Our Story

We had a clear understanding of how the counselling sessions would work and felt very comfortable commencing. Our counsellor was excellent and deducing issues that needed to be worked on and how to enhance communication skills with my partner. We were able to initiate difficult conversations with her help and we felt that she always validated our perspectives and love toward each other. We began to understand that we are a team, we handle situations as a team and we are on the same side. My partner and I came to Lighthouse counselling through a friend’s recommendation for premarital counselling. We wanted to discuss some cultural issues that shaped our understanding of each other’s expectations in the relationship. We have developed understanding and practical approaches of how to deal with conflict. In particular, I am learning how to manage my emotions and how to communicate respect towards my partner to break the cycle of disrespect and feeling unloved. We are still working on understanding and learning verbalising each other’s needs. I believe we have made more progress with our counsellor than if we were working on these issues without expert guidance. We loved that our counsellor was incredibly kind, understanding and empathetic, but most of all objective. She was always willing to hear reasons why we believed or felt a certain way, and often encouraged us to share our experiences. She really understood the cultural element and the role that this played in our lives and our relationship. We are more aware of how to deal with conflicting cultural views and practises.