Empty Nest: Reconnecting as a Couple After the Kids Leave

You spent 20 years building careers and raising children. Now the house is empty. You look across the dinner table at your partner and realize you have nothing to say.

This isn’t how you thought it would be. You imagined freedom, travel, finally having time for yourselves. Instead, you feel like roommates. You’re coordinating schedules and splitting bills, but you’re not connecting. The person you married is sitting three feet away and you have no idea how to reach them.

As couples therapists in Ottawa, we work with high-performing couples navigating exactly this experience. They’re physicians, executives, public servants, business owners. They’re successful in every measurable way. But when the kids leave and the structure disappears, they discover they don’t actually know each other anymore.

Here’s what most people don’t understand about empty nest relationships: the disconnection didn’t start when the kids left. It started years earlier. The children and careers became the glue holding the relationship together. When those anchors disappear, there’s nothing underneath.

The good news: you can rebuild connection. But not by pretending the problem doesn’t exist or hoping it resolves on its own. You need a plan. This guide will show you how to recognize the warning signs, understand why this happens to successful couples, and take concrete steps to reconnect before the distance becomes permanent.

Why High-Performing Couples Struggle When the Nest Empties

Most people assume successful couples have successful relationships. That’s not always true. In fact, high-performing couples often struggle more during empty nest transitions than others.

Here’s why: you’ve been excellent at partnership. You divided responsibilities efficiently. You coordinated schedules, managed logistics, and made decisions together. Your relationship functioned like a well-run organization.

The problem is, organizations aren’t intimate. You can run a company together without actually being emotionally connected. When the shared project (raising children) ends, the organizational structure collapses. What’s left is two people who are skilled at coordinating but not at connecting.

The Three Patterns We See in Ottawa Empty Nesters

Pattern 1: The Career-Focused Couple

Both partners built demanding careers. The relationship took a backseat to professional success. Date nights got canceled for work emergencies. Conversations centered on logistics (who’s picking up the kids, what’s for dinner, when is the mortgage due). Emotional intimacy eroded slowly over years.

When the kids leave, these couples discover they have no shared interests beyond work and parenting. They don’t know how to be together without a task to accomplish.

Pattern 2: The Unequal Partnership

One partner (often the woman) stepped back from their career to manage the home and children. The other partner advanced professionally and became the primary breadwinner. For 20 years, roles were clear. Everyone knew their job.

Then the kids leave. The stay-at-home partner loses their primary identity. The working partner doesn’t understand why their spouse seems lost (after all, they now have freedom to pursue their own interests). Power dynamics that worked for years suddenly feel unbalanced. Resentment builds.

Pattern 3: The Conflict-Avoidant Couple

These couples avoided addressing problems by focusing on the kids. Whenever tension arose, they redirected attention to parenting. The children served as emotional buffers, preventing partners from facing difficult conversations about sex, money, in-laws, or hurt feelings.

When the buffer disappears, they’re suddenly forced to interact directly. They don’t have the skills to navigate conflict constructively. They either explode in arguments or withdraw further into silence.

Why Women Often Notice the Problem First

In our practice at Therapy with Empathy, women are usually the ones who bring up relationship concerns during empty nest transitions. They’re the ones saying “we need to talk about us” while their partners seem confused about what the problem is.

This isn’t because women are more dissatisfied. It’s because women are often socialized to pay attention to relationship dynamics. They notice when emotional connection fades. They’re aware when conversations become transactional. They feel the loss of intimacy more acutely (or at least they’re more willing to name it).

Men in these relationships often say “everything is fine.” From their perspective, nothing has changed. The relationship functions the same way it always has: they coordinate schedules, make decisions together, and maintain a pleasant household. They don’t realize their partner is drowning in loneliness.

The challenge: one partner recognizes the disconnection and wants to address it. The other partner doesn’t see a problem. This creates a painful dynamic where the person asking for change is framed as needy or dissatisfied, while the person maintaining the status quo is framed as reasonable.

If you’re the partner noticing the distance, you’re not imagining it. If you’re the partner being told there’s a problem and you don’t see it, listen anyway. Your partner’s experience is valid even if it doesn’t match yours.

The Early Warning Signs of Empty Nest Disconnection

Most couples don’t wake up the day after their last child leaves and suddenly realize they’re disconnected. The distance builds gradually over years. Here are the signs that appear long before the nest empties, and what they mean for your relationship.

