About Systemic Psychotherapy
Systemic psychotherapy is a relational approach to therapy that focuses on the patterns of interaction between people, rather than looking at individuals in isolation. It explores how our relationships, family dynamics, and wider social and cultural contexts shape who we are and how we experience the world. Rather than asking "what is wrong with this person?", systemic therapy asks "what has happened, and how are the relationships around this person contributing to the difficulty?" This shift in perspective often opens up new possibilities for change that feel more collaborative, compassionate, and lasting.
Systemic therapy is effective for individuals, couples, and families facing a wide range of challenges — from relationship difficulties and family conflict to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and life transitions.
How it works
In systemic therapy, we explore the stories we tell about ourselves and our relationships — and the ways those stories can sometimes keep us stuck. Together, we look at patterns of communication, beliefs, emotions and attachments, how problems have developed over time, what maintains them, and what strengths and resources already exist within you and your relationships.Sessions are collaborative and non-judgmental. We work together to find new perspectives and ways of relating and coping that feel right for you.
Sessions are available in person at The Practice Rooms in the heart of Norwich, or online via video call.
Family Therapy and the Power of Integration
Family therapy offers a unique space where the whole family system — not just one individual — is understood and supported. Rather than identifying one person as "the problem," family therapy recognises that difficulties are often held within relationships and patterns of interaction that have developed over time. By bringing these patterns into the room, families can begin to understand each other more deeply, communicate more openly, and find new ways of moving forward together.
Family therapy can be particularly helpful when:
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A child or young person is struggling with their mental health, behaviour, or emotions
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Family relationships feel strained, distant, or stuck in conflict
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A significant life event — such as divorce, bereavement, or a new diagnosis — is affecting the whole family
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Parents feel at a loss about how to support their child or teenager
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There is a sense that individual therapy alone is not enough
Integrating Attachment, Narrative and Emotion-Focused Ideas
One of the things that makes systemic family therapy so powerful is its ability to draw on complementary therapeutic frameworks, weaving them together in a way that is tailored to each family's unique needs. Attachment theory helps us understand the deep emotional bonds between people — particularly between parents and children — and how early experiences of feeling safe, seen, and soothed shape the way we relate to others throughout our lives. When attachment bonds are disrupted or strained, this can show up as anxiety, withdrawal, conflict, or disconnection. In therapy, we work to identify and strengthen these bonds, creating new experiences of safety and closeness within the family.
Narrative therapy invites families to explore the stories they tell about themselves and each other. Often, problem-saturated stories ("he has always been difficult," "we just don't get on") can dominate and obscure the richer, more complex picture. By gently questioning these stories and finding alternative accounts — moments of connection, resilience, and care — families often discover new possibilities that were previously hidden from view.
Emotion-Focused Psychotherapy (EFT) recognises that underneath most relationship difficulties lie deeper emotional needs and fears that have not been fully expressed or understood. EFT helps individuals and families access, articulate, and share these underlying emotions in a way that fosters empathy and genuine connection. When family members can say not just "I am angry" but "I am scared of losing you," something shifts — walls come down and real dialogue becomes possible.
Together, these approaches offer a rich and flexible framework for working with families. Rather than applying a single technique, therapy becomes a collaborative, responsive process — one that honours the complexity of each family's story while gently opening doors to change.
Couple Therapy and Relationship Counselling
Every relationship has its own unique rhythm, history, and language. Over time, even the most loving relationships can fall into patterns that feel painful, repetitive, or hard to escape — cycles of conflict, distance, misunderstanding, or disconnection that leave both partners feeling alone and unheard.
Couple therapy offers a safe, neutral space where both partners can be heard equally, without blame or judgment. The aim is not to take sides or decide who is right, but to help you both understand what is happening between you, and to find new ways of reaching each other.
Couple therapy can help with:
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Communication breakdown and recurring conflict
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Emotional distance or feeling like "flatmates"
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Trust issues and recovering from infidelity
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Navigating major life transitions together (having children, bereavement, redundancy, children moving out, retirement)
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Differences in parenting styles
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Intimacy and sexual difficulties
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Considering separation or divorce — and how to do so with care and respect
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Rebuilding after a period of crisis
How Attachment, Narrative and Emotion-Focused Ideas Help Couples
The integration of attachment theory, narrative therapy, and emotion-focused psychotherapy is particularly powerful in couple work.
Attachment theory helps us understand that many relationship conflicts are, at their core, attachment protests — one partner's way of saying, "I need you, and I am not sure you are there for me."
When we can recognise the fear and longing underneath anger or withdrawal, it becomes possible to respond to each other with compassion rather than defensiveness.
Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFT-C), developed by Dr Sue Johnson, is one of the most extensively researched approaches to couple therapy available. It helps couples identify the negative cycles they get stuck in, understand the deeper emotions and attachment needs driving those cycles, and create new moments of emotional closeness and secure connection. The evidence base for EFT with couples is exceptionally strong, with research showing lasting improvements in relationship satisfaction and individual well-being.
Narrative ideas complement this by helping couples separate themselves from the problem. Rather than "we are a conflict-ridden couple," the question becomes "how has this pattern of conflict taken hold in our relationship, and what do we know about ourselves that tells a different story?" This externalising of the problem reduces blame and opens up space for curiosity, collaboration, and hope.
The Exeter Model offers another valuable lens for understanding couple relationships. Developed at the University of Exeter, this integrative approach draws on attachment theory, systemic thinking, and cognitive-behavioural ideas to help couples understand how their individual histories, beliefs, and emotional responses shape the way they relate to one another. A central feature of the Exeter Model is its focus on each partner's "couple fit" — the often unconscious reasons why we are drawn to a particular person, and how our individual vulnerabilities and strengths interact within the relationship. Understanding this fit can be illuminating, helping partners develop genuine empathy for each other's sensitivities and reactions rather than experiencing them as personal attacks or deliberate provocations. The Exeter Model also pays close attention to the role of shame and self-esteem in relationship difficulties. Many of the most painful moments in couple conflict — the withdrawal, the harsh criticism, the feeling of never being good enough — are rooted in deep personal vulnerabilities that each partner brings into the relationship. By creating a space where these vulnerabilities can be named and held with care, therapy helps couples move from cycles of mutual wounding to something far more tender and reparative. This model integrates well with emotion-focused and narrative approaches, adding a rich layer of understanding about individual psychology and how two people's inner worlds meet, clash, and ultimately have the potential to heal each other.
Whether you are in crisis or simply feeling that something important has been lost between you, couple therapy can help you find your way back to each other — or, if that is not possible, to navigate the next chapter with dignity and mutual respect.