Close relationships can be an important source of security, intimacy and psychological well-being. At the same time, relationships can become a source of persistent conflict, anxiety, emotional distance, jealousy, resentment or uncertainty.
I provide relationship therapy in Yerevan for both individuals and couples who want to understand and change recurring patterns in their relationships.
My work focuses not simply on determining who is “right” or “wrong,” but on understanding the psychological mechanisms that shape the way people interpret one another, communicate, respond emotionally and behave within relationships.
The therapeutic approach is structured and evidence-informed, with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as an important framework.
What relationship difficulties do I work with?
Psychotherapy may be useful when there are difficulties such as:
- recurring conflicts and arguments;
- emotional distance or loss of intimacy;
- communication difficulties;
- jealousy and insecurity;
- fear of abandonment or rejection;
- difficulties with trust;
- excessive reassurance seeking;
- controlling or checking behaviour;
- difficulty expressing needs or boundaries;
- emotional dependence;
- avoidance of closeness or commitment;
- repeated involvement in similar problematic relationships;
- difficulties after infidelity or a serious breach of trust;
- uncertainty about whether to continue a relationship;
- difficulties related to separation or breakup;
- recurring disagreements about responsibilities, family, finances or lifestyle;
- relationship anxiety and excessive analysis of a partner’s behaviour.
Sometimes the problem is clearly located within the current relationship. In other cases, similar difficulties appear repeatedly across different relationships.
Understanding this distinction is often an important part of therapy.
Relationship problems are usually patterns, not isolated events
Many relationship conflicts appear to be about a particular event:
a message that was not answered, a critical remark, household responsibilities, money, sex, time spent together, relatives, work or social activities.
However, underneath the immediate disagreement there is often a recurring psychological pattern.
For example:
trigger → interpretation → emotional reaction → behaviour → partner’s response → confirmation of the original interpretation
One partner may interpret distance as rejection and respond by demanding reassurance. The other may experience this pressure as criticism or control and withdraw further. That withdrawal then confirms the first partner’s fear of rejection.
A cycle can therefore become self-reinforcing even when neither person consciously wants it.
An important goal of therapy is to identify the cycle itself rather than treating the other person as the problem.
How our interpretations shape relationships
We do not respond only to what another person does. We also respond to what we believe their behaviour means.
The same situation can be interpreted very differently:
- “They need some time alone.”
- “They are losing interest in me.”
- “They don’t respect me.”
- “I have done something wrong.”
- “They are trying to control me.”
- “If I don’t respond now, the relationship will fall apart.”
These interpretations influence emotions and behaviour.
A central part of CBT-oriented relationship work is therefore examining the beliefs, expectations and assumptions through which partners understand one another.
The aim is not to dismiss emotions or convince someone that everything is fine. It is to distinguish more accurately between facts, interpretations, predictions and fears.
Attachment, closeness and insecurity
People differ in how they respond to emotional closeness, dependence, uncertainty and the possibility of rejection.
For some people, signs of distance rapidly activate fear and a need for reassurance.
Others respond to relational tension by withdrawing, becoming emotionally less available or attempting to regain autonomy.
These tendencies may create cycles in which:
the more one person pursues, the more the other withdraws — and the more the other withdraws, the more strongly the first pursues.
Therapy can help identify these automatic patterns and develop more flexible ways of seeking closeness, expressing needs and responding to uncertainty.
Jealousy and trust
Jealousy is not always irrational. Relationships sometimes involve real breaches of trust.
The therapeutic question is therefore not simply:
“How can I stop being jealous?”
More useful questions may include:
- Is there objective evidence of a trust problem?
- Which conclusions are based on facts and which on assumptions?
- What happens when uncertainty appears?
- Does checking actually increase security, or does it create a need for further checking?
- What boundaries are reasonable?
- Can trust realistically be rebuilt?
- What would rebuilding trust require from both partners?
Where jealousy is maintained by repeated checking, reassurance seeking, catastrophic interpretations or intolerance of uncertainty, these mechanisms can become specific targets of psychotherapy.
Communication is more than choosing the right words
Relationship difficulties are often described as “communication problems.”
Communication is important, but simply learning more polite phrases is not always sufficient.
A conversation is influenced by:
- assumptions about the partner’s intentions;
- emotional arousal;
- previous unresolved experiences;
- defensive behaviour;
- expectations about how the other person “should” behave;
- difficulty tolerating criticism or disagreement;
- fear of rejection;
- avoidance of vulnerable topics.