Sign 1: Your Conversations Are Entirely Logistical

You talk about schedules, tasks, and responsibilities. Who’s driving to soccer practice. What time the dentist appointment is. Whether the furnace needs servicing. What’s missing: vulnerability, curiosity, emotional sharing.

• When was the last time you told your partner about something you’re struggling with (not a logistical problem, an emotional one)?
• When did you last ask them a question about their inner experience, not just their schedule?

If your conversations would sound the same whether you were romantic partners or business colleagues, that’s a problem.

Sign 2: Date Nights Feel Like Interviews

You go out to dinner, ask each other questions, give updates on work, kids, extended family. The conversation feels stilted. You run out of things to say halfway through the meal, you check your phone, and you both seem relieved when it’s time to leave.

This happens because you’ve lost the ability to be playful together. You’re relating as teammates, not as lovers. Date night becomes another item on the to-do list instead of something you genuinely look forward to.

Sign 3: You’re Living Parallel Lives

You both have full schedules. You’re busy with work, hobbies, volunteering, fitness routines, friend groups. You’re rarely home at the same time. When you are, you’re in different rooms doing different things.

You tell yourself this is healthy (you both have your own lives). But underneath, you’re avoiding. You’ve lost the desire to spend unstructured time together. Being alone together feels awkward, so you fill your calendar to prevent it.

Sign 4: Physical Intimacy Has Disappeared

Sex stopped years ago. You’ve normalized it. Maybe you tell yourself it’s natural (you’re older, you’re tired, you’re busy). Maybe you’ve convinced yourself you don’t need it.

But the absence of physical intimacy is often a symptom of emotional disconnection. When you don’t feel seen, valued, or understood by your partner, you don’t want to be physically intimate with them. The physical distance reflects the emotional distance.

Sign 5: You Make Major Decisions Independently

You accepted a new job without really discussing it with your partner. They planned a renovation without asking your input. You’re both making life decisions as individuals, then informing each other after the fact.

This indicates you’ve stopped viewing your life as shared. You’re two people living in the same house, not partners building a life together.

Sign 6: You Can’t Remember the Last Time You Laughed Together

Laughter signals connection, playfulness, joy. When was the last time you and your partner had a moment of genuine, spontaneous laughter? Not polite chuckling at a joke. Real, unguarded laughter.

If you can’t remember, your relationship has become too serious, too heavy, too focused on responsibilities. You’ve lost the lightness that drew you together.

Why the Glue Disappears: What Holds Relationships Together

For 20 years, your relationship was structured around shared responsibilities. You were a parenting team, coordinating logistics, and solving problems together. The structure created connection (or at least the appearance of it).

Then the structure disappears. Suddenly you need to connect without a shared project. That requires different skills.

The Four Types of Relationship Glue

Type 1: Logistical Interdependence

This is the weakest form of connection. You need each other to manage daily life. Someone has to pick up the kids, pay the mortgage, and coordinate with the in-laws.

When the kids leave, logistical interdependence decreases dramatically. You no longer need each other in the same way. If this was your primary form of connection, the relationship feels empty now.

Type 2: Shared Identity Through Children

Your identity as parents became your primary identity. People knew you as “Sophie’s parents” or “the Martins with the three kids.” Your social life revolved around kid activities. Your conversations centered on parenting.

When that identity disappears, you’re forced to figure out who you are as individuals and as a couple. Many people discover they have no idea.

Type 3: Unexamined Patterns That Worked (Until They Didn’t)

For years, you had an unspoken agreement. Maybe one person managed emotions and the other managed finances. Maybe one person was the social planner and the other was the homebody. These patterns worked because they were functional.

But patterns built around parenting don’t necessarily transfer to empty nest life. The stay-at-home parent who found meaning in caretaking now feels purposeless. The breadwinner who worked long hours expected to be appreciated for providing, but their partner resents the absence.

Type 4: Genuine Emotional Connection

This is the strongest glue. You share your inner world with each other. You’re curious about your partner’s experience. You’re vulnerable about your fears, hopes, and struggles. You turn toward each other during stress instead of away.

This type of connection requires ongoing maintenance. It doesn’t happen automatically. And if you haven’t been cultivating it for 20 years, it’s not there when you need it.

Most empty nest couples relied heavily on Types 1, 2, and 3. When those disappear, they realize Type 4 never existed. That’s when they end up in my office.

