Couples Counselling
Move From Surviving to Thriving Together
Maybe it’s the same argument on repeat — different topic, same ending. Maybe there’s no arguing at all anymore, just distance: two people running a household, managing schedules, raising kids, and somewhere along the way becoming roommates. Or trust has taken a hit, and you don’t know whether it can be rebuilt. Couples usually reach out to us not because the relationship is over, but because they can’t find the way back on their own.
That’s not a failure. It’s how relationships work: the patterns that keep two people stuck are bigger than either person, and nearly impossible to see from inside them. Seeing them from a new vantage point is what couples counselling is for.
Vista Counselling provides evidence-based couples counselling in Langley, BC — drawing on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method, and PACT — in person at our Langley office or online across BC.
Couples counselling is where the pattern changes; daily life is where the change takes root.
You’re Not the Only Ones
Struggling is common — far more common than the highlight reels suggest. Some couples separate; many more stay together but settle into survival mode: on cruise control, connected by logistics rather than intimacy, or worn down by tension that never quite resolves. Survival mode is livable. But it isn’t what either of you signed up for — and it isn’t the ceiling.
What Couples Counselling at Vista Involves
We offer evidence-based couples counselling, including Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method, and PACT. In plain terms:
We don’t run couples through a fixed program. We match the approach to the two of you — and adjust as we go.
Who Does the Couples Work
Dr. Kevin Klassen, PsyD
More than 20,000 clinical hours since 2009. The RMFT designation reflects specific, extensive, supervised training in working with couples and family systems — not all counsellors who see couples have it.
What a First Session Looks Like
You’ll both attend, and mostly, you’ll talk — about what brought you in, how you each see the relationship, and what you want it to become. Expect questions about your history as a couple, not just the current conflict. Nobody is put on trial, and you won’t be pushed to reopen wounds before there’s enough safety in the room to do it well. By the end of the first session or two, we’ll share how we understand the pattern you’re caught in and what working on it together would look like. Sessions are typically 50 minutes; occasionally a couple finds a longer double session works better, though most don’t need one. In-person in Langley or virtual across BC.
Making It Stick
Along the way we’ll help you build the habits thriving couples share: regular honest check-ins, addressing hurts instead of shelving them, protected time together, and noticing progress out loud. Momentum builds — as communication and connection improve, they stop being homework and start being the relationship again.
Couples Counselling FAQs
My partner is skeptical about counselling. Is it worth coming anyway?
Skepticism is normal — often one partner arrives hopeful and the other arrives reluctant. A reluctant partner who shows up is enough to start. And if your partner won’t come at all, individual counselling can still shift a relationship, because changing one side of a pattern changes the pattern.
Do you take sides?
No — the relationship is the client. The exception is safety: if anyone is at risk, that comes first. Our job is to help you both see the cycle you’re caught in — which usually isn’t one person’s fault — and change it together.
Is couples counselling right if there’s been violence or intimidation?
Not usually, and not as a first step. Couples work depends on both people being able to speak openly without fear of what happens afterwards — and where there’s violence, intimidation, or coercion, that condition isn’t there. In those situations we’d start with individual support instead. If this is your situation, VictimLinkBC is free, confidential and available 24/7 — call or text 1-800-563-0808. You can also read what we’ve written about consent in relationships.
Is it too late for us?
We can’t promise an outcome — no honest therapist can. What we can say is that couples often arrive feeling further gone than they are, and that the patterns that feel permanent are usually learnable and changeable. If separation is genuinely on the table, counselling can also help you make that decision deliberately rather than by erosion.
Is couples counselling covered by insurance?
Many extended health plans reimburse Registered Clinical Counsellors — check whether your plan covers RCCs or RMFTs. Fees and policies are on our FAQ page.
What does a session cost?
Sessions are 50 minutes. The fee is $200 per session. Full details, including our cancellation policy, are on our FAQ page.
Couples Counselling in Langley
We see couples at our Langley office — free on-site parking, easy access from Highway 1 — serving Walnut Grove, Brookswood, Murrayville, Surrey, Cloverdale, Aldergrove, and the wider Fraser Valley, in person and online across BC. Directions are on our location page. If it’s your marriage specifically that’s on your mind, we’ve written more on our marriage counselling page.
Reaching out about your relationship takes courage — often it’s one partner going first. Contact us with your questions or book an appointment online; we respond within 1–2 business days.
Related Services at Vista
Sometimes what’s straining a relationship isn’t the relationship. If you’re married or in a long-term partnership, our marriage counselling page covers that work specifically. But when depression, anxiety, or unresolved trauma is weighing on one partner — and, through them, on the relationship — individual counselling may be the better starting point.