How do you work?
I currently see couples via telehealth only on alternate Monday or Wednesday evenings. I recommend couples therapy at least fortnightly for consistency, making the best progress, and feeling held and supported while you work through challenges.
What approaches do use?
I am trained in Gottman Therapy, an evidenced based relationship therapy with a long history of research informed practice. It incorporates an emotion-focused approach, attachment and is trauma informed.
What should we expect?
Initial sessions focus on getting to know each partner and the relationship history and connection. This includes an evidence based assessment, joint and individual sessions and a feedback session to discuss strengths, challenges in context and next steps that align with your hopes for sessions. All sessions are joint unless previously discussed and partners need to be in the same location on the same screen, in a private and comfortable environment, away from children or other family members or people at home.
Who do you see?
I see adults of all ages in romantic relationships. I only provide couples therapy – it is my specialty focus of work. I work with couples who have been together a long time, fairly newly dating and wanting to start out right, couples about to be or newly married, and couples who are contemplating separation and working out whether their relationship can be saved. I work with couples who are monogamous or non-monogamous. I work with people from varied cultural backgrounds, with English as a second language. I work with partners across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. I also work with couples using Auslan (where an interpreter is chosen and coordinated by you). I work with couples of all neurotypes, including with varying types of neurodivergence eg. ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, CPTSD, OCD. I work with couples navigating the impacts of disability, chronic illness or serious health scares or conditions. I also work with partners who are sex workers. If you are not sure if I am the person for you or might be the right fit, I can answer any questions or concerns you may have. I am not always the right fit for everyone – as choosing someone you feel safe, comfortable with and relate to is a very personal decision. Where I am not the right fit, I may be able to make other suggestions.
What can we see you for help with?
The most typical concerns couples bring to therapy is support with managing conflict, rebuilding connection, trust and physical intimacy and improving sex. I can help partners with navigating the impacts of past trauma on your relationships, diffusing escalated conflict and managing big emotions and physiological responses, repairing and rebuilding trust after infidelity or secrets and lies from breaches of trust with drugs or alcohol, gambling, money or other betrayals. I can help couples with navigating the impacts of mental health challenges on relationships, or communication and processing differences due to neurodivergence or other cultural differences. I also help couples who feel stuck in a repeated conflict or unsure how to move forward on life dreams, or if they can align. I support couples questioning compatibility or their commitment to the relationship. I also support couples navigating grief, stress and other life changes, transitions and stressors, including the transition to parenthood, and caring responsibilities. I support couples navigating relationship boundaries, including non-monogamous and monogamous boundaries and the roles and reach of extended family members. If you’re not sure whether I can support your concerns, please send me an enquiry.
Is there anything you don’t work with?
Couples therapy is not safe or recommended where there are patterns of coercive control, abuse or any intimate partner violence. For couples therapy to be effective, both partners also need to be committed and willing to work on the relationship in therapy (uncertainty about ongoing commitment to the relationship is okay initially, and often a natural consequence of navigating ongoing challenges). I don’t work with couples where there are ongoing affairs, or active and untreated addiction. Partners who are recovering from addiction and are committed and actively reducing reliance on substances with support of a partner are often good candidates for couples therapy. Sometimes one or both partner experiencing significant mental health challenges or trauma may also find the individual therapy space more supportive to build self insight, coping tools and support alongside or instead of couples therapy initially. This can occasionally be true for partners questioning their sexuality or gender, or building awareness of their own desire cues and needs, or processing sexual trauma – however in most cases, couples therapy supports this work and conversations with a supportive partner in therapy can be a positive shared experience. If in early sessions, or at any time it seems like couples therapy may have stalled or may not be the right fit, this is usually an open conversation about next steps and possible referral pathways.
How long are sessions? What is the cost and how long will therapy ?
Effective therapy that allows time to explore the origin of the challenges and deeply understand patterns influencing your interactions and connection takes time. The longer things have been challenging, the deeper the hurts and resentment, and the longer therapy can take. Ideally therapy starts sooner rather than later, but we know most people take years to come to couples therapy. Most couples benefit from a minimum of 6-12 sessions. For seriously entrenched patterns of conflict, resentment or questions around trust or commitment, couples are more likely to see long lasting progress when they can commit to 6 months, to a year or longer. As progress and hope increases, many couples decrease session frequency or return to couples therapy to address recurring or new challenges down the track.
All sessions are 50 minutes long and the current fee is $220. The initial couple Gottman Relationship Checkup assessment is an additional $39USD for both partners to complete between sessions one and two. This includes your detailed therapeutic report which is discussed in session four. Unfortunately there is currently no Medicare rebate for couples therapy. Your health insurance may cover couples therapy under extras, provided they do not need a provider number (this is not something I can provide). If cost is a barrier to accessing couples therapy, Relationships Australia offer reduced fee for service options nationally.
How do we book?
Please reach out via my contact page.
