Couples & Relationship Counselling for Ivanhoe
We are wired for connection. Our relationships with the people we love most sit at the very centre of who we are and how we experience our lives. They shape our sense of self, our sense of safety, and the texture of our days in ways we often only notice when something goes wrong.
When a close relationship is struggling, it touches everything. Most of us were never really taught how to do this well. We brought what we learned early, the patterns formed before we had words for them, and we carry those patterns into our most intimate relationships, often without realising it.
Relationship counselling offers a space to understand those patterns clearly. Not to fix things from the outside, but to help both people find their way to something more honest and more connected.
Specialist couples and relationship therapy, accessible from Ivanhoe
Relationship Practice is based in Thornbury, a straight run down St Georges Road from Ivanhoe. I work as a specialist couples and relationship therapist - meaning my training, my focus, and my clinical expertise are specific to this domain.
I hold a Master of Counselling in the Couples stream and have completed the Specialist Course in Integrative Couples Therapy through Relationships Australia Victoria. My practice draws on Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method, both grounded in decades of research on what actually helps couples change. I also bring psychodynamic and neurobiologically informed perspectives to the work - attentive to what each person carries, and to what becomes possible when that's held with care. → About Stephanie
Who I work with:
I work with couples at all relationship stages - early in the relationship and wanting a strong foundation, years in and feeling the distance that can quietly accumulate, navigating a specific crisis, or somewhere in between.
I warmly welcome LGBTQI+ couples and people in diverse relationship structures. Whatever your relationship looks like, you'll be met here with openness and genuine care.
Common themes include recurring conflict, emotional disconnection, betrayal and trust repair, intimacy, parenting stress, life transitions, and the attachment patterns each person brings from their own history.
What to expect:
The first session is about getting to know you both - your history, what's brought you here, and what you're hoping for. There's no pressure to have everything clear before you arrive. Many people come in not quite sure how to describe what's wrong, only that something is.
From there, we work at your pace. Some couples find real movement in a shorter focused period; others work more deeply over time. You're always in control of the direction and the pace.
Practical details
Location In person in Thornbury. Direct route from Ivanhoe via St Georges Rd or Lower Heidelberg Rd.
Online Telehealth sessions available across Australia.
Sessions 55 min ($220 business hours / $240 evenings & weekends) · 75 min ($330 / $360)
Medicare Couples counselling is not covered by Medicare. Some private health extras may apply.
First step A free 15-minute phone call to talk through what you're looking for.