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Couples Therapy in Singapore
Led by experienced couples therapists and Gottman Method couples therapy trainer Dawn Tan and Bernard Lin, our couples therapy sessions use the structured Gottman Method to help couples better understand their relationship patterns, improve communication, and navigate challenges with greater clarity and direction.
What is Couples Therapy?
Couples therapy offers a space for partners to understand one another more deeply, especially when differences begin to create distance or tension. Through couples therapy sessions, conversations are guided to explore communication patterns, emotional needs, and how individual experiences shape the relationship.
The process may involve:
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Building a shared foundation of mutual respect and understanding
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Recognising individual differences and how they influence the relationship
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Developing ways to navigate conflict more constructively
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Exploring and processing emotional experiences within the relationship
Meet Our Couples Therapy Specialists
Our couples therapy specialists work with partners navigating communication challenges, emotional distance, and relationship transitions. With training in psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and Gottman-informed methods, sessions are guided with a focus on understanding both individual experiences and shared relationship patterns.
Bernard Lin
Senior Psychotherapist & Counsellor
Bernard Lin is an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist with a background in finance, caregiving, and entrepreneurship. His personal and professional experiences enable him to connect with individuals and couples navigating stress, responsibility, relationship strain, and life transitions, with a grounded, approachable presence. His work integrates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Multichannel Eye Movement Integration (MEMI), Brain-Switch, and Gottman Method couples therapy. Bernard works with couples seeking support for recurring conflict, communication challenges, and emotional disconnection, while also offering Christian counselling and faith-based therapy for clients who wish to incorporate their beliefs into the therapeutic process. Known for his attentive and calming approach, Bernard places strong emphasis on safety and therapeutic trust within the counselling relationship. Sessions are guided at a pace that allows couples to reflect openly, strengthen communication, and better understand the patterns shaping their relationship.
Dawn Tan, Senior
Senior Psychotherapist
Dawn Tan is a registered counsellor and clinical supervisor with the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC), working with couples and youths across a range of relational and emotional concerns. Her background includes training in clinical trauma work, hypnotherapy, grief recovery, and Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Levels 1 to 3), allowing her to support couples in understanding and navigating relationship challenges with greater clarity. Her approach is grounded in creating a safe and reflective space where both partners can express themselves openly. Drawing from solution-focused therapy, choice theory, and trauma-informed practices, Dawn supports couples in developing communication skills, setting healthy boundaries, and strengthening emotional connection over time.
What is the Gottman Method?
Gottman couples therapy is an approach developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, grounded in decades of research on how relationships function over time. It focuses on helping couples understand their interaction patterns, strengthen emotional connection, and navigate conflict with greater awareness. Rather than avoiding differences, the method supports partners in working through them in ways that feel constructive and meaningful.
The “Sound Relationship House Theory”
This framework outlines key elements that support a stable and connected relationship. It includes building friendship through knowing each other’s inner world, expressing appreciation, and turning towards one another in everyday moments. Couples also learn to manage conflict, support shared goals, and create a sense of meaning together. Over time, these layers form a foundation where trust and commitment can grow more steadily.
The “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”
Gottman’s research identifies four communication patterns that can strain relationships over time: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. These patterns often emerge during conflict, creating distance and misunderstanding. Therapy focuses on recognising these tendencies and gradually replacing them with healthier ways of communicating. This may include expressing needs more clearly, listening with openness, and learning how to respond to one another’s emotional bids. Through this process, couples can begin to rebuild connection, strengthen understanding, and move towards a more balanced way of relating.
Benefits of Couples Therapy using Gottman Method
Gottman Method couples therapy supports partners in understanding their relationship more deeply while building skills to navigate challenges together. The focus is on strengthening connections, improving communication, and creating a shared sense of direction over time. Depending on the couple’s needs, sessions may also integrate trauma-informed support or faith-based perspectives within the therapeutic process.
Strengthening Emotional Intimacy and Friendship
Over time, daily stress and unresolved tension can create distance between partners. Therapy helps rebuild emotional closeness by encouraging meaningful conversations, appreciation, and small moments of connection that support a stronger sense of friendship.
Repairing Trust and Emotional Wounds
Unresolved experiences can affect how partners relate to one another. Therapy supports couples in acknowledging these moments, expressing their experiences, and working towards repair in a way that feels steady and manageable.
Managing Conflict in a Constructive Way
Differences are a natural part of any relationship. Couples therapy provides space to understand how conflict unfolds and introduces ways to communicate more clearly and respectfully. This supports a shift from recurring arguments towards more balanced and thoughtful interactions.
Building Shared Meaning and Direction
Couples are guided to explore their values, goals, and what they want their relationship to represent. For couples seeking faith-based support, therapy may also integrate Christian values and beliefs into conversations around commitment, forgiveness, connection, and shared purpose.
