Couples Counselling & Relationship Therapy for Northcote

Yes. The practice is on Mansfield Street in neighbouring Thornbury, only a few minutes from Northcote and a short walk from High Street. Many of the couples I work with come from across the inner north. Sessions are also available online via secure telehealth if that suits you better on a given week.

No. Many couples come when things feel uncertain, distant or difficult, but not necessarily at a breaking point. Counselling can also support relationships that want to strengthen connection before problems become more entrenched. Couples who come earlier, while there is still goodwill between them, often find the work moves more quickly.

Couples therapy is a distinct specialisation rather than an extension of individual counselling, and it is worth asking any therapist what their specific training in working with couples has been. The relationship is the client, which is a different way of working to seeing two individuals in the same room. Beyond credentials, fit matters enormously, and a free consultation is a low-cost way to find out whether someone feels right for both of you.

This is very common. Often one person is more ready than the other. We can begin with whoever is willing to attend and create space for the concerns or hesitation that exist around starting. A reluctant partner is usually not indifferent, more often they are bracing for something they expect to happen in the room.

No. The work is not about assigning blame. It focuses on understanding the patterns between you, so that both perspectives can be heard and new ways of responding can emerge. If one partner feels the therapist has sided against them, the therapy stops working, so holding both experiences is what makes the work possible rather than simply being even-handed.

The first session is mostly about understanding what has brought you here and what you are each hoping for. There is no pressure to resolve anything straight away. It is also a chance for you to get a sense of how it feels to work together, which matters as much as anything else. Most couples leave with a clearer view of the cycle they are caught in, which is often the first shift in itself.

Both are welcome. I work with couples and with individuals who want to understand themselves in relationship, including attachment patterns, relational difficulties and intimacy concerns. Some people begin individually and later bring a partner in, and some continue one to one throughout. Individual relationship counselling follows the same attachment-informed frame, with the focus on your own history and ways of relating.

Yes, and a meaningful proportion of my practice is queer couples and individuals. Same-sex and gender-diverse relationships face the same attachment dynamics as any other, alongside pressures that are specific to them, including family of origin, disclosure, minority stress and questions about how a relationship should look when there is no default script. The work does not assume a heteronormative template and does not treat your relationship as a variation on one.

Yes. I work with couples and partnerships practising ethical non-monogamy, open relationships and polyamory, whether you are already established in that structure, negotiating a transition into it, or working through difficulty within it. The work does not treat non-monogamy as the presenting problem to be resolved. Attachment needs, jealousy, agreements and repair are all workable regardless of the shape a relationship takes.

Yes. What you share is kept confidential, within the limits set out by law and professional ethical guidelines, which I will explain clearly at the outset. Where I am working with a couple, I will also talk with you about how information shared individually is handled, so everyone is clear from the start.

Sessions are $220 for 50 minutes and $280 for 80 minutes. Many couples find the longer session useful, as relational work often needs a little more time to settle into. If you are unsure which suits you, we can talk it through beforehand.

No. Medicare rebates are not available for counselling with ACA-registered counsellors, and relationship counselling is not covered under a Mental Health Care Plan even when provided by a registered psychologist. This applies across the profession rather than to my practice specifically. Some private health funds offer rebates for counselling with ACA-registered members, so it is worth checking directly with your fund about your level of cover.

There is no fixed answer, as it depends on what you are working through and what you hope for. Some people come for a short, focused period, others for longer. We check in along the way about how things are progressing, so the work stays shaped around your needs rather than a set number of sessions.

My work is attachment-informed and draws on emotionally focused, systemic and psychodynamic approaches, alongside a narrative sensibility. In practice this means paying attention to the emotional patterns between people rather than working from a script. I hold a Master of Counselling specialising in couple and relationship therapy, and completed the Specialist Course in Integrative Couples Therapy through Relationships Australia Victoria, including supervised clinical practice with couples. I am a registered member of the Australian Counselling Association (member R84853).

Yes, and it is one of the more common reasons couples come. The work involves making sense of what happened, attending to the injury itself rather than moving past it quickly, and rebuilding trust at a pace that is honest about the damage done. Recovery is possible for many couples, though it takes time and both partners need to be willing to stay in the difficulty. Therapy does not assume the relationship should continue, only that the decision deserves to be made with clarity.

Not at all, and it is common in the inner north. Individual therapy and couples therapy do different work, and they generally sit alongside one another well. What matters is that the couples work has its own space rather than becoming a place to relitigate what has been discussed elsewhere. With your consent I am happy to be in contact with an individual therapist where that would be useful.

Yes. Sessions are available in person in Thornbury and online via secure telehealth for clients across Australia. Online works well for many couples, particularly where shift work, young children or travel make a regular in-person time difficult. Some couples attend together from the same room, others join from separate locations.