About Polyamorous Relationship Counselling.
For when couples in a Polyamorous Arrangement need Counselling Support too.
The type of polyamorous relationship doesn’t matter, except that we’re talking about difficulties between you and one of your partners; difficulties that may benefit from some professional intervention.
It doesn’t matter if this is your primary couple relationship, secondary, or another form of couple relationship. When you’ve searched for ally counsellors who support polyamory you have have looked at the counsellor’s website and through “Erm – does she or not?!”
Polyamorous Relationship Couple Counselling from Dean Richardson MNCS(Accredited Registrant) would be the service you’d consider when you and one of your partners need to work through conflicts.
A Therapy Service for Polyamorous Couples.
Begin Soon
No need to wait for months. Dean is often able arrange to meet a poly couple within a week (sometimes two) of making first contact. As a private counsellor he often has sessions available to choose from right away.
Non Judgemental
With non-traditional relationships, there can be a concern of experiencing judgement. Not only is Dean a poly ally, he has worked with couples in polyamorous relationships before. Dean’s approach works with a majority of adult couple relationships.
Open ended work
It’s unlikely that your relationship is limited by time. Neither is polyamorous couple counselling. We’ll work to deliver just enough sessions for your relationship to make Dean, the counsellor, redundant. Then you work on remaining (and future) difficulties… together.
Suitable for…
Any adult couple that is in any form of polyamorous relationship (whether this couple considers itself to be a primary, secondary, or other couple). You may be straight, gay, lesbian, MOM, married, intimate or platonic.
Private counselling near me serving locations in and around central Havant, Petersfield to Waterlooville, Cosham to Portsmouth & Southsea, Southampton to Chichester, Fareham to Gosport, Hayling Island, Emsworth, Westbourne, Rowland's Castle, local residents anywhere in between and regularly further afield!
Click for location details…
A Non-Normative Approach to Polyamorous Couple Counselling.
Dean Richardson is a fully qualified and experienced couple counsellor.
He works as a therapist for non-traditional couple relationships.
Dean does this by choosing to employ therapeutic approaches that do not make judgements about how the couple’s relationship is supposed to be (like, say, a religious form of counsellor can assume and prescribe).
- Dean does not prescribe what the normal couple should be doing to resolve a difficulty.
- Dean does not refer to “what other couples like you would do is…”
In this way, polyamorous relationship counselling focuses on the couple’s own relationship (not someone else’s belief about how a successful relationship ought to be).
Dean primarily employs two effective therapeutic approaches:-
- Systemic (Family/Milan Associates) – an approach that sees a couple relationship as a system (think: washing machine program). A system has processes (behaviours that make us love our partner), and triggers (things that kick off an argument). By discovering what kind of systems this couple relationship employes (intended, or accidental) the couple and Dean learn knowledge about the relationship. Knowledge brings about opportunities for change.
- Psychodynamic – an approach that recognises unconscious processes. Such processes may be related to past experiences (eg early childhood experienced being replayed in the couple), poor parental relationships, and other experiences looking for resolution. By working together the couple and Dean can discover how to resolve the conflicts and… finally… put them to rest.
These two extraordinarily powerful approaches do not require the couple to be in any form of traditional relationship, at all!
My Distinct Approach to Couple Counselling.
I’ve included much more detail about my distinct and effective approach to couple counselling on my main couple counselling page. It’s worth a read if you’re interested in what couple work we could be doing together
About Havant Counsellor.
You could choose any counsellor in and around Havant .
Yet, when you think that this may be the most personal, private and vulnerable you're going to be with a professional, you'd choose:
- someone you can trust,
- someone who demonstrated highly competent skills and ethics,
- who spoke plain English (not lots of psychobable),
- who's as happy to swear as much as you do,
- who makes you an equal part of the therapeutic partnership (e.g. doesn't just sit in silence, saying "Hmm" for 50 minutes)…
A simply private choice, really.
Couple Counselling Fees.
Couple Counselling
Counselling for an Adult Relationship- Suitable for individuals
- Suitable for couples
- Suitable for groups
- Payable weekly
- Available in Havant
- Available online video
- 50 minute session
- 90 minute session (£100)
How Counselling Fees Work.
Unlike NHS services (where you have already paid through NI taxation), private counselling will cost you some money.
Couple Counselling sessions are weekly, and last for a standard 50 minutes (with the option to book 90 minute sessions if you both prefer). Although sessions are once a week (except for holidays), you may also attend more than once a week if all three of us think that this would be helpful.
Our sessions will continue one or more of us thinks that we've done enough; then we'll have a conversation about bringing our counselling work to a close.
Fees are payable on the day of our session.
You may pay your counselling fees online (e.g. by a bank transfer, credit/debit card payment or PayPal) or pay in person (cash, cheque [made out to Dean Richardson], credit/debit card).
