‘I have learned that in any significant or continuing relationship, feelings which are persistent had best be expressed…the result may be temporarily upsetting but ultimately far more rewarding than any attempt to deny or conceal them’.
- Carl Rogers
Family and Other Relationships
We are social beings. From birth we are wired to relate to others. We seek love, acceptance and belonging.
We learn to relate from a very young age and we tend to repeat these relational patterns within other relationships throughout our lives. These relational templates, even though helpful in the past, can sometimes become a hindrance in the present, where the circumstances of our relationships are different. We may become rigid in our ways of relating which can be difficult when we meet people coming from different walks of life.
Be it a family relationship; a friendship; a romantic or sexual relationship; a work relationship with colleagues, clients or the boss; relationships can be difficult to navigate and they can cause a lot of stress.
In therapy we can notice these relational patterns, tease out the parts that are not serving us anymore, and discover new possibilities to relate to others, and to ourselves!