The Five Stages of Empty Nest Relationship Crisis

Not every couple goes through these stages linearly, but most experience some version of this progression.

Stage 1: Anticipation (Before the Last Child Leaves)

You’re excited about the freedom. You make plans., talk about traveling, renovating the house, spending more time together. You imagine this phase will be a return to the early days of your relationship.

What you don’t anticipate: how different you both are now. How the absence of structure will feel. How hard it will be to reconnect after years of parallel parenting.

Stage 2: Relief (First Few Months After)

The house is quieter. You have more time and you sleep better. You go out to dinner and don’t have to rush home for bedtime. This phase feels good.

You might mistake relief for connection. You’re enjoying the absence of chaos. That’s not the same as enjoying each other.

Stage 3: Recognition (3 to 6 Months After)

The novelty wears off. You start noticing the disconnection. Conversations feel forced. Silence feels heavy. You realize you don’t actually know what to do with each other now that you’re not managing children.

This is when one partner (usually the woman) brings up concerns. The other partner is often surprised. They thought everything was fine.

Stage 4: Crisis or Avoidance (6 to 18 Months After)

You have two choices at this stage. You either address the disconnection directly (crisis) or you avoid it by staying busy (avoidance).

Crisis looks like: difficult conversations, couples therapy, acknowledging the relationship isn’t working, doing the hard work to rebuild.

Avoidance looks like: filling your schedule, developing separate lives, convincing yourself you’re “fine with how things are,” staying together out of obligation rather than desire.

Stage 5: Rebuilding or Resignation (18+ Months After)

If you chose crisis and did the work, you’re rebuilding connection. You’re learning new ways to relate. Your relationship is different than it was, but it’s genuine.

If you chose avoidance, you’ve resigned yourself to a roommate marriage. You stay together for financial reasons, social reasons, or because divorce feels too hard. You’re not unhappy enough to leave, but you’re not happy either.

The couples we work with in Ottawa who successfully navigate this transition are the ones who recognize Stage 3 early and choose crisis over avoidance. They’re willing to have uncomfortable conversations and do uncomfortable work.

How to Prepare Before the Nest Empties

If your youngest child is still home, you have an opportunity to prevent disconnection before it happens. These aren’t guarantees (every relationship is different), but they significantly improve your chances of a smooth transition.

Start Dating Now (Not Later)

Don’t wait until the kids are gone to start reconnecting. Establish a weekly date night now. Make it non-negotiable. Don’t cancel for work or kid activities.

The goal isn’t to have deep conversations or solve relationship problems on date night. The goal is to remember how to be together without a parenting agenda. Practice being playful and being curious about each other.

Ottawa couples we work with often resist this because they’re busy. They say “we’ll have plenty of time when the kids leave.” That’s backward thinking. You need to build connection muscles now so you have them later.

Talk About the Future You Actually Want (Not the One You Think You Should Want)

Sit down together and ask: what do we each want for the next 15 to 20 years? Not what should we want. What do we actually want?

One of you might want to travel extensively. The other might want to stay rooted in Ottawa near grandchildren. One might want to retire early and simplify life. The other might be at the peak of their career and want to work another decade.

These aren’t small differences. If you don’t discuss them now, you’ll end up resenting each other later. Better to know if you’re heading in different directions while you still have time to adjust.

Develop Individual Identities Outside of Parenting

Who are you when you’re not someone’s parent? What brings you meaning, purpose, joy? If you can’t answer that, start figuring it out now.

Take a class. Join a group. Rediscover old interests. Build friendships that aren’t centered on your kids’ activities. The transition to empty nest is easier when you already have a sense of yourself outside of parenting.

This applies to both partners. The stay-at-home parent needs new sources of identity. But so does the working parent who’s been defining themselves primarily through career and providing for the family.

Increase Emotional Intimacy Before You Need It

Practice vulnerability. Share things that are hard to share. Ask your partner about their fears, hopes, disappointments. Tell them about yours.

If this feels awkward, that’s normal. You’ve been focused on logistics for years. Emotional intimacy is a skill you rebuild through practice.

Start small. Instead of “how was your day?” try “what was the hardest part of your day?” Instead of talking about what you did, talk about how you felt.

