As seen in Metro.co.uk and LA Weekly, Shan Merchant provides couples therapy and marriage counselling in the UK and worldwide via Zoom. Rebuild your trust & connection and bring back warmth & affection, no matter what has happened.
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Most couples don't seek therapy because things are “a bit off”.
They seek it because something feels fragile, painful, or at risk.
A desire for support that feels contained, neutral, and safe — without added pressure.
Most couples don't stop communicating when things go wrong.
What changes is how safe it feels to be open, vulnerable, and emotionally present.
They resolve when communication becomes safer and more structured.
That work can happen online just as effectively as it can in person.
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Alongside my in-person couples therapy, I offer online therapy and online couples therapy via Zoom. Zoom is a safe, encrypted webcam software that will allow us to talk about what's going on for you wherever you are in the world.
I guess the main difference of online therapy is that you can talk to a therapist online anywhere in the world. I have worked with clients in Indonesia, Spain, the US, and given online couples therapy to couples all around the UK.
I offer therapy via a webcam on your laptop or smartphone, where we will talk to each other using Zoom.
Couples need a properly designed and proven communication practice that will help you understand each other better, support you while working through the ups and downs of life together, plus deepen your connection and the feeling of being a team.
Many couples find they a safe, predictable way to strengthen their relationship through Imago relationship therapy, which is the the kind of online couples therapy I am trained in. The positivity gained by using the Imago safe communication method often spills over into many other areas of their lives. Their parenting improves, family dynamics with their own parents or siblings improve – even their relationships with colleagues and clients improve.
It will not work (most certainly not as quickly)and in the end will cost you more time and money.
Tens of thousands of couples have successfully used the Imago Relationship Therapy framework to turn their conflict and resentment into a new, deeper level of warmth, affection and love.
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I love working with couples because I experience the following needs in my own relationship with my partner: 1)I want to feel close to my partner, whether we're physically together or apart; 2)Because my partner matters to me, I need assurance from them especially when I'm upset; 3)I feel unsettled when we're emotionally disconnected; and 4)I'm more confident going about in the world when I know my partner has my back. I understand these to be fundamental needs that couples have to feel secure in their relationship. If you desire those qualities in your relationship, I can help.
Sessions are generally 90 minutes long. The 1st session is a 60-minute assessment where I gather background information from you and your partner. From the 2nd session onwards, sessions are 90 minutes and we start to learn the communication framework that will underpin our sessions and allow us to safely explore all the areas of conflict or challenge. For more information, find out What is Imago Relationship Therapy?
You don't have to do anything. But if you want to make your relationship better, I'd suggest a commitment to 12 weekly or fortnightly sessions. In cases where your conflicts are long-standing, or there has been an infidelity and your wounds are deep, healing may take longer. The thing is, your current patterns of relating were there before you even met your partner. So it will take longer than a few weeks to learn new patterns and adjust your course.
If you are in online couples therapy with me, you cannot be in individual therapy with me at the same time. From time to time I may have 1-2 sessions with you individually before we start couples therapy together, depending on your individual needs.
If, for whatever reason, our online couples therapy is terminated and one of you wants to continue individual therapy with me, I can see you individually, provided that both partners are aware of this arrangement. If in the future, both partners want to resume couples counselling, I'll need to refer you to a different couples therapist. In some cases, I may determine it's in your best interest to do individual work with a different provider all together.
In cases where it's difficult for one or both partners to make it to regular sessions, we offer a more intense option of treatment sometimes known as “marathon therapy”. This is usually TWO back-to-back 75-min sessions with a 30-min break in between.
Therapy is fortnightly (every second week)to allow for one week of integration in between sessions. Couples in crisis (eg. there has been an affair)come weekly as they need more support.
Yes. The Imago Relationship Therapy framework works in a face-to-face therapy room as well as online. Before the pandemic I used to insist on meeting in person so we could all make an emotional connection, but during Covid all my therapy work moved to Zoom, and I realised that online therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy. If you live in the UK, you can come to my therapy room in Harrogate for your regular couples therapy session.
