Paul Lipman

Couples Psychotherapist - Caterham, Surrey

Couples counselling for Reigate – Helping you find each other again

A thoughtful, practical approach to understanding difficulties and creating lasting change

Hi, I'm Paul

Relationships can look perfectly ordinary from the outside while feeling painfully difficult within. You may still care deeply for each other, yet find that disappointment, resentment or distance has taken over.

More than 20 years ago, my own relationship reached a point where nothing we tried seemed to last. Counselling helped us understand what was really happening and changed the direction of my life. I retrained as a psychotherapist and chose to specialise in working with couples.

For the past 15 years, couples have been the sole focus of my work. My personal experience still matters: it keeps me connected to the courage it takes to ask for help and the vulnerability involved in trying again.

I work with couples from Reigate and the surrounding areas, and I also offer sessions online.

Looking beneath the surface

Couples often focus on the subject of an argument—money, family, intimacy, trust or everyday responsibilities. Those issues matter, but lasting change also requires us to understand the pattern that surrounds them.

We will explore what each of you experiences, what drives your reactions and why reasonable intentions can produce painful results. Your needs may be different, so the changes you each need to make may be different too.

The depth of psychotherapy allows us to address the relationship you are living, not just the problem you can name.

A relationship is not fixed in place

I have seen couples recover warmth after years of distance and finally settle conflicts that seemed impossible to resolve.

How long a problem has been present does not, by itself, tell us what can change.

These principles shape the way I work with every couple.

Working together

Couples often arrive feeling frustrated, drained and uncertain about the future. It can be difficult to know where to begin when you are talking about something so personal.

I’m calm, patient and compassionate, and I’ll do my best to help both of you feel comfortable. Although I take the work seriously, I can also see the funny side of life when it naturally arises. Counselling doesn’t have to feel heavy all the time.

I won’t judge either of you or take sides. We all say and do things we regret at times. I certainly did.

At the same time, I won’t simply sit back and listen. I’ll be actively involved—helping you understand what is happening, identify what needs to change and gently supporting you as you begin doing things differently.

You’ll have a clear plan and always know what we’re working on, why we’re working on it and what you need to do next, with step-by-step guidance throughout.

We work together, but the aim is that eventually you won’t need me.

Find out more

If you look around the website, you’ll find out more about me, how I work with couples and what to expect if you decide to get in touch.

The pages below explain couples counselling and what you can achieve, my background and how to get started.

If you think I might be able to help, or simply have a question, I look forward to hearing from you.

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