Address Existing Resentments Now

Don’t carry resentments into the empty nest phase. If you’re angry about something that happened five years ago, deal with it now. If you feel your partner doesn’t appreciate your contributions, say it now.

Resentments don’t disappear when the kids leave. They intensify. The structure that kept you distracted is gone. Now you’re facing each other directly, and all the unresolved hurt is still there.

This is where couples therapy helps. At Therapy with Empathy, we work with Ottawa couples who need support navigating difficult conversations and healing old wounds before they become relationship-ending.

The 90-Day Reconnection Framework for Empty Nesters

If you’re already in the empty nest phase and recognizing disconnection, here’s a structured approach to rebuilding connection. This framework is based on the coaching model we use at Therapy with Empathy with high-performing couples who want clear milestones and measurable change.

This isn’t therapy. Therapy is deeper, slower, more focused on healing trauma and understanding your past. This is coaching. It’s strategic, time-bound, and action-oriented. It works best for couples who are fundamentally healthy but have lost connection through neglect, not through abuse or deep relational wounds.

The Relationship Audit: Where Are You Actually Starting?

Before you can reconnect, you need to understand where you’re disconnected. Rate yourself (individually, not as a couple) in these four areas on a scale of 1 to 10.

Emotional Connection: How emotionally intimate do you feel with your partner? Do you share your inner world, and do they share theirs? Do you feel seen and understood?

Family Dynamics and Roles: Now that kids are gone, have you renegotiated roles? Are you clear about how you’ll structure your life together? Do you have shared goals?

Physical Intimacy: Are you satisfied with your sex life? Do you feel physically connected? Is there affection (not just sex, but touch in general)?

Individual Identity and Interests: Do you have a sense of yourself outside the relationship? Do you have interests, friendships, purpose beyond your partnership?

Most empty nest couples score low in emotional connection and physical intimacy. Many score moderate in individual identity (they have hobbies, but feel lost without the structure of parenting). Family dynamics is often the most confusing because roles that worked for 20 years no longer fit.

Once you’ve identified where you’re struggling, you can create specific goals.

Days 1-30: Establishing New Rituals and Opening Communication

The first 30 days are about creating structure that supports connection. You can’t rebuild a relationship through sporadic effort. You need consistent, intentional practices.

Daily Check-Ins (10 Minutes)

Every day, at a consistent time, sit down together and answer these questions:

• What was one thing you appreciated about yourself today?
• What’s one thing you appreciated about me today?
• What’s one thing you’re looking forward to tomorrow?

This practice sounds simple (almost too simple). But it does three important things. It creates a daily touchpoint of connection. It trains you to notice positive things about each other instead of only noticing problems. And it rebuilds the habit of talking about emotional experience, not just logistics.

Weekly State of the Union (30 to 60 Minutes)

Once a week, have a structured conversation about how the relationship is going. What’s working? What’s not? What do you each need more of? What do you need less of?

This isn’t a time to rehash old grievances. It’s a time to check in on current experience and make small adjustments. Think of it as relationship maintenance, like checking the oil in your car.

Reestablish Physical Affection (No Sex Required)

If physical intimacy has disappeared, don’t start with sex. Start with touch. Hold hands while watching TV. Hug for more than three seconds when you greet each other. Sit close on the couch instead of in separate chairs.

Many Ottawa couples tell us they don’t touch anymore because one partner always interprets touch as an initiation of sex, and the other partner doesn’t want that pressure. Make it clear: this is about reconnection, not sex. You’re rebuilding physical comfort first.

Identify One Shared Activity to Try Together

This can’t be something you’ve always done. It needs to be new. Take a cooking class. Start hiking. Learn to dance. Join a book club together.

The goal is to create new shared experiences. You’re not trying to recapture who you were 20 years ago. You’re discovering who you can be now.

Days 31-60: Deepening Vulnerability and Addressing Conflicts

Month two is where the real work happens. You’ve established basic connection practices. Now you’re ready to go deeper.

The Vulnerability Exercise

Once a week, take turns answering difficult questions. Set a timer for 15 minutes per person. The listener doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t offer advice, doesn’t defend. They just listen.

Questions to explore:

• What’s something you’ve been afraid to tell me?
• What do you need from me that you’re not getting?
• What resentment are you carrying that you haven’t addressed?
• What would make you feel more valued in this relationship?
• What are you grieving about this phase of life?

This exercise is uncomfortable. Most couples want to skip it. Don’t. These are the conversations that rebuild intimacy.

