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    Relationship counselling in Leicester – Specialist Couples Therapy

    As featured in The Guardian, BBC, Stylist and Metro.co.uk, Shan Merchant is a UKCP-accredited couples therapist offering relationship counselling for couples in Leicester, as well as online couples therapy across the UK.

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    Shan Merchant - Couples Therapist

    As seen in

    BBC
    Stylist
    The Guardian
    Metro
    LA Weekly

    Shan's work supports couples who feel caught in repeating conflict, emotional distance, or trust breakdown — helping them rebuild emotional safety and reconnect in ways that are steady and sustainable.

    When talking no longer brings you closer, something deeper is happening

    Most couples don't stop communicating when relationships struggle. What changes is how safe it feels to be open, vulnerable, and emotionally present with one another.

    You may recognise some of the following:

    The same arguments repeating despite your best efforts to resolve them

    • Conversations quickly escalating into criticism, defensiveness, or shutdown
    • Affection, warmth, or sexual connection fading over time
    • Feeling that whatever you say is misunderstood or dismissed
    • You spend less quality time with one another
    • One of you pursues while the other withdraws
    • Trust damaged by secrecy, emotional distance, or betrayal
    • Parenting, work, or financial pressures fuelling conflict
    • Stress, illness, grief, or life transitions creating emotional distance
    • Living together while feeling emotionally separate
    • Feeling lonely within your relationship
    • Staying together while privately wondering if things can really change

    Signs You May Recognise

    Most couples don't stop communicating when things go wrong. What changes is how safe it feels to be open, vulnerable, and emotionally present.

    The same arguments repeating, even when you've agreed 'this time will be different'

    Discussions escalating quickly into criticism or shutdown

    Affection, warmth, or sexual connection fading

    Feeling misunderstood or emotionally unsafe

    One partner pursuing while the other withdraws

    Trust damaged by secrecy, emotional distance, or an affair

    Parenting, work, or life pressures pulling you apart

    Living parallel lives under the same roof

    Feeling lonelier inside the relationship than outside it

    Staying together while privately questioning the future

    Why Imago works when talking alone doesn't

    Many couples talk a great deal and still feel stuck. Without structure, familiar patterns take over and the same arguments repeat.

    Imago Relationship Therapy provides a clear dialogue structure:

    Shan Merchant, couples therapist

    Mirror

    Accurately reflecting what your partner has said so they feel fully heard

    Validate

    Showing how their perspective makes sense from their experience

    Empathise

    Recognising and naming the feelings beneath the words

    This structure slows conversations down and restores emotional safety. Over time, couples develop a reliable way to repair and reconnect.

    Ready to take the next step?

    If you'd like to explore whether this approach is right for you, you're welcome to book a free 15-minute call.

    BOOK A FREE 15-MINUTE CALL

    Free · 15 minutes · No obligation