couples therapy in stockholm and online
Relationships can be wonderful, tricky, frustrating, challenging or amazing. Whether you’re dealing with miscommunication, trust issues, unhealthy patterns or just need to reconnect, we’ll figure it out together—no judgment, just evidence-based support.
Every relationship goes through difficult seasons. Couples therapy offers a space where you can slow down, understand what is happening between you, and find your way back to each other
Perhaps the same argument happens over and over. One partner pursues while the other withdraws. Conversations become defensive. Intimacy has disappeared. Trust has been damaged. Or you simply feel more like housemates than partners.
Couples therapy can help you understand what is happening between you, change destructive interaction patterns and rebuild emotional connection.
At Lives in Flow, our therapists work with couples in English and Spanish, in Stockholm and online. We are experts in couples from different cultural backgrounds. Our approach is grounded in research and evidence-based methods, and delivered with warmth and respect for both partners. Neither of you is the "problem." We focus on the patterns that keep you stuck and help you change them.
Why do couples keep having the same argument?
Often, the argument itself is not the real problem.
A disagreement about money may actually be about security. An argument about household responsibilities may be about feeling unappreciated. A partner who appears demanding may be desperately trying to feel connected, while the partner who withdraws may be protecting themselves from feeling criticised or inadequate.
Over time, couples can become trapped in predictable cycles:
One partner pursues. The other withdraws.
One becomes more critical. The other becomes more defensive.
The more one partner reaches, the more the other retreats.
The more one retreats, the more urgently the other reaches.
Couples therapy helps you step outside that cycle and understand what is happening underneath it.
What can couples therapy help with?
Frequent arguments and recurring conflict
Communication problems
Emotional distance and disconnection
Feeling unheard, misunderstood or unappreciated
Difficulty expressing emotional needs
Different emotional needs or expectations
Loss of intimacy or affection
Sexual and intimacy difficulties
Infidelity and betrayal
Rebuilding trust after an affair
Jealousy and insecurity
Fear of abandonment
Emotional withdrawal and avoidance
Different approaches to commitment
Difficulties setting boundaries
Family and parenting conflicts
Intercultural and international relationships
Major life transitions
Separation and divorce decisions
Premarital concerns
Conflicts stemming from Neurodiversity, when one or both partners have ADHD and/or autism
We also work with
neurodiverse couples therapy
Bridging differences. Building connection
Neurodiverse relationships can be deeply loving and fulfilling, while also presenting challenges that other couples may not immediately understand.
We work with couples where one or both partners are neurodivergent, meaning relationships involving ADHD and autism.
Our approach is neuro-affirming: we work with difference, not deficit.
Rather than asking which partner is “the problem”, we explore how differences in communication, sensory processing, attention, emotional regulation, routines, social interpretation and recovery from overwhelm may affect the relationship.
The aim is not to make the neurodivergent partner behave more like a neurotypical partner.
It is to help both people understand each other better and develop ways of relating that work for the relationship you actually have.
Common themes in neurodiverse couples therapy
Couples may seek support when they experience:
Repeated misunderstandings “We speak two different languages”
Different communication styles
One partner feeling constantly ignored or unheard
One partner feeling overwhelmed by emotional conversations
Difficulties recognising or expressing emotions
Different needs for closeness and personal space
Conflicts around routines and household responsibilities
ADHD-related executive functioning difficulties (for ex. forgetfulness, disorganization, procrastination, time blindness)
Difficulties with planning, remembering or following through
Sensory overwhelm
Meltdowns “out of nowhere”
Differences in social needs
Shutdowns, withdrawal or emotional flooding
Resentment that has accumulated over time
Sexual and intimacy differences
Feeling that one partner is constantly adapting to the other
Confusion about whether a problem is relational or related to neurodivergence
Sensory overwhelm during pregnancy
Difficulties navigating the new circumstances and settings as new parents
Our Therapists working with Neurodiverse Couples:
Alba Reverte
Rossana Pettersén
what can you expect from couples therapy?
One of our offices
Whether you are a typical couple or suspect that you may be a Neurodiverse couple, we begin by understanding your relationship and the cycle you have become caught in.
You will have space to explain what is happening from your perspective while we help you move away from blame and towards understanding.
Depending on your needs, sessions may include:
Identifying destructive interaction cycles
Exploring attachment needs
Learning new communication strategies
Understanding emotional triggers
Practising new ways of responding to each other
Rebuilding trust
Repairing emotional injuries
Creating healthier boundaries
Reconnecting emotionally and physically
Making difficult relationship decisions with greater clarity
Couples therapy is not about making one partner win.
It is about creating a relationship in which both people can feel heard, respected and emotionally safe.
Which therapist is right for you?
Leading expertise. Personalized therapy. Meaningful change
Rossana Pettersén, PhD. works with typical and with Neurodiverse couples. Communication issues, building trust after betrayal, feeling constantly misunderstood or invalidated, disconnection, pursuer-withdrawer dynamics, “loosing the spark” and more. Works in English and Spanish in Stockholm and online.
Alba Reverte works with typical and with Neurodiverse couples navigating cultural and neurological differences that lead to conflict, communication that ends in frustration, not feeling seen, heard or understood by your partner. She offers sessions in Stockholm and online. Works in English, Swedish, and Catalan
Noam Krav El works with couples experiencing persistent conflict, misunderstanding coming from cultural differences, experiencing emotional distance, invalidation, loss of intimacy. Works in English in Stockholm and online
can’t decide which therapist to choose?
No problem. Let us help you…
