Relationship Counseling in
Denver, CO

Relationship issues can occur in developing relationships, maintaining relationships, or in relationship endings.

At the beginning of relationships we may try to create closeness too quickly or have difficulty creating closeness at all. If you find yourself deeply connecting with people you just met and then feeling like the relationship comes to a quick or sometimes dramatic end this can be a sign that you are trying to be close and intimate too soon in relationships.

This often leads to a cycle of intense connection and rejection. If you have difficulty connecting with others you may have received the feedback that you are difficult to get to know or are guarded. Often you feel like you are trying to connect but friendships and romantic relationships stay surface level and you may feel like you can't rely on others. Usually folks who have the most difficulty with creating healthy connections with others have a combination of both trying to create closeness too quickly and also distancing themselves.










Maintaining relationships is a very sophisticated social skill that we are never taught. Typically when you have experienced other unhealthy relationships or have relational trauma maintaining relationships can be especially difficult. If you have low self-confidence or self-esteem you may find yourself people pleasing and putting your needs last. This is not sustainable.

So you bottling up your emotions and needs until you explode or communicate your needs in a passive aggressive manner. This often leads to you feeling like the "problem" or that others do not care as much about you as you care about them. Another common reaction is to feel hyperaware of rejection or on edge waiting for your partner or friends to leave or abandon you.

If you have relationships experiences that make it difficult to trust others you may struggle to maintain close fulfilling relationships. It may feel like others are highly critical and always want more from you than you are able to give. You desire closeness but find yourself pulling away from others and you are unsure why. Your relationships might be short or long term but often after it ends you feel relief. If you are wanting counseling for you and your partner see our Couples Counseling page.















Relationship endings can be very triggering if you struggle with relationships. You may feel a loss of identity, direction, and a future. It can trigger thoughts of insecurity such as "I am unloveable," "others cannot be trusted," or "I will always be alone."  Even if you initially feel relief, you may later feel deep loneliness and worry about your ability to create long-lasting love.

Often when relationships end you not only experience this current loss but the loss and rejection from all past relationships. If you never heal these past wounds you may relive the pain with every relationship ending. For more information on healing from relationship, endings see our Divorce and Break-up Recovery page.