Blog Articles
Meet Brooke Patterson: EMDR and Couples Therapist in Vancouver, BC
Brooke Patterson is an EMDR and couples therapist in Vancouver, BC, helping individuals and couples build stronger, more connected relationships. She specializes in pre-marital counselling and EMDR therapy for low self-esteem, using a warm, relational, and evidence-based approach. Her work supports clients in healing past experiences, improving communication, and creating more confident, fulfilling relationships.
Impact vs. Intention: The Hidden Gap That Can Destroy Relationships
Good intentions live in your head, but your partner feels the impact. When couples defend what they meant instead of listening to how it landed, connection erodes. Understanding the gap between intent and impact is one of the most important communication shifts a relationship can make.
How Taking 100% Responsibility Transforms Your Relationship
Most relationships struggle because people operate on a 50/50 mindset. True connection comes from owning 100% of your role (your emotions, your impact, the relationship itself, and its ripple effects). Learn how taking responsibility transforms conflict into clarity and strengthens bonds.
Head Truth vs Heart Truth: The Key to Understanding Yourself and Your Relationships
Head truth guides your logic; heart truth guides your feelings. Learn to honor both for healthier relationships and authentic living.
Relational Skills Workshop Based on Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy (RLT)
Join Tanya Schecter, RCC, CRLT and Melissa Kester, LMFT, CRLT for a four-part virtual Relational Skills Workshop based on Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Learn practical tools to improve communication, navigate conflict, strengthen connection, and build healthier, more resilient relationships.
Compassion and Boundaries in Relationships: The Semipermeable Heart Model for Couples
A semipermeable heart allows you to generously share love, understanding, and support while keeping healthy boundaries in place to protect you and your relationship. Explore how compassion and boundaries work together to create intimacy, trust, and lasting connection.
Creating a Shared Identity as a Couple: How Values Turn “Me + You” Into “Us”
A strong couple identity doesn’t happen by accident. Learn how shared values transform “me and you” into a resilient, connected “us.”
When Values Collide in Relationships (And How to Grow Instead of Drift Apart)
Shared values matter, but they won’t always align. Most couples don’t split because they’re different. They split because they don’t know how to work with those differences. When values collide, growth is possible. The question is how you respond.
Privacy vs. Secrecy in Relationships: How to Protect Yourself Without Harming Trust
Understanding the difference between privacy and secrecy can make or break your relationship. Learn how boundaries build trust and intimacy.
From Conflict to Connection: A New Map for Navigating Relationship Challenges
Struggling to stay connected during conflict? This free Relational Life Therapy community conversation offers practical tools to improve communication, repair, and deepen connection in your relationships.
How to Break Phone Addiction and Rebuild Real Connection in Relationships
Scrolling, texting, and social media can distract us from real intimacy. True connection happens when humans meet humans. Learn practical steps to reclaim closeness, turn off screens, and rebuild meaningful relationships.
Stuck in Conflict? The STCI Method for Getting Out of Your Relationship’s Sticky Moments
Feeling stuck in conflict? Use the STCI method (Stop, Think, Choose, Implement) to regain control and turn tension into connection.
The Four Relationship Cornerstones That Transform Conflict Into Connection
Conflict doesn’t destroy relationships. The absence of a repair strategy does. When couples learn to commit to what is, speak heart truth, stay curious, and remain open to possibility, even difficult conversations become pathways back to connection.
From Complaint to Request: Transforming Frustration Into Connection
Most relationship struggles aren’t about love: they’re about communication. Learn how to shift from complaint to request to reduce conflict, invite collaboration, and deepen connection with your partner. Small changes in language can transform frustration into closeness.
When Mindfulness Meets Love: How Being Present Transforms Relationships
In a world full of distractions, giving your full attention is one of the most powerful acts of love. Learn practical ways to bring mindfulness into your relationships and watch your connection flourish.
How to Say Sorry (and How to Spot a Fake Apology)
Most apologies don’t repair relationships: they shut them down. Learn what makes an apology real, what fake apologies sound like, and how to repair trust.
The Difference Between Apology and Repair: Why Remorse, Not Shame, Heals Relationships
Apologies alone can’t fix relationships. Without genuine remorse (seeing the impact of your actions and staying present) shame and guilt take over, leaving partners stuck. Discover how remorse becomes the gateway to healing and trust.
Love Starts With You: How Your Sense of Self-Worth Shapes Your Relationships
Before there’s “us,” there’s you. Learn how self-worth influences your relationships and practical ways to strengthen your confidence, boundaries, and connection.
Bids for Connection: The Small Moments That Make or Break Relationships
Most relationships don’t fall apart in big moments. They erode in small ones. Learn how bids for connection, and how you respond to them, shape lasting intimacy.
Feedback in Relationships: How to Hear Your Partner Without Taking It Personally
Feedback in relationships isn’t personal, it’s information. Learn how to manage your body’s reactions and hear your partner with curiosity.