Couples counselling begins with a clear, evidence-informed structure to ensure both partners feel supported:

1. Joint Session
We meet together to explore the concerns bringing you to therapy and the hopes you have for your relationship.

2. Between Sessions

Gottman Relationship Checkup (Online) After the first session, each partner will be invited to complete the Gottman Relationship Checkup, an individual online questionnaire completed in your own time.

This assessment helps identify areas of strength, stress, communication patterns, and key themes that will guide our work together.

3. Individual Check-Ins
Each partner attends a short individual session. This helps me understand your perspectives, histories, and the emotional context you each bring — without taking sides.

4. Feedback + Goal Setting
We return to a joint session to discuss the strengths in your relationship, the patterns contributing to tension, and the most helpful areas for focus.

5. Ongoing Sessions
Together, we explore communication, conflict cycles, emotional connection, intimacy, repair, and new ways of relating.

The relationship, not either partner, is the client. Sessions are collaborative, structured, and paced to support safety for both partners.

My work with couples integrates:

• The Gottman Method (communication tools, conflict repair, emotional bids, shared meaning)

• Attachment theory (understanding needs, safety, and emotional responsiveness)

• Narrative frameworks (exploring the stories that shape relational patterns)

• Emotion-focused principles (supporting deeper emotional understanding and connection)

Themes we often explore include:

• communication and misunderstanding

• conflict patterns and escalation

• emotional disconnection or distance

• recurring arguments that feel unresolved

• intimacy and closeness

• trust and repair after relational injury

• navigating life transitions as a team
  

Session Format:
Couples counselling is offered via secure telehealth.

Session Length:
50–80 minutes depending on the needs of the couple.

Frequency:
Weekly or fortnightly is recommended initially to build momentum.

Suitability:
Couples counselling is most helpful when both partners feel willing, open, and safe enough to participate in the process.
If there is active domestic violence or coercive control, a different form of support is required.