Video Relationship Counselling

This Hart psychologist is a published author, certified HeartMath coach, EMDR therapist, craniosacral therapist, somatic prenatal and birth therapist and accredited NLP trainer.

She is passionate about, and dedicated to working alongside couples and families to embrace the best version of themselves. She achieves this through the use of compassionate and empowering psychological solutions that are practical, easy to implement, and make a difference to people’s lives.

She completed a PhD at Bond University, specialising in building secure attachment within relationships.

She draws upon a wide range of approaches in her counselling sessions, including:

• Enhanced bonding and attachment therapy for couples, families and individuals who want to create accountable and loving relationships
• Mindfulness to live in the present. Free of old conditioning, patterns, negative & unhelpful beliefs, and stress, anxiety and depression
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to address issues relating to self-esteem, self-worth and communication challenges
• Positive Psychology
• Conscious parenting techniques for parents wanting to create healthy and unconditionally loving relationships with their children.

To read our interview with this Hart psychologist about the relationship and marriage counselling services she offers, click here.

Professional Affiliations

• Psychology Board of Australia
• Australian Association of Psychologists Inc – Full Member
• The Association For Prenatal And Perinatal Psychology And Health (USA)
• Member of Canadian Professional Counsellors Association
• Alumni, Bond University (Australia)

To read more about our Online Counselling options, click here.

Working with individuals who may need to create a better work-life balance, need tools to help mange anger, struggle to maintain relationships, recovering from a broken relationship, moving on from loss, separation, divorce and stress management and sleep improvement are all areas where she can assist. Additionally, she has experience working with couples offering improved communication skills, support in the recovery from infidelity, reigniting desire and mismatched libido and many other relationship concerns.

Our Sexual Health Therapist is a member of ASSERT (Australian Society of Sex Educators Researchers and Therapists) and ISSHM (International Society of Sexual Heath).  Sex Therapists are qualified counsellors and healthcare professionals who have had extensive training in human sexuality. Along with a Psychology Degree, she has her Masters in Medicine Science and Sexual Health from the University Of Sydney. She continually increases her clinical knowledge with further research and training. She has extensive clinical experience with Erectile Dysfunction, performance anxiety, delayed and premature ejaculation, porn and sex addiction, sexual fetishes and painful sex (Vaginismus), low desire, low libido and sexual trauma.

Sexual issues can often cause distress and conflict in relationships and sex therapists can assist with these difficulties. As a qualified Sex Therapist, she uses specialised clinical skills and theoretical knowledge to help people deal with sexual difficulties or concerns.

Clients can expect her mature, professional and clinical experience to aid them in achieving the goals desired. A focus on result driven therapy has provided many others with success, and her ability to create a comfortable environment to discuss intimate and personal issues is of great value and importance.

With respect for the relationship and care for his clients, he is able to support couples have conversations they may never have had. He then works together with his clients to find solutions which support the safety and well-being of everyone.

He draws from a variety of counselling theories and approaches which are chosen according to what his clients are looking for. His particular areas of interest are: intimacy, communication, affairs, grief and loss, parenting, and other family challenges.

Over the years, she has worked with couples that have experienced communication difficulties, infidelity, imbalances in power, issues with extended family, life transitional difficulties and conflicting ideas on matters such as child rearing, lifestyle differences and finances.

She has a particularly strong interest in both individual and relationship counselling. She is passionate about assisting couples become more adaptive, by helping each person understand the other’s needs, improving communication styles, practicing conflict resolution and assertiveness skills, and promoting strengths within the relationship.

She embraces a holistic approach to mental wellness. She is available for consultation after hours and welcomes face-to-face counselling as well as telephone and Skype counselling.

She is a certified Sex Educator and Sex Therapist with ASSERT (Australian Society of Sex Educators, Researchers and Therapists 2009)  and is a clinical member of AAFT (Australian Association of Family Therapists).  She applies Bowlby’s Attachment Theory & Family Systems Theory to assist clients in their efforts to improve their wellbeing and relationship effectiveness.

Clients are encouraged to learn about, and develop the capacity to shift perspectives, and to appreciate the importance of our relationships – how it impacts our development, sense of self, ability to deal with others, and mental health.  That understanding their partner’s brain and attachment style can help them defuse conflict and build a secure relationship.  Also trained in the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy, she utilises the Gottman Relationship Checkup  and report to identify the relationships strengths and challenges, concerns and recommendations.

Sessions are available in person, or via telephone or Skype by arrangement.

This Hart therapist finds great pleasure in working with couples. Her personal and professional journey of healing and growth has shown her how essential healthy relationships are to our happiness and wellbeing. She believes that we all get a bit stacked at times and require support. She recognises that relationships are complex and can bring both joy and hurt; and that it is through relationships that we heal, grow, and live satisfying lives.

With over 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples and families, she has the expertise to help you heal, and has trained and worked with a range of evidence-based therapeutic modalities.

Attuning to your concerns and needs, she will choose approaches suited to you, whether you are an individual or a couple. She will assist you to connect to your own resources such as curiosity, compassion, courage and more, in order to understand and heal your struggling parts and your relationship; to become your own caring, present and loving therapist and to experience more rewarding relationships and a happier life.