Therapeutic work may therefore include improving communication while also addressing the psychological processes that make constructive communication difficult.
Conflict and emotional regulation
When emotional activation becomes very high, the ability to listen, interpret accurately and solve problems often decreases.
Arguments can then shift from solving the original issue to defending oneself, attacking, withdrawing or trying to win.
Therapy may help partners learn to:
- recognize escalation earlier;
- distinguish the current problem from accumulated grievances;
- express needs without automatically blaming;
- tolerate disagreement without treating it as rejection;
- reduce impulsive reactions;
- return to difficult conversations after emotional arousal has decreased.
The goal is not to eliminate all disagreement. Healthy relationships can contain substantial disagreement.
The important question is how disagreement is processed.
Individual therapy for relationship difficulties
Relationship therapy does not necessarily require both partners to attend.
Individual psychotherapy may be useful when someone wants to understand:
- why similar relationships keep repeating;
- why they remain in relationships that consistently cause distress;
- why closeness creates anxiety;
- why they repeatedly fear abandonment;
- why jealousy becomes difficult to control;
- why setting boundaries feels difficult;
- why they become excessively dependent on a partner’s approval;
- why they avoid intimacy or commitment;
- how previous relational experiences influence current expectations;
- how to make a difficult decision about a relationship.
Changing one person’s way of interpreting and responding to a relationship can sometimes substantially change the interpersonal system.
Couples therapy
When both partners participate, therapy focuses on the relationship system rather than treating one person as the identified problem.
We may examine:
- recurring conflict cycles;
- each partner’s interpretations and expectations;
- communication patterns;
- emotional needs;
- boundaries;
- trust;
- avoidance and reassurance-seeking patterns;
- decision-making;
- unresolved conflicts;
- behavioural changes required from both partners.
Couples therapy is not a courtroom.
The therapist’s role is not to determine which partner has won the argument, but to understand what maintains the dysfunctional interaction and what would need to change.
Does relationship therapy always aim to keep a couple together?
No.
Psychotherapy should not begin with the assumption that preserving the relationship is always the correct outcome.
Sometimes therapy helps partners rebuild connection and change damaging patterns.
In other situations, it helps clarify whether the relationship remains compatible with the values, boundaries and needs of both people.
And sometimes the therapeutic task is to help people navigate separation in a more deliberate and psychologically constructive way.
The goal is greater clarity and healthier functioning, not maintaining a relationship at any cost.
How I work with relationship difficulties
My work is primarily informed by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, while incorporating broader evidence-based psychological understanding of interpersonal patterns, emotions and relationships.
Depending on the situation, therapy may involve:
Assessment and formulation
We identify the current difficulties, their history, recurring triggers, interpretations, emotions and behavioural responses.
Identifying recurring cycles
Instead of examining every argument as an independent event, we look for patterns that repeat across situations.
Cognitive work
We examine beliefs about oneself, the partner and relationships—for example assumptions concerning trust, abandonment, control, intimacy, responsibility and rejection.
Behavioural change
Insight is useful, but relationships change through behaviour.
We therefore work on concrete responses, communication, boundaries, exposure to difficult conversations, reducing checking or reassurance seeking, and practising alternative ways of interacting.
Emotional regulation
Where strong anxiety, anger, jealousy or fear interfere with communication, emotional regulation becomes part of the therapeutic work.
What happens during the first consultation?
The initial consultation is primarily an assessment.
Depending on whether therapy is individual or with a couple, we discuss:
- the main relationship difficulty;
- how long the problem has been present;
- typical situations in which it appears;
- what each person thinks and feels during these situations;
- how each person responds;
- what happens next;
- previous attempts to resolve the problem;
- important events in the history of the relationship;
- expectations and goals for therapy.
The purpose is to develop an initial formulation of the problem and decide what kind of therapeutic work would be most appropriate.
About my professional approach
I am a psychologist and psychotherapist holding the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP).
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the principal framework of my clinical work. My professional interests also include cognitive science, emotional regulation, interpersonal processes and the relationship between psychological mechanisms and neurobiology.
Relationship therapy in Yerevan and online
Therapy is available: in person in Yerevan and online
I provide: individual psychotherapy · couples therapy · family psychotherapy
Sessions are available in: Armenian · English · Russian · Polish
Schedule a session
If recurring conflict, jealousy, mistrust, emotional distance or other relationship difficulties are significantly affecting your well-being or your relationship, you can schedule an initial consultation to better understand the problem and determine an appropriate therapeutic approach.