Identify One Core Conflict and Address It

Every relationship has recurring conflicts. Money. In-laws. Household responsibilities. How you spend time. Choose one issue and actually resolve it (or at least reach a compromise you can both live with).

Don’t try to address everything at once. Pick one thing. Work through it using these steps:

1. Each person states their perspective without blame (use “I feel” statements, not “you always”)
2. Each person repeats back what they heard to ensure understanding
3. Identify the underlying need each person is expressing
4. Brainstorm possible solutions together
5. Choose one solution to try for 30 days, then reassess

If you can’t navigate this without escalating into arguments, this is where couples therapy helps. We use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman Method at Therapy with Empathy with Ottawa couples to teach conflict resolution skills that actually work.

Renegotiate Roles and Expectations

The division of labor that worked when you had kids doesn’t necessarily work now. Have an explicit conversation about who’s responsible for what.

This includes emotional labor, not just physical tasks:

• Who initiates social plans?
• Who tracks important dates?
• Who manages relationships with extended family?
• Who’s responsible for keeping the relationship healthy?

Many couples discover the woman has been carrying most of the emotional labor. Empty nest is a good time to rebalance.

Days 61-90: Building Toward a Shared Vision

The final month is about looking forward. You’ve reconnected. You’ve addressed some conflicts. Now you’re ready to create a shared vision for the next chapter.

Design Your Ideal Week

What would a perfect week look like for each of you? How much time together versus apart? What activities? What pace?

Draw out two schedules: yours and your partner’s. Then compare. Where do they overlap? Where do they conflict?

You’re not trying to create identical ideal weeks. You’re trying to understand each other’s needs and find compromises that honor both.

Create a 5-Year Relationship Vision

Five years from now, what does your relationship look like if everything goes well? Be specific. Where are you living? How do you spend time together? What have you accomplished? How do you feel about each other?

This exercise forces you to articulate whether you’re actually heading in the same direction. If your visions are drastically different, that’s important information.

Establish Ongoing Maintenance Practices

What from the past 90 days will you keep doing? Daily check-ins? Weekly date nights? Monthly weekend getaways?

Connection isn’t a problem you solve once. It’s a practice you maintain. Decide together what practices you’ll commit to long-term.

Celebrate Progress

Acknowledge how far you’ve come. Recognition matters. You’ve done hard work. Take time to appreciate each other’s effort and the changes you’ve made.

When Therapy Is Better Than Coaching

The 90-day framework works for couples who are fundamentally healthy but disconnected. It doesn’t work for everyone. Here’s when you need therapy, not coaching.

You Need Therapy If:

There’s a history of trauma (childhood trauma, relational trauma, infidelity, abuse). Trauma requires deeper, slower healing than coaching provides.

One or both partners struggle with mental health issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction). You need clinical support, not just relationship strategies.

There’s ongoing conflict that escalates into emotional abuse (contempt, criticism, stonewalling, defensiveness). These are what Dr. John Gottman calls “The Four Horsemen.” They require therapeutic intervention.

One partner is deeply hurt and can’t move past resentments without processing them first. Coaching asks you to look forward. Therapy gives you space to heal the past.

You’ve tried to reconnect on your own and it’s not working. If you’ve been actively trying for six months with no improvement, you need professional support.

You’re Ready for Coaching If:

You’re both committed to the relationship and willing to do the work. Coaching doesn’t work if one person is ambivalent.

Your disconnection is primarily about neglect, not deep relational wounds. You grew apart slowly through lack of attention, not through betrayal or harm.

You want clear structure, action steps, and measurable goals. Coaching is strategic and time-bound. Therapy is exploratory and open-ended.

You’re ready to focus on the future, not just process the past. Coaching acknowledges where you’ve been but emphasizes where you’re going.

At Therapy with Empathy in Westboro, we offer both therapy and coaching for Ottawa couples. During a free consultation, we’ll determine which approach fits your situation best.

The Modern Challenges Empty Nesters Face

The core challenges of empty nest transitions haven’t changed. But several modern factors make reconnection harder than it was for previous generations.

The AI Advice Paradox

You can ask AI anything about your relationship and get an answer that sounds authoritative. The problem: AI flattens nuance. It gives generalized advice based on patterns, not your specific situation.