In addition to helping individuals and couples resolve relationship issues, she has worked intensively with issues of trauma, depression, anxiety, various addictive behaviours, including problematic gambling, eating disorders, grief and loss, mental health, abuse, self esteem, stigma, and parenting difficulties.

She is bilingual and can counsel in both English and Polish.

She is a registered Medicare Provider.

Over the past 24 years, he has earned himself a reputation for working collaboratively with clients in a friendly, warm, and practical manner. His caring, compassionate, and positive nature, coupled with his overall light-hearted approach make him easy to talk to about any issue. Over the years, he has gained significant experience in assisting individuals and couples living with low self-esteem; anger; anxiety; depression; unproductive communication; infidelity; internet pornography; relationship issues; conflict; same-sex attraction/relationships; and violence.

He is an AHPRA-registered Psychologist and a full Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc.; Psychology Board of Australia; Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy; and North-West Peer Support Group in Melbourne.

He uses many therapeutic modalities in his eclectic approach.

His motto ‘working towards better mental health’ is underpinned by his belief that one of his key roles is to meet his clients where they are. This allows him to gain an understanding of their situation. He then facilitates their thinking so they can better understand their situation and options, and make their informed decisions about their relationships.

Some of the goals that he sets collaboratively with his clients are psychoeducation, interpersonal skills training, honesty and accountability, reciprocally safe and respectful communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, equality, practicing mutually consistent standards, collaboration, shared responsibility and decision-making, interpersonal trust and support, non-threatening behaviour, intimacy, personal integrity, and mutual transparency, presence, and respect.

Some of the outcomes that clients have reported to him are feeling better about themselves, their partner and their relationship; improved communication; effective conflict resolution; healing from historical emotional hurts; wanting to be in their relationship again; having their ‘spark’ re-ignited; and looking forward to a better future. Based on these reports, in 2020, Julie Hart presented him with the first-ever Hart Centre Award for being “The Associate who consistently received the most positive client feedback, Australia-wide”; a humbling honour that he graciously received on behalf of his clients.

Underpinned by respect, his counselling focus is on providing psychoeducation and skills training, so couples can feel empowered to address and resolve life’s inevitable challenges outside his consulting room. Hence the efficient transition of many of his clients from reparative to preventive counselling.

He feels that people ‘inviting him to be a guest’ in their lives in their time of need, is a privilege for which he is grateful.

She regularly undertakes professional development and training to keep updated on the latest therapeutic practices to empower people to develop self awareness and initiate positive change.

Read her interview about her work here. 

She believes that the fundamental key to successful relationships is being able to communicate effectively.  She enjoys helping her clients identify and change the unhelpful and sometimes destructive patterns and behaviours in their relationships.  She is passionate about facilitating personal growth in every individual and in empowering them to find hope, strength and resilience no matter what their history.  Her warmth and valuable life experiences enables her to relate easily and empathically to clients from diverse backgrounds.  Her ability to develop a genuine, respectful and collaborative relationship with clients greatly assists in achieving positive therapeutic outcomes.  She is married with 2 teenage children.

She believes in providing a safe and respectful environment for both opposite and same sex couples, at any stage of their relationship. In order for helpful outcomes to be achieved for each individual, she assists couples to build on their strengths and improve their skills in listening, communication and connection. She is friendly, professional and takes care to ensure counselling services are tailored to the needs of her clients.

Sessions are available face to face, over the telephone or Zoom depending on your preferences.

This Hart therapist offers a safe and confidential space, where relationships and patterns of behaviour can be gently explored. She is an experienced relationships counsellor, with same sex, gay or heterosexual relationships. She is familiar with the dynamics of families, inlaws and stepfamilies.  If during therapy one or both of you discover that the emotional switch has been turned off and the decision is taken to separate, therapy can help sort out this process especially when there are children involved.

This Hart therapist specialises in relationship counselling and can also provide infertility counselling. When an individual or couple have been diagnosed with infertility this can cause stress and despair. She has experience and expertise acquired from many years of  working with fertility professionals in Sydney. She will provide information on different treatment options available to individuals and couples so that they can make an informed choice that will suit their needs. Counselling provides a space where a couple can learn how they can nurture their relationship during fertility treatment.

When an individual or couple are advised that their best option is to use donor sperm, donor oocytes or donor embryos, counselling is an informative way of ensuring that all parties are on the same page as far as hopes and expectations are concerned both before and after treatment.

A major life change occurs when a couple have a baby, even when the baby has been planned parenthood can cause a lot of joy but also a lot of stress. This is especially a difficulty when couples want to conform to a high standard and take a baby’s restlessness or crying as a sign that they are not fulfilling their role. The experience of parenthood can cause a couple to disagree and argue. The lack of uniformity on expectations around parenting might polarise a couple. It is useful at this time to attend counselling where the norms of parenting and different views and values are thoroughly addressed.

We all want our lives to be fulfilling and meaningful as an individual. As a couple part of this fulfillment comes from a relationship that has sustained love, passion and mutual respect. Given the challenges we are subjected to in modern life we often fall into dysfunctional patterns of managing ourselves in our relationships which can result in levels of unhappiness or dissatisfaction. The ability to turn this negative dysfunctional pattern around, and to embrace a new and healthier way to relate as a couple is truly exciