Couples Counselling & Relationship Therapy for Heidelberg
A dedicated, specialist practice for couples and individuals navigating the complexities of intimate relationships. Based in nearby Thornbury, supporting clients across Heidelberg and Melbourne's inner north-east, with secure telehealth available Australia-wide.
Stephanie Schiftan
Couples & Relationship Therapist
MCouns (Couples) · ACA Member · Specialist Course in Integrative Couples Therapy (RAV) · Accredited Prepare/Enrich Facilitator · GradDipEd · BFA (Hons)
I came to counselling through a winding path, through classrooms and creative spaces, and both continue to shape the way I work. My background in Fine Arts gave me a deep attunement to how meaning is made and expressed. My years in education taught me to pay close attention to how people make sense of themselves and the world. That curiosity and attentiveness sits at the heart of how I practise.
I hold a Master of Counselling (Couples Stream) and trained as a couples therapist at Relationships Australia Victoria, completing the Specialist Course in Integrative Couples Therapy and my supervised clinical hours there. I am a member of the Australian Counselling Association.
I work with couples and individuals across all relationship stages. I am interested in the ways people try to stay connected, make sense of difficulty, and navigate the tensions that arise in close relationships. LGBTQI+ clients and diverse relationship structures are warmly welcomed.
Common Reasons Couples Reach Out
People arrive at counselling from very different places. Some come in the middle of a crisis, others because something has quietly stopped working and they want to understand it before it hardens. Whatever brings you here, these are among the concerns I work with most often:
- Arguments that keep circling back to the same place, and communication that breaks down under pressure
- A sense of emotional distance, where you are living alongside each other rather than with each other
- Changes in intimacy, desire and physical closeness
- Betrayal and infidelity, and the slow work of rebuilding trust afterward
- Being unsure whether to stay, and needing space to think it through honestly
- Separation, and how to separate well when children are part of the picture
- Tension around parenting, step-parenting and blended family life
- Long-standing attachment patterns that keep repeating across relationships
- Opening up a relationship, and navigating ethical non-monogamy and polyamory
- The ways neurodivergence can shape how two people connect and miss each other
- The strain that anxiety, depression, trauma or addiction places on a relationship
- Grief, loss and the major transitions that reshape life together
A Practice Centred on Relationships
Close relationships hold some of the most meaningful parts of life, and some of the most difficult. They are where we feel most known, and also where old habits, unspoken expectations and long-held fears tend to surface. The same bond that offers belonging can, at other times, leave us feeling unseen, misread, or caught in a dynamic neither person chose.
People reach out at all sorts of moments. Some arrive during an acute rupture, when something has broken and needs urgent attention. Others come because a slow drift has set in, or because a significant change, a new baby, a loss, a shift in circumstances, has quietly altered how they relate to one another. Individuals come too, wanting to understand the part they play in the relationships that matter most to them.
The starting point is understanding rather than judgement. Instead of settling who is at fault, the work looks closely at what happens emotionally between two people: the patterns that repeat, the moments connection is lost, and the small openings where it can be found again. As that understanding grows, new ways of responding become possible, building the kind of connection and resilience that lasts well beyond the difficulty that first brought you here.
How We Can Work Together
Couples & Relationship Counselling
A space for couples to slow down, understand recurring patterns, and work with the emotional processes shaping distance, conflict or disconnection.
Individual Counselling
For individuals seeking to better understand themselves in relationship, including attachment patterns, relational difficulties and intimacy concerns.
Prepare/Enrich
A research-based program for couples preparing for or deepening commitment, helping you understand each other more fully and build strong foundations together.
Getting Here from Heidelberg
The practice is on Mansfield Street in Thornbury, a short and straightforward trip west from Heidelberg. For most people it is around a fifteen minute drive, rarely more than twenty, with Bell Street offering a direct run across through Preston before you reach the High Street end of Thornbury.
If you are coming after work or around school pick-up, the quieter residential streets near Mansfield Street usually make parking manageable, and the rooms are an easy walk from the High Street shops if you would like to arrive a little early and settle before your session.
For anyone who would rather not travel, or whose week simply does not allow it, sessions are also available online via secure telehealth. Distance never needs to be the reason to put off reaching out.
Areas served
The practice is on Mansfield Street in Thornbury, a few minutes from Northcote and Preston along the High Street corridor, a short trip across the creek from Fairfield, and a straightforward drive from Ivanhoe and the Banyule suburbs. Sessions are also available online throughout Australia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer couples counselling near Heidelberg?
