Madeleine Kingsley
Relationship and Couples Therapist
Madeleine Kingsley is a Relate qualified couples counsellor with over 30 years’ experience supporting couples through difficult and often painful periods in their relationships.
She works with couples experiencing communication breakdowns, emotional distance, trust issues, and the strain of major life transitions. Madeleine offers a calm, thoughtful space where couples can slow things down, feel heard, and work towards meaningful change without judgement.
How I work with couples
I offer a confidential and supportive space where both of you can feel listened to and taken seriously.
In our sessions, I help slow conversations down so that patterns become clearer and less reactive. Many couples arrive feeling stuck, unheard, or worn down by repeated arguments that never seem to resolve. Others feel more like companions or housemates than partners and are unsure how the closeness they once shared has faded.
My role is not to judge, take sides, or tell you what to do. Instead, I help you make sense of what is happening between you, understand each other’s perspectives more fully, and communicate with honesty and kindness rather than blame.
Therapy does not have to involve dramatic or overwhelming change. Often, small shifts can bring relief, clarity, and renewed connection.
When relationships feel stuck
Couples often contact me when they are experiencing one or more of the following:
- Recurring arguments that go round in circles
- Feeling emotionally distant or disconnected
- Difficulty rebuilding trust after an affair or betrayal
- Uncertainty about whether the relationship can move forward
- Strain caused by parenthood, loss, illness, work pressure, menopause, or the empty nest stage
These challenges can place significant pressure on even strong relationships. I support couples to talk through these difficulties safely and to make decisions that feel thoughtful and grounded rather than reactive.
Talking about intimacy
Many couples find it difficult or uncomfortable to talk openly about sex and intimacy, and that is completely normal.
I aim to create a space where these conversations can happen without embarrassment or pressure. Difficulties around intimacy are often closely linked to emotional safety, stress, trust, and life changes rather than physical desire alone.
Couples often seek support for issues such as:
- A loss or change in desire
- Feeling disconnected after having children or during menopause
- Emotional distance following an affair
- Differences in sexual desire or initiation
- Feeling stuck in routine or unsure how to reconnect
If intimacy matters to one or both of you, we can explore ways of rebuilding closeness at a pace that feels right.
I do not offer specialist sex therapy for specific medical or physical difficulties. However, the emotional and relational side of intimacy is very much part of my work.
Background and experience
Before training as a couples counsellor over 30 years ago, I worked as a features journalist for newspapers and magazines, writing about family life, health, relationships, and personal stories. This background shaped my ability to listen carefully and to hold complex emotional narratives with sensitivity.
I have also worked in the voluntary sector, interviewing prisoners and attending Parole Board hearings at Wandsworth and Armley prisons.
A particularly meaningful part of my work involved contributing to Steven Spielberg’s Archive of the Shoah, where I recorded video testimony from Holocaust survivors. This experience continues to inform my respect for people’s resilience, complexity, and capacity for reflection.
I am also a Patron of CANCERactive, a charity supporting cancer prevention, cancer support, and integrative cancer therapies.
How I can help you
- Helping both partners feel heard and understood without judgement
- Supporting clearer, calmer communication
- Exploring differences without seeing them as failures
- Working collaboratively and at your pace
- Supporting reconnection or thoughtful separation where needed
Types of therapy offered
- Couple Therapy and Marriage Counselling
- LGBTQ+ Relationship Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Psychodynamic Counselling
- Person Centred Therapy
- Bereavement Counselling
- Trauma informed therapy
- Support with sex and intimacy issues
- Anxiety and OCD
Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in History, University of Cambridge
- Relate Certificate in Couples Counselling
- Relate qualification in counselling children and young people
- Relate Postgraduate Diploma in Family Counselling
Booking an appointment
If you feel Madeleine could be a good fit for you both, you can view her availability and book an appointment online at a time that suits you.
If you are unsure where to start, you are welcome to get in touch and we can help you choose the right therapist.