Our Couples Therapy Process in Singapore
Understanding Your Relationship Dynamics
Each couples therapy session begins with creating space to understand how both partners experience the relationship. This includes exploring communication styles, emotional needs, and how each person responds during moments of connection or conflict.
Identifying Patterns and Challenges
As sessions progress, recurring patterns and areas of tension are gently identified. This may include noticing how disagreements unfold, what triggers emotional reactions, and how past experiences may influence current interactions.
Building Communication and Repair Skills
Couples are supported in developing ways to communicate more clearly and respond to one another with greater awareness. This includes learning how to express needs, listen openly, and navigate conflict in a way that allows for repair rather than escalation.
Deepen Connection and Shared Visio
Over time, the focus shifts towards strengthening emotional connection and building a shared sense of direction. Couples explore what matters to them individually and together, creating space for a more intentional and connected way forward.
Why Choose Our Relationship Therapy for Couples
Specialised for Every Couple
Every relationship has its own dynamics, history, and pace. Therapy is shaped around both partners, allowing space to understand individual perspectives while working towards shared understanding and connection.
Compassionate & Safe Space
Sessions are guided with care, creating an environment where both partners can speak openly without fear of judgment. This supports honest conversations, especially when navigating sensitive or unresolved issues.
Access to Tools & Relationship Resources
Beyond therapy sessions, our therapists also lead relationship workshops and educational talks that explore communication, emotional connection, conflict patterns, and relational growth. These workshops are often conducted with churches and community groups seeking practical and reflective conversations around relationships and marriage.
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Workshops exploring communication and conflict dynamics
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Relationship talks focused on emotional connection and trust
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Guided discussions around relational growth and shared understanding
These ongoing conversations reflect our commitment to supporting healthier and more intentional relationships beyond the therapy room.
Our Client Reviews
LN,
Life Coach
"I find Bernadette to be knowledgeable in her field of work, compassionate and gentle in her approach, real and practical in her suggested tools and resources, and very encouraging and approachable as a person."
Bernadette Chin,
Gottman Couple Therapist
"I learned for my marriage, how to respect my husband as firstly a human being, to discover how our upbringing and past wounds shaped us and to develop strategies to cope with our differences in a dignified way"
TE,
Career Counsellor
"another failed attempt at dating after a couple of years hiatus, and I found myself hurt, confused, and exasperated. I noticed a pattern, but yet I didn’t know how to get myself out of it."
Other Relationship and Marriage Therapies in Singapore
Different life experiences can shape how partners relate to one another. Alongside couples therapy, additional approaches may support specific challenges, allowing both partners to explore their experiences while strengthening connection over time.
Grief Work in Couple
Therapy
Experiences of loss can affect each partner differently, sometimes creating distance or misunderstanding within the relationship. Therapy provides space for both individuals to process grief in their own way, while learning how to support one another with greater awareness and care.
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Express grief in a safe and non-judgemental space
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Navigate emotional differences with understanding
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Rebuild connection while honouring individual healing
We have also written "A Guide to Gottman Couple Therapy for Healing and Strengthening Relationships in Singapore" for couples looking for a reaffirmation of hope and an acknowledgement of the many emotions they may be going through—feeling lost, confused or even bitter.
Trauma-Informed Couples Therapy
Past experiences can influence how partners respond to conflict, trust, and emotional closeness. Trauma-informed couples therapy supports both individuals in recognising these patterns and understanding how they affect the relationship today. This approach can help couples heal past wounds in couples therapy while integrating Inner Child Healing & Gottman Couples Therapy to support deeper understanding and connection.
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Identify emotional triggers and responses
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Develop ways to communicate with greater empathy
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Build a sense of safety and trust within the relationship
Personal Inner Child Healing to Deepen Relationship Connection & Intimacy
Relationship patterns are sometimes shaped by earlier experiences, including unmet needs or protective behaviours developed over time. Inner child work helps partners explore these influences while building greater self-awareness and connection.
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Recognise how past experiences may show up in present interactions
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Strengthen emotional awareness and regulation
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Support each other’s growth with patience and understanding
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Couple Therapy Pricing and Specialisations
My Inner Child offers specialised couple therapy sessions in Singapore to meet the unique needs of each relationship. Each session is conducted by our well-trained therapists to give your relationship a renewed sense of meaning.
Couples Therapy Specialisations | Price per Session |
|---|---|
Gottman Method for Couples | $300 |
Healing Personal Wounds in Marriage | $250 |
Trauma Informed Couple Therapy | $300 |
Grief Work for Individual | $250 |
Grief Work for Couples | $300 |