Yes. The practice is based on Mansfield Street in Thornbury, around a fifteen minute drive west of Heidelberg, so it is an easy and familiar trip for couples across Banyule. Sessions are also available online via secure telehealth if travelling in is difficult in a given week.
Do we need to be at breaking point before booking?
Not at all. Plenty of couples reach out when things simply feel off, distant or harder than they used to, well before any sense of crisis. Coming in early, while patterns are still loosening rather than set, often makes the work quicker and gentler. Individuals are just as welcome to come and make sense of how they relate.
Do you see individuals as well as couples?
Yes. I work with couples exploring their relationship together, and with individuals wanting to understand themselves and their patterns of relating, whether or not they are currently partnered. It is common to begin on your own and bring a partner in later once you feel ready.
What if my partner is reluctant or unsure about counselling?
This comes up constantly, and it is normal for one person to feel more ready than the other. We can start with whoever is willing to come, and the hesitation itself is often worth understanding, since it usually reflects something already alive in the relationship. Many partners settle once they see the space is not about being blamed.
Which therapeutic approach do you use?
My work is attachment-informed and emotionally focused, drawing primarily on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), alongside psychodynamic, narrative and neurobiologically informed thinking. In practice this means attending to the emotional patterns underneath the presenting difficulty, rather than applying a fixed technique. The aim is lasting change in how you connect, not just managing the current argument.
Will you take sides or tell us who is right?
No. The work is not about deciding fault or keeping score. It looks closely at the pattern moving between you, so both people feel genuinely heard and new ways of responding can open up. Both perspectives matter, and both are held with the same care.
How much are sessions and how long do they run?
Sessions are $220 for 50 minutes and $280 for 80 minutes, with many couples choosing the longer format so there is room to slow down and go deeper. The Prepare/Enrich program is offered as a package. If you are unsure what suits you, a free 15-minute consultation is a good place to begin.
How many sessions will we need?
This varies, and it depends on what you are bringing and what you are hoping for. Some couples come for a focused piece of work over several sessions, while others stay longer to shift patterns that have been in place for years. We talk about what feels realistic early on, and you are never locked into a set number.
Can we claim a Medicare or private health rebate?
Sessions are not eligible for Medicare rebates, as I practise as a counsellor rather than a registered psychologist, and couples counselling generally falls outside Medicare in any case. Some private health funds offer limited cover for counselling depending on your level of extras, so it is worth checking directly with your fund. I am a member of the Australian Counselling Association.
Is there a free consultation before we commit?
Yes. A free 15-minute phone consultation lets you get a feel for how I work and ask anything you are unsure about, with no pressure to book. It is often the easiest first step when you are weighing up whether counselling is right for you both. You can arrange one through the contact page.
Can we fit sessions around work?
Many couples ask about timing around work and family, and I try to be flexible where availability allows. Let me know what you are looking for when you get in touch and we can find a time that fits. Telehealth can also make a tight week more manageable.
Do you work with LGBTQ+ couples and diverse relationship structures?
Yes, warmly. This is an affirming practice for people of all sexualities and genders, and I work with couples in open relationships, ethical non-monogamy and polyamory as readily as with monogamous ones. Whoever you are and however you love, you are welcome here.
Do you help couples recover after an affair?
Yes. Betrayal and infidelity are among the most common reasons couples reach out, and the work makes room for both the hurt and the slow rebuilding of trust over time. There is no rush to decide the outcome, and no assumption about which way things should go. The focus is on understanding what happened between you and what becomes possible from here.
What happens in a first session?
The first session is mostly about getting a shared sense of what brings you in and what each of you is hoping for. There is nothing to prepare, and you will not be pushed to open up faster than feels comfortable. By the end you should have a clearer sense of how the work might unfold and whether it feels like the right fit.
Is what we talk about confidential?
Yes. What you share stays confidential, within the limits set out by law and professional ethical guidelines, which I explain clearly at the outset. Building a private and trustworthy space is part of the work itself, and it matters just as much for couples as for individuals.
Is online counselling available for Heidelberg clients?
Yes. Alongside in-person sessions in Thornbury, I offer secure telehealth for clients across Heidelberg and the rest of Australia. Online sessions work well for busy weeks, shift work or times when getting to the rooms is not practical, and many couples move comfortably between in-person and online as their schedule needs.