Intimacy, both emotional and physical, is an essential factor in the overall health of a relationship.
Cultivating intimacy is important for improving connection and communication, creating a safe space for both partners, fostering trust, improving health (mental and physical) for each party, and helping partners to feel valued and accepted.
There are different types of intimacy–not just sex. These include:
Emotional intimacy: sharing thoughts, feelings, fears, and hopes; being mutually vulnerable; feeling mutually accepted, understood, and supported.
Intellectual intimacy: engaging intellectually with each other, sharing ideas and having meaningful conversations.
Spiritual intimacy: sharing spiritual beliefs, values, and practices.
Physical intimacy: sex, but also importantly, comforting touch like kissing, hugging, and holding hands.
Recreational intimacy: sharing hobbies, recreational activities, and fun experiences.
| Exploring How Abandonment Anxiety Hinders Intimacy |
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Sometimes our family of origin can influence the way we respond in our intimate relationships. Our decisions and ways of relating within relationships can be shaped by our fears of being abandoned, making us feel insecure in relationships. In Healing Intimacy, a free e-book that can be downloaded using the link below, our couples counsellor Dr Hugo Gonzales explores how past experiences of trauma or abandonment can shape our ways of relating to our partner and influence our relationship dynamic. With warmth and clinical insight, Hugo offers practical tools for healing abandonment anxiety and building more secure relationships. Hugo is available for couples seeking greater intimacy in their relationships. Read more at this link. |
| Christine Weston and Dr Hugo Gonzales |
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At AB Clinical Psychology, we have two clinicians who offer couples counselling as part of their services. In his work with couples, Hugo helps strengthen emotional connections, improve communication, and navigate relationship challenges by uncovering deeper dynamics and fostering understanding. His approach is warm, insightful, and tailored to each client’s needs, ensuring they feel supported as they work toward meaningful and lasting change. (Saturday appointments open, with immediate availability.) Christine helps couples explore their communication styles, psychological defences, stress responses, attachment styles, ‘love languages’ and their psychological, emotional and physical attraction to each other; better understood by appreciating the influences of historical/childhood experiences in families of origin. |
| Take our relationship quiz | |
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Want to assess the strength of your romantic connection to your partner? Take our 7-question quiz. At the end of the questionnaire, you will be provided with a summary of results across the four pillars of a relationship. |
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