How to use this site:
This form helps you find a counsellor that meets your needs. Here's how to use it:
Virtual/In-Person
- Virtual: Select this option if you're looking for online counselling sessions. Virtual counselling is available across the province, so you can choose a counsellor from any city in British Columbia
- In-Person: Select this if you want face-to-face sessions. You'll need to choose a city where the counsellor is located.
Area of Practice
Pick the main focus of the counselling you're seeking (e.g., anxiety, relationships).
City
- If you're looking for in-person counselling, select the city where you'd like to meet your counsellor
- If you're looking for virtual counselling, you can still select a specific city if you prefer working with a counsellor from that area, or leave it blank to see options form all cities in BC.
Approach Used
Choose the counselling style or method you're comfortable with (e.g., CBT, mindfulness).
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Arbutus-Ridge Counsellors
Intimacy Issues Counsellors
Intimacy issues are common for people who fear vulnerability. Some people can become vulnerable in front of a few trusted friends, however, but when a relationship starts becoming too close, they feel suffocated. In this sense, the intimacy issues are seated in the fear of developing a deep and meaningful relationship with another person.
Two fears that are at the heart of intimacy issues, are the fear of abandonment (fearing the partner might leave them) and the fear of engulfment (fearing that they would lose themselves in a relationship), which sometimes co-exist. These fears, often rooted in childhood traumas, are often deeply entrenched in codependent adult relationships where they cause friction.
A therapist who works with people who have intimacy issues will first help you to learn to become comfortable with yourself and accept yourself for who you are. You will explore the complex past events that have created these intimacy issues and discover that those events don't have to cloud your present experiences.
This process is essential in discovering that rejection does not have to be a traumatic experience. Finally, you will learn how to set personal boundaries that will help you to avoid the fear of engulfment and to cope, should abandonment occur. While healing intimacy issues can be a challenging and somewhat painful task, the rewards are incredible.
If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who addresses intimacy issues, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.