What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples?

Emotionally Focused Therapy is a structured, attachment-based approach to couples work. Rather than treating each argument as a separate problem to solve, EFT looks at the recurring cycle underneath the arguments — for example one partner pursuing and the other withdrawing — and at the attachment needs driving it. Cibelly Zedan is trained in EFT alongside CBT and DBT, and draws on it as part of an integrative approach shaped around each couple.

✓ No Waiting List · ✓ Insurance-Eligible · ✓ Evening Sessions

Couples Therapy & Marriage Counselling in Ontario

Stuck in the same argument, drifting apart, or working through a breach of trust? Couples therapy — also called marriage counselling — gives you both a structured place to work on it, with a Registered Psychotherapist trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).

✓ Work on negative communication patterns
✓ Approach recurring conflict differently
✓ Address trust, distance, and emotional disconnection
✓ Virtual sessions for couples anywhere in Ontario

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Available this week · Evening appointments

Couples therapy and marriage counselling in Ontario - virtual sessions

How Couples Therapy Can Support Your Relationship

Structured support for the patterns that keep partners feeling disconnected

Communication Problems

Learn to communicate openly and effectively without defensiveness or shutting down.

Active listening skills
Expressing needs clearly
Breaking criticism cycles
Reducing misunderstandings

Recurring Conflicts

Stop fighting about the same issues over and over. Find lasting solutions together.

Conflict resolution strategies
Managing triggers
Fair fighting techniques
Finding compromise

Trust & Betrayal

Rebuild trust after infidelity, dishonesty, or broken promises with compassionate support.

Processing betrayal trauma
Rebuilding emotional safety
Restoring honesty
Moving forward together

Emotional Disconnection

Rediscover intimacy and emotional closeness that's faded over time.

Strengthening emotional bonds
Increasing intimacy
Feeling understood
Rekindling connection

Life Transitions

Navigate major changes together—parenting, career shifts, moving, or retirement.

Adjusting to parenthood
Career transitions
Empty nest syndrome
Major life decisions

Power Imbalances

Create equality and mutual respect in your relationship dynamic.

Shared decision-making
Equal partnership
Respecting boundaries
Addressing control issues

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples

Most couples arrive describing a list of arguments — money, chores, in-laws, phones, sex, whose turn it was. What usually matters more is the pattern the arguments keep falling into. One partner presses for an answer; the other goes quiet. One raises their voice; the other leaves the room. The subject changes, the cycle does not.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a structured, attachment-based approach built around exactly that. Instead of refereeing individual disagreements, EFT works on the cycle itself and on what sits underneath it — the need to know your partner is still there, still reachable, still on your side. When that feels uncertain, people protest or protect, and both look a lot like conflict from the outside.

Sessions drawing on EFT tend to move through three broad stages:

Naming the cycle — mapping what happens between you, step by step, so the pattern becomes something you can both see and point at instead of something you are each inside of.

Reaching underneath it — putting words to the softer feelings the cycle usually hides: feeling shut out, feeling not good enough, feeling like you are failing them. These are often what the other partner has never actually heard.

Practising something different — having the conversations that used to trigger the cycle, in session, differently, until the new version is available to you at home.

Cibelly Zedan is a Registered Psychotherapist trained in EFT, CBT, and DBT, and works integratively — EFT is drawn on where it fits the couple in front of her, alongside other approaches, rather than applied as a fixed script. If you have been searching for an EFT therapist in Ontario or for emotionally focused couples therapy, this is the work you are looking for.

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Marriage Counselling and Couples Therapy

People search for this work under different names — marriage counselling, couples counselling, relationship therapy, couples therapy. In practice they describe the same sessions. "Marriage counselling" is simply the older term and tends to assume married partners; the work here is open to any committed relationship, whether you are married, common-law, engaged, dating, living apart, or somewhere you are still deciding how to describe.

Serving couples across Ontario

All sessions are virtual, which means availability does not depend on how close you live to an office. Couples are seen anywhere in Ontario, including Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ottawa, Hamilton, Markham, North York, Etobicoke, London, Windsor, Oshawa, Kingston, Kitchener–Waterloo, St. Catharines, Ajax, Sarnia, and Thunder Bay.

Virtual sessions also solve a problem couples run into often: partners who are not in the same place. Shift work, travel, a job in another city, or a period living apart no longer has to mean postponing the work — you can each join the same session from wherever you are.

What to Expect from Couples Therapy

Couples therapy isn't about assigning blame—it's about understanding each other better and building skills to create lasting change. In our sessions, you'll:

Feel Heard & Validated - Both partners get equal time to express feelings in a safe space

Learn Communication Skills - Practise techniques you can use outside the session

Understand Patterns - Identify negative cycles and how to break them

Set Relationship Goals - Define what you want your relationship to look like

Build Intimacy - Rediscover emotional and physical connection

Create Action Plans - Leave each session with practical homework and tools

"I provide a neutral, compassionate space where both partners feel supported. My aim is to help you understand what keeps happening between you, and to work on it together." — Cibelly Zedan, Registered Psychotherapist

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Cibelly Zedan - Registered Psychotherapist, couples therapy and EFT in Ontario

Couples Therapy — Common Questions

What couples usually want to know before booking a first session

What's the difference between couples therapy and marriage counselling?

In practice they describe the same work. "Marriage counselling" is the older term and usually refers to married partners, while "couples therapy" covers any committed relationship — married, common-law, engaged, dating, or partners who don't live together. The sessions themselves are the same: two partners and a therapist working on communication, conflict, trust, and connection.

What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)?

EFT is a structured, attachment-based approach to couples work. Rather than treating each argument as a separate problem to solve, EFT looks at the recurring cycle underneath the arguments — one partner pursuing, the other withdrawing, for example — and at the attachment needs driving it. Cibelly Zedan is trained in EFT alongside CBT and DBT, and draws on it as part of an integrative approach shaped around each couple.

Is couples therapy covered by insurance in Ontario?

Many extended health plans in Ontario include services delivered by a Registered Psychotherapist, and couples sessions are often eligible under that heading. Coverage varies by plan, so it's worth confirming your annual maximum and whether your plan names Registered Psychotherapists specifically. Official receipts are provided for every session so you can submit a claim. More on insurance coverage.

Do both partners need to attend every session?

Most of the work happens with both partners present, since the focus is on what happens between you. Individual sessions are sometimes used early on to understand each partner's perspective, and occasionally later if one partner is working through something specific. That's discussed and agreed together rather than arranged privately.

Is virtual couples therapy as useful as meeting in person?

Many couples find virtual sessions practical: no commute, no childcare gap, and you can join from home — including from two different locations when work or travel separates you. Sessions run over secure video anywhere in Ontario. What matters most is that both partners can speak privately and without interruption for the hour.

Is it too late if we're already talking about separating?

Couples arrive at very different points — some early, some after years of the same argument, some while actively considering separation. Therapy isn't only about staying together. For some couples the work is reconnecting; for others it's understanding what happened, or separating with less damage, particularly where children are involved. Where you want to end up is something you decide, not something decided for you.

How long does couples therapy usually take?

There's no fixed number of sessions. Some couples come for a focused stretch around one issue; others continue longer while patterns shift. A common pattern is weekly or biweekly sessions at the start, spacing out as things steady. Progress is reviewed together so you can decide what makes sense rather than committing to a set package up front.

How soon can we start?

There's no waiting list. New enquiries usually get a response within 24 hours, and evening appointments are available for couples who can't step away during the workday. You can book directly online or call 905-288-7126.