Services
Couples Counselling & Relationship Therapy
in Narre Warren
Find Your Way Back to Each Other
Feeling lonely in your relationship?
Most relationships begin with two people feeling loved, understood, and deeply connected. Then life happens. Work pressures, financial strain, parenting, family responsibilities, health concerns, and major transitions can slowly wear on even the strongest relationships. You may notice yourselves having the same arguments, feeling unheard, growing apart, or wondering quietly when things became this hard.
You are not imagining it, and you are not alone. Research shows that couples often experience a real decline in relationship satisfaction during major transitions like becoming parents, and financial stress remains one of the most common sources of tension between partners (Gottman & Gottman, 2007; Archuleta et al., 2011). These pressures are common. They do not mean something is wrong with you or your relationship.
Have a specific question? Jump straight to the FAQs below.
You Might Recognise Some of These
- Ongoing conflict or frequent arguments
- Difficulty communicating or feeling unheard
- Loss of connection, closeness, or intimacy
- Trust issues or recovering from betrayal
- Navigating major life transitions together
- Differences in values, expectations, or goals
- Feeling stuck in the same patterns
- Wanting to feel close again
Understanding What's Beneath the Surface
So much of what shows up in a relationship was shaped long before you met your partner. The way each of you learned to communicate, manage emotions, handle conflict, and feel safe in connection with others often began early in life. When stress builds, these old patterns tend to surface more easily, and both people can end up feeling hurt, frustrated, or disconnected, even when neither of you meant any harm.
Couples counselling offers somewhere to pause, breathe, and make sense of what is really happening between you. Whether you are feeling distant, caught in conflict, navigating a big life change, or working through betrayal, change is possible when you are both willing to take the first step.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)
Alongside the Gottman Method, I also draw on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), developed by Dr Sue Johnson. EFCT is grounded in attachment theory, the idea that adult romantic bonds run on the same wiring as a child's need for a secure caregiver. Rather than treating conflict as a communication problem to be solved on the surface, EFCT looks underneath the argument to the attachment fear driving it, am I safe with you, do you still want me, will you be there when I need you. EFCT works by slowing the cycle down enough for each partner to see the vulnerability underneath their partner's anger or withdrawal, and to respond to that instead of reacting to the surface behaviour.
"Emotional dependency is not immature or pathological; it is our greatest strength." Sue Johnson, The Love Secret
Our Approach
Every relationship goes through hard seasons. Reaching out for support is not a sign of failure, rather it is often a sign that what you have together still matters enough to fight for.
What to Expect
Sessions are 60 minutes, available in person in Narre Warren or via telehealth Australia-wide. We start by understanding both of your histories, what's happening now, and what you'd each like to see change, then build a plan suited to your relationship, whether that's a focused piece of work or a longer-term course of therapy.
Wondering about cost? Session fees and private health insurance rebate details are on the Fees page.
Whatever is happening in your relationship, you don't have to work through it alone.
Book a Session →Common Questions
Couples Counselling FAQs
Couples counselling is joint therapy for two partners working on their relationship together, addressing conflict, communication, trust, or emotional distance with the support of a trained therapist.
Often, yes. What looks like a communication problem is sometimes an old trauma response playing out between two people, the argument that escalates too fast, the silence that goes on too long, the feeling of being unseen by the person who's supposed to know you best (van der Kolk, 2014). When either partner feels threatened or emotionally overwhelmed, it's easy to react from old survival patterns rather than a considered response. This is one reason couples counselling and individual trauma work often benefit from happening alongside each other.
The Gottman Method draws on decades of research into what predicts relationship success or breakdown, focusing on practical patterns of conflict and connection. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) works from attachment theory, focusing on the underlying emotional fears driving conflict. Many couples benefit from both being used together.
This varies depending on what's happening in the relationship. Some couples benefit from a handful of sessions focused on a specific issue, while others work through longer-standing patterns over a more extended course of therapy.
Couples counselling works best with both partners attending, since the goal is to work on the relationship together. If only one partner is ready, individual relationship counselling can be a useful starting point.
No. Many couples come in well before a crisis point, simply wanting to strengthen communication, navigate a life transition, or address a pattern before it becomes entrenched.
Yes. Thoughtful Strides Counselling and Psychotherapy offers couples counselling via telehealth Australia-wide, as well as in person in Narre Warren.
Ready to take the first step?
Appointments are available now. Reach out today and we'll find a time that works for you.
Book an Appointment