Intimacy Issues Existential-Humanistic
Intimacy Issues
Intimacy issues are common for people who fear vulnerability. Some people can become vulnerable in front of a few trusted friends, however, but when a relationship starts becoming too close, they feel suffocated. In this sense, the intimacy issues are seated in the fear of developing a deep and meaningful relationship with another person.
Two fears that are at the heart of intimacy issues, are the fear of abandonment (fearing the partner might leave them) and the fear of engulfment (fearing that they would lose themselves in a relationship), which sometimes co-exist. These fears, often rooted in childhood traumas, are often deeply entrenched in codependent adult relationships where they cause friction.
A therapist who works with people who have intimacy issues will first help you to learn to become comfortable with yourself and accept yourself for who you are. You will explore the complex past events that have created these intimacy issues and discover that those events don't have to cloud your present experiences.
This process is essential in discovering that rejection does not have to be a traumatic experience. Finally, you will learn how to set personal boundaries that will help you to avoid the fear of engulfment and to cope, should abandonment occur. While healing intimacy issues can be a challenging and somewhat painful task, the rewards are incredible.
If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who addresses intimacy issues, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.
Existential-Humanistic, Imago Relationship Therapy
Existential-Humanistic psychotherapies emphasize a collaborative approach to the understanding of the client's full experience rather than just the symptom, thoughts or behaviour. Psychological problems are viewed as the result of a restricted ability to make authentic, meaningful, and self-directed choices about how to live. Consequently, interventions are aimed at increasing client self-awareness and self-understanding. The key words for existential-humanistic therapy are acceptance and growth, responsibility and freedom.
Imago Relationship Therapy helps couples deal with conflicts. The approach has been developed by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt and is supported by the work of many psychologists. The insights have been adapted into dialogue-based exercises. The exercises are insightful and serve to remind each person what attracted them to eachother.
Imago helps the couple realize the purpose of the power struggle within their relation but how to acknowledge and respect the other in new and powerful ways.
If you are looking for a therapist who offers Imago Therapy, please browse our list of practitioners below..
Note: You may narrow your search by selecting more than one filter below.
- (-) Remove Intimacy Issues filterIntimacy Issues
- Abuse - Emotional, Physical, Sexual (2)Apply Abuse - Emotional, Physical, Sexual filter
- Addictions - Including Substances (1)Apply Addictions - Including Substances filter
- Addictions - Relationship (1)Apply Addictions - Relationship filter
- Anxiety and/or Panic (4)Apply Anxiety and/or Panic filter
- Caregiver Support (1)Apply Caregiver Support filter
- COVID-19 Stress, Anxiety and Depression (1)Apply COVID-19 Stress, Anxiety and Depression filter
- Depression (4)Apply Depression filter
- Divorce and/or Separation (2)Apply Divorce and/or Separation filter
- Eating Disorders (1)Apply Eating Disorders filter
- Family Caregiver Stress (1)Apply Family Caregiver Stress filter
- First Nations Issues (1)Apply First Nations Issues filter
- Grief and Loss - General (2)Apply Grief and Loss - General filter
- Infidelity (1)Apply Infidelity filter
- LGBTQ Issues (2)Apply LGBTQ Issues filter
- Life Transitions (2)Apply Life Transitions filter
- Marriage and/or Relationship Issues (5)Apply Marriage and/or Relationship Issues filter
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (1)Apply Obsessive Compulsive Disorder filter
- Personal Growth (3)Apply Personal Growth filter
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (1)Apply Post Traumatic Stress Disorder filter
- Pre-Marital Counselling (1)Apply Pre-Marital Counselling filter
- Self-Esteem Issues (3)Apply Self-Esteem Issues filter
- Sexual Assault (1)Apply Sexual Assault filter
- Sexuality (3)Apply Sexuality filter
- Spirituality (3)Apply Spirituality filter
- Stress Management (2)Apply Stress Management filter
- Suicide Bereavement (1)Apply Suicide Bereavement filter
- Trauma Counselling (3)Apply Trauma Counselling filter
- Women's Issues (2)Apply Women's Issues filter
- (-) Remove Imago Relationship Therapy filterImago Relationship Therapy
- ADD and ADHD Coping Strategies (1)Apply ADD and ADHD Coping Strategies filter
- AEDP (1)Apply AEDP filter
- Body Centred Psychotherapy (2)Apply Body Centred Psychotherapy filter
- Brief Therapy (2)Apply Brief Therapy filter
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (4)Apply Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) filter
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (1)Apply Cognitive Processing Therapy filter
- Communication Skills Training (3)Apply Communication Skills Training filter
- Developmental (1)Apply Developmental filter
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (1)Apply Dialectical Behaviour Therapy filter
- EMDR (3)Apply EMDR filter
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) (2)Apply Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) filter
- Emotionally Focused Therapy - Individuals (1)Apply Emotionally Focused Therapy - Individuals filter
- Family Systems (1)Apply Family Systems filter
- Family Therapy (1)Apply Family Therapy filter
- Gestalt Therapy (1)Apply Gestalt Therapy filter
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy (1)Apply Gottman Method Couples Therapy filter
- Humanistic Therapy (2)Apply Humanistic Therapy filter
- Hypnotherapy (1)Apply Hypnotherapy filter
- Integrative Psychotherapy (1)Apply Integrative Psychotherapy filter
- Internal Family Systems (1)Apply Internal Family Systems filter
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (1)Apply Interpersonal Psychotherapy filter
- Marriage & Couples Counselling (5)Apply Marriage & Couples Counselling filter
- Mindfulness approaches (2)Apply Mindfulness approaches filter
- Nature Based Therapy (1)Apply Nature Based Therapy filter
- Online / Virtual / Telehealth Counselling (2)Apply Online / Virtual / Telehealth Counselling filter
- Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (1)Apply Psychedelic Assisted Therapy filter
- Psychodynamic Therapy (2)Apply Psychodynamic Therapy filter
- Relaxation Therapy (1)Apply Relaxation Therapy filter
- Self Regulation Therapy (SRT) (1)Apply Self Regulation Therapy (SRT) filter
- Sex Therapy (3)Apply Sex Therapy filter
- Shamanism (1)Apply Shamanism filter
- Solution Focused Therapy (1)Apply Solution Focused Therapy filter
- Somatic Approaches (3)Apply Somatic Approaches filter
- Transpersonal (1)Apply Transpersonal filter
- Video Counselling (2)Apply Video Counselling filter
- Walk and Talk Therapy (1)Apply Walk and Talk Therapy filter