Marriage & Couples Counselling Brisbane
Marriage counselling or couples counselling can help you to reconnect again
Are you experiencing any of these?
Feeling alone and emotionally disconnected
Having the same arguments over and over again
Feeling like you can't move on from the hurt of the past
Feeling unsupported and not validated
Feeling unappreciated and unloved
Constantly hurting one another when you argue
Feeling like you're not being heard or understood
How Can I Help You in Couples Counselling?
By helping you understand how you get stuck in negative communication cycles
and how to break the pattern.
By helping you to slow down your interactions in conflict, understand how you get triggered
and how to move through these situations in a more supportive way.
By helping you address the underlying issues that cause conflict and disconnection to build
a deeper, stronger emotional connection.
By providing you with a supportive space where you can discuss your concerns in a productive
and effective manner to be heard by your partner.
By offering you a gentle way of recognising and taking responsibility for your emotions and
responses to one another to develop a healthier relationship.
By allowing your feelings to be validated and increasing empathy and trust within your relationship.
By providing you with the opportunity to end your marriage amicably, with dignity and respect, if
this is the decision that has been reached. (If married for less than two years you can attain
a counselling certificate required for divorce)
How Do I Work?
The Science of Love: Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Over forty years ago, with over 3,000 couples, Dr. John Gottman set out to understand love through the lens of science. He measured the behaviour, perception, and physiology of couples over time in his research lab (dubbed the “Love Lab”) at the University of Washington. Using the data collected, he was able to create equations for love and discern the mathematical dynamics of a relationship. Studies using randomised clinical trials have been published in the Journal of Family Therapy and the Journal of Family Psychology endorsing the effectiveness of the Gottman Method.
The Goals of Gottman Therapy Brisbane are specific:
Address conflict constructively and reduce negative interactions
Increase connection and friendship
Build a life of shared meaning together
Help build stronger, happier and more resilient relationships
Gottman Method Couples Therapy combines scientific assessment with proven therapies to ensure your needs are fully assessed and a specific treatment plan can be created and tailored to you. The first part of the assessment is an initial couples session where a 90 minute appointment is required. Once the full assessment has been done and goals specific to you determined, therapy can begin.
The Gottman Method is not difficult to apply but what you will need is:
A commitment to the process and being receptive to learning new skills
A willingness to cooperate and contribute to the process
A desire to continue using the skills learned in session on the outside
An openness to being gently guided and challenged to learn and change
Patience to work through your issues in a new way as you unlearn possibly many years of old behavioural patterns
If you and your partner are willing to do the work, you will gain a positive perception of your partner and find healthier ways to deal with problems as they arise in the future. Gottman Method is not time-limited and every couple is unique, however, we have found that on average where couples have attended 90-minute sessions:
For couples seeking to enhance their relationship, it averages 5-10 therapy sessions
For couples in distress, it averages 15-20 therapy sessions
For couples with serious comorbidities or an extramarital affair it averages 25-50 therapy sessions.
Marriage Counselling Redlands & Online - Is It Worth It?
This question is usually filled with reservations about the cost involved, the time and the effort and at the end of the day wondering if all these factors are going to be worth the outcome. Well, there really are no guarantees, but, what I can tell you is what we do know, which is that:
Couples who want to stay together, are willing to do the work and are committed to counselling sessions have an 84% chance of success.
The average couple waits 6 years after problems start before seeking help for marital problems. The sooner you start therapy the less likely issues will have had time to become ingrained.
69% of problems in relationships are perpetual, that is, they are related to differences in personality, values, etc. Learning how to communicate about these problems is key.
The cost of therapy far outweighs the emotional and financial cost of separation and divorce.
Sessions offered are in person or online and up to 60, 90 or 120 minutes, however, 90 minutes is usually required for your initial session.
Not sure if you're ready for counselling? Why not look at getting a scientifically backed assessment on the health of your relationship and at the end receive some resources and tools specific to what your relationship requires that you can get started with implementing straight away to work on strengthening your partnership. Click on the link here.
The commitment to couples therapy is significant
but there is not much that impacts your quality of life more than the feelings of safety and supportiveness
you get from a loving relationship with your partner.
What my clients say
"I feel enlightened after our first session today. I was not only able to say what I needed to but I felt I was heard and acknowledged.
It was a huge emotional release that I haven't had previously in our conversations"
Peter & Maryann, Married