggest a minimum of 6 sessions. 

My Fees

My fees for couples sessions range from £110 - £165. Evening and weekend appointments are more expensive than weekdays.

1.5 Hour Sessions

• Weekday (between 9am and 5:30pm) £130

• Monday-Friday evenings (after 5:30pm) £145

• Weekend sessions are £160

1.25 Hour Sessions

• Weekday (between 9am and 5:30pm) £120

• Monday-Friday evenings (after 5:30pm) £135

• Weekend sessions are £150

1 Hour Sessions

• Weekday (between 9am and 5:30pm) £110

• Monday-Friday evenings (after 5:30pm) £125

• Weekend sessions are £140

Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.

Cancellation Policy

Please enquire about my cancellation policy as this is discussed with clients once we have made the decision to work together on a regular basis.

Confidentiality

Our sessions together will be confidential, in line with UKCP guidelines. This means that whatever is discussed between us remains private. It is, however, normal practice for all professional psychotherapists to discuss their client work with a qualified supervisor. This is expected of all psychotherapists who adhere to UKCP and GAP codes of practice. I have regular sessions with my supervisor. Supervision is a means to protect the well-being of both the client and the therapist and ensures that the therapist's work continues at a high standard.

My Location

I offer sessions at my home on Toronto Terrace, Brighton BN2 and at The Brighton Counselling Rooms, 46 Down Terrace, Brighton BN2 9ZH here.

Coronavirus Update

I’m currently seeing a few clients in person and others via Zoom, FaceTime or Skype as well as doing phone sessions. 

While the thought of communicating through video conference or phone might initially elicit some apprehension, it’s important to know that this form of therapy can be just as effective as sessions held in-person. As with face-to-face appointments, we will start by scheduling an initial consultation so you can get a feel for how I work. You can then decide if you would like to continue with more appointments.