Our Story

We are Monica Reu and Ian Peatey — partners in life since 2006, parents since 2010, and companions in a shared journey of learning how to love more consciously.

Like many couples, we began with hope, chemistry, and a vision of building something beautiful together. And like many couples, we discovered that love alone is not enough. Differences surfaced. Old wounds were triggered. We hurt each other in ways we never intended. There were moments when misunderstanding, defensiveness, and painful patterns could easily have pulled us apart.

Nonviolent Communication became the practice that helped us stay.

Again and again, when conflict escalated or distance grew, NVC offered us a way back — a way to slow down, to listen beneath the words, to distinguish what belonged to the present moment from what was being carried from the past. It helped us see that often we were not fighting each other, but fighting echoes of earlier experiences. When we learned to tell the difference, something shifted.

We also came to understand a powerful truth that deeply resonates with us: a relationship is not designed to make us happy — it is designed to help us grow. Growth is not always comfortable. It exposes our fears, our unmet needs, our protective strategies. But when approached with awareness and compassion, growth becomes the path to deeper intimacy rather than separation.

Solution-Focused coaching added another essential dimension to this journey. It helped us stop circling endlessly around what was wrong and begin asking different questions: What is already working? When do we feel most connected? What kind of relationship do we want to create now? This shift from blame to possibility changed everything.

There were times when staying together required courage. Times when we had to look honestly at our own patterns instead of trying to fix the other person. Times when repair meant taking responsibility without shame. As we worked through these layers, something unexpected happened: the very places where we had been most wounded became the places where we grew closest. Hurt, when met with presence, became a doorway to deeper love.

Working with couples is meaningful to us because we know firsthand what is at stake. We know how easy it is to drift apart. We also know how possible it is to reconnect.

Whenever we sit with two people in conflict, we are not standing outside the process. Our work keeps us accountable in our own relationship. It invites us to practice what we teach, to remain honest, to keep choosing each other consciously. In supporting others, we continue growing ourselves.

We believe that if there is any real chance for peace in the world, it begins at home — in the everyday conversations between partners. Relationships are where we are often hurt most deeply. And relationships are also where we have the greatest opportunity to heal.

NVC Couples was born from this conviction.

We do not offer a perfect formula. We offer a living practice — a way of listening, speaking, repairing, and choosing connection even when it feels difficult. We bring everything we have learned personally and professionally into this work, with humility and hope.

We have experienced that happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of understanding. It is possible to love and be loved with awareness. It is possible to repair. It is possible to grow closer over time.

And if you are willing to do the work, we are here to support you.

Monica Reu

Monica Reu is a CNVC-certified Nonviolent Communication (NVC) trainer, Solution-Focused coach, mediator, and relationship practitioner with more than 15 years of experience supporting partners in building stronger, more conscious intimate relationships.

She has been working with couples since 2007, offering both one-to-one sessions and structured relationship programs. Her work focuses on helping partners communicate honestly without hurting each other, rebuild trust after rupture, and move from painful disconnection toward clarity, dignity, and renewed intimacy. Trained in NVC mediation, Monica brings particular skill to moments of high conflict, betrayal, and difficult decision points — creating a space where both people feel heard without blame.

In 2015, she became a certified Solution-Focused coach, adding a forward-looking, strengths-based dimension to her relational work. This integration allows those she works with not only to understand what went wrong, but to reconnect with what still works — and to design practical, doable steps toward the partnership they want to build.

For six years, Monica co-facilitated the international NVC intensive for couples, Extraordinary Intimate Relationships, guiding participants from around the world through deep transformative processes. She has witnessed firsthand how even long-standing patterns in intimate relationships can shift when new skills are learned and genuine empathy is experienced.

As President of the Romanian Association for Nonviolent Communication (ACNV), Monica has played a key role in growing the NVC community in Romania. For the couples she supports, this means working with someone deeply rooted in the global NVC network and committed to high standards of integrity, competence, and compassion.

Monica is known for her emotional depth, clarity, and ability to combine warmth with grounded directness. Partners often describe feeling both challenged and supported — safe enough to be vulnerable, and steady enough to face what matters most together.

Ian Peatey

Ian Peatey is a CNVC-certified Nonviolent Communication trainer, Solution-Focused coach, and international facilitator with over three decades of experience in training, coaching, and personal development — and more than 15 years of focused work with intimate partners.

Born in Great Britain and living in Eastern Europe since 1994, Ian began his journey with Nonviolent Communication in 2001 after meeting Marshall Rosenberg. What began as professional curiosity became a profound personal transformation, reshaping how he approaches conflict, responsibility, and closeness in his own relationships. This lived experience deeply informs his work with couples today.

He completed his CNVC certification in 2008 and has since delivered training in more than 20 countries. He regularly teaches at International Intensive Trainings (IITs) and other long-form programs, and serves as a CNVC assessor, mentoring candidates on their path to certification. For those seeking support in their intimate relationships, this means working with someone trusted at the highest levels of the international NVC community.

Ian is also a qualified Solution-Focused coach, bringing a calm, practical, and forward-moving orientation to his sessions. He helps partners shift from circular arguments toward clarity, shared understanding, and actionable steps. His ability to remain grounded during emotionally charged conversations allows both individuals to slow down, listen differently, and discover new possibilities even in moments of deep tension.

Known for his steady presence and subtle sense of humour, Ian creates an atmosphere where difficult topics can be explored without escalation. Many couples experience him as reassuring and balanced — someone who holds both partners with equal respect while gently guiding the relationship toward greater honesty and connection.