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ReadCouples therapy
A space where the two of you can stop — without anyone winning. Together we look at what is really going on between you beneath the arguments, and find a language in which you hear each other again.
50 minutes · contribution €25 · in person in Ljubljana
What couples therapy is
Couples therapy is not a courtroom. I will not decide who is right, and I will not put anyone in the corner. My task is to hold a space in which you can both say what you cannot manage at home — and to make audible what lies beneath the words.
Almost every couple who comes has their argument. Always the same one, in different disguises. The dishes, the phone, the mother-in-law, money. The content changes, the shape stays. Underneath it is usually something else: the fear that I do not matter, that you do not see me, that I will be left alone.
We work with the pattern, not with the last argument. Once you both recognise the step each of you takes in this dance, the possibility appears for the first time that one of you might not take it.
You may recognise yourself
- the same argument keeps returning and always ends the same way
- conversations turn into accusations, even when you both mean well
- closeness has faded, although you still love each other
- something happened and trust is no longer where it was
- one withdraws, the other pushes — and you are both exhausted
- you do not know whether to keep going or to separate
You do not have to match any of these lines. They are simply what people most often come with.
How this looks
The circle a couple gets caught in
This is not one person's fault. Each step is an understandable response to the one before.
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01
Trigger
A small gesture or sentence that opens an old wound in one of you.
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02
Protection
One protects themselves — by withdrawing, criticising or falling silent.
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03
Response
The other reads this as rejection and protects themselves in their own way.
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04
Confirmation
Both get proof of their worst fear — and the circle closes.
In practice
How we work
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01
You both get equal space
I make sure nobody leaves a session feeling they were treated as the problem.
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02
An argument is material
If sparks fly during a session, that is welcome. That is exactly where the pattern shows itself live.
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03
Translating accusations
»You never listen to me« almost always means »I miss you«. We learn to say it differently.
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04
Sometimes one comes alone
The first session can also be individual — this often makes it easier for the other to come.
First step
How to begin
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01
Write me a few lines
Through the form or by email. You do not have to explain everything — what brings you and roughly when a session would suit you is enough.
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02
I reply personally
Within two working days at the latest. Together we find a time for a session at my practice in Ljubljana.
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03
Introductory session
It is for getting to know each other and commits you to nothing. If we decide to continue, we go through and sign an informed consent form together.
Contribution
Couples therapy
50 minutes, usually once a week or every two weeks
25 € / session
No hidden costs and no commitment. Payment after each session. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the appointment.
Why the contribution is lower
I am a trainee enrolled in the specialisation programme in marriage and family therapy. That is exactly why the contribution is lower than usual — and exactly why I review every case regularly with a licensed supervisor.
Straight with you
I provide this service as a trainee under supervision
I am a marriage and family therapist in training and I am enrolled in the specialisation programme. I do not do this work alone: I review every case regularly with a supervisor who is licensed and has many years of practice.
In supervision we discuss the content of sessions without any details by which you could be identified — the supervisor never learns who you are. For you this means that behind me stands not only my own knowledge, but also the experience of someone who follows the work from the outside.
Booking
Booking a session
Scheduling is handled by the FDI Institute, where I am completing my training. To arrange an introductory session, write or call here.
Za vse drugo — vprašanje o načinu dela, sodelovanje, mediji — mi piši neposredno na veronika@veronikazeleznik.com.
Further reading
Articles on this topic
Longer articles from the blog related to couples therapy.
Siblings, alliances and coalitions: the invisible geometry of a family
Triangles, coalitions and parentification: how a family's invisible geometry forms, why two siblings turn out so differently, and what stirs when parents need care.
ReadHow joint sessions work: who comes, who speaks and what the therapist does
Who comes to a joint session and who does not need to, what the rules are, what the therapist does, what you take home,…
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Contact
Take the first step
Write me a few lines about what weighs on you. I am happy to answer questions before you decide.