Restricted Income: If I have spaces available, a lower fee is negotiable should your income make private counselling a struggle to afford. This is not charity (you still must contribute a fee) and it will involve discussing your income and expenditure with the aim to discover a rate that you can afford responsibly. I do not always have any lower-fee spaces available, so please ask when you first get in contact.
Group Counselling Fees.
Group Counselling
Counselling for a Group's Needs- Suitable for individuals
- Suitable for couples
- Suitable for groups
- Payable weekly
- Available in Havant
- Available online video
- 50 minute session
- 90 minute session
How Counselling Fees Work.
Unlike NHS services (where you have already paid through NI taxation), private counselling will cost you some money.
Group Counselling sessions are weekly, and last for a standard 90 minutes. Sessions are once a week (except for holidays). The fee shown is per individual group member / per weekly session (whether attended or missed). Groups are a minimum of 4 members and a maximum of 8 members.
Where groups are created of members known to each other (such as a polyamorous group) sessions will continue until the group decides the work is done. Other groups will agree their own method of closure.
Fees are payable on the day of our session.
You may pay your counselling fees online (e.g. by a bank transfer, credit/debit card payment or PayPal) or pay in person (cash, cheque [made out to Dean Richardson], credit/debit card).
Restricted Income: If I have spaces available, a lower fee is negotiable should your income make private counselling a struggle to afford. This is not charity (you still must contribute a fee) and it will involve discussing your income and expenditure with the aim to discover a rate that you can afford responsibly. I do not always have any lower-fee spaces available, so please ask when you first get in contact.
Appointments for Counselling.
I offer counselling sessions on Mondays and Thursdays (~5pm until 9pm) and Wednesdays (~noon to 4pm). After we have agreed a day & time for your weekly counselling appointment this day & time will stay with you until the end of our work.
When beginning counselling for the first time you can choose your preferred session day(s) and time(s) from the following table:-
Choose your Weekly Day & Time.
NOTICE: Due to the sitation regarding the Coronavirus, I have suspended all face-to-face counselling sessions for the foreseeable future.
I am currently preparing to reintroduce my Skype Video-based Counselling Service (which I originally designed in the 2000s / basically I'm dotting the i's, crossing the t's now). Details of this will be available shortly.
Option 1: Skype/Video Counselling. If you would like to begin counselling via Skype Video (within the next couple of weeks), please get in contact noting my current availability (below). I'll be in touch when I have appropriate procedures and advice in place. | Option 2: Face-to-Face Counselling. If you would like to begin counselling face-to-face when the Government advises us that it has become safe for us to do so (current estimate: May 2020), please get in contact noting my current availability (below). I'll be in touch when I begin to resume my office practice. |
Available Appointments:
- Mondays: 7pm or 8pm.
- Wednesdays: afternoons possibly, but not yet confirmed.
- Thursdays: 5pm or 6pm.
- Tuesdays, Fridays & Weekends: not available.
 | Preferred Appointment not available? Register now for free notifications… |
 | Waiting lists may be available for unlisted times. NOTICE: Dean is not available from Monday 6th April to Monday 13th April (inclusive). |
 | Times in red are the most popular, and usually the first to go. |
Counselling sessions are (at a minimum) weekly, last for 50 minutes, and on the same day and time each week. You may wish to come more than once a week. You may also choose a 90 minute session (by prior arrangement). Unfortunately I'm unable to support shift-workers.
Our counselling work together continues for as long (or as brief) as we both think it's helpful… and then we'll look at bringing our work to a close.
Fees are due on the day of the session (cash, cheque [made out to Dean Richardson], credit & debit cards).
Ending counselling: it can be helpful to bring up the idea of ending counselling first. Sometimes the need to end may be a mask for something else (avoiding difficult feelings, can't say something, acting out etc) and it can be helpful to distinguish, together, what ending may mean in our work. We'll talk about endings with some thought and some planning on how you might like to say goodbye.
Planned Breaks.
The following table lists the dates of my planned breaks this year (i.e. when I am not available).
- Monday 6th April 2020 to Monday 13th April 2020 (8 days).
- Friday 8th May 2020 (Early May Bank Holiday (VE Day)).
- Monday 18th May 2020 to Sunday 24th May 2020 (7 days).
- Monday 25th May 2020 (Spring Bank Holiday).
- Monday 6th July 2020 to Sunday 26th July 2020 (21 days).
- Monday 31st August 2020 to Sunday 6th September 2020 (7 days).
- Monday 19th October 2020 to Sunday 25th October 2020 (7 days).
- Monday 14th December 2020 to Sunday 3rd January 2021 (21 days).
Got a Question? Don't Hold Back…
Got a question about Dean Richardson's counselling services in Havant (Hampshire)? Want to make contact, maybe asking about a first appointment? Send Dean a message any time…