We’ve had Ottawa couples come to sessions with AI-generated relationship advice they’ve received. They’re confused because the advice sounded good but didn’t work. That’s because relationship healing requires customization, not generic solutions.

Your partner’s behavior makes sense in the context of their nervous system, their history, their attachment style. AI doesn’t know that. A human therapist does.

Menopause and Male Aging

Empty nest timing often coincides with menopause for women and declining testosterone for men. These biological changes affect libido, mood, sleep, and energy.

Many women experience decreased sex drive during menopause. Many men experience erectile difficulties or decreased desire. These changes create relationship stress that has nothing to do with emotional connection.

If physical intimacy has changed dramatically, rule out biological factors before assuming it’s purely relational. Talk to your doctor. Consider hormone therapy if appropriate. Don’t suffer silently and let it destroy your relationship.

Attachment Patterns Resurface

When you’re busy raising kids, attachment patterns stay hidden. You’re focused on logistics. But when structure disappears, your nervous system patterns become obvious.

If you’re anxiously attached, empty nest triggers fears of abandonment. Your partner is home more but feels distant. You pursue connection intensely, which pushes them away.

If you’re avoidantly attached, empty nest feels suffocating. Your partner wants more closeness. You need more space. You withdraw, which intensifies their pursuit.

These patterns create a pursue-withdraw cycle that’s hard to break without professional help. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) specifically addresses attachment patterns in relationships.

Competing Timelines and Goals

You might be ready to slow down and enjoy life. Your partner might be at the peak of their career wanting to work another decade. You might want to relocate to be near future grandchildren. Your partner might want to stay in Ottawa where their life is established.

Previous generations had more prescribed timelines. Everyone retired around the same age. Extended family stayed local. Roles were more rigid.

Now, everything is negotiable. That’s liberating but also complicated. You need explicit conversations about competing goals. You can’t assume you’re on the same timeline.

Real Talk: Some Relationships Don’t Survive Empty Nest

Here’s what I need you to hear: not every empty nest relationship should be saved. Some couples realize they stayed together for the kids. Now that the kids are gone, there’s no reason to stay.

That’s not failure. That’s honesty.

If you’ve done the work to reconnect and it’s not working, if you’re staying out of obligation rather than desire, if you’re fundamentally incompatible and just never addressed it, divorce might be the healthiest choice.

Other couples decide to stay married but live separate lives. They maintain the legal and financial partnership but don’t expect emotional intimacy. They’re clear-eyed about what their relationship is and isn’t. If both people genuinely choose that arrangement (not just resign themselves to it), it can work.

The unhealthiest option is staying in a disconnected relationship while pretending everything is fine. That creates bitterness, resentment, and wasted years.

Signs Your Relationship Might Not Be Worth Saving

You’ve actively worked on reconnection for a year and nothing has changed. Effort matters. If you’ve both been trying genuinely and consistently and the relationship still feels dead, that’s information.

There’s contempt. Contempt is different than anger or frustration. It’s disgust. It’s viewing your partner as beneath you. Dr. Gottman found contempt is the single strongest predictor of divorce. If you feel contempt for your partner (or they feel it for you), the relationship is in serious trouble.

One person has checked out emotionally. They’re not fighting, not engaging, not trying. They’re just waiting for the relationship to end or waiting for the other person to make the first move.

You’re staying for reasons other than wanting to be together. If the only reasons you list for staying are financial security, social reputation, fear of being alone, or religious obligation, those aren’t good enough. You both deserve relationships you actually want to be in.

FAQ About Empty Nest Relationship Reconnection

For Ottawa Couples: You Don’t Have to Navigate This Alone

Empty nest transitions challenge even the strongest relationships. When careers and children provided structure for 20 years, learning to connect without that scaffolding takes time, intention, and often professional support.

At Therapy with Empathy in Westboro, we work with high-performing Ottawa couples navigating exactly this transition. Using Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we help couples understand their patterns, rebuild emotional intimacy, and create a shared vision for the next chapter of life together.

Whether you need therapy to heal old wounds or coaching to implement strategic change, we’ll help you determine which approach fits your situation. You don’t have to accept a roommate marriage. You don’t have to stay stuck in disconnection. And you don’t have to figure this out alone.

Book a free consultation to work with a couples therapist in Ottawa who understands the unique challenges facing empty nesters. Email us at info@therapywithempathy.com or call our Westboro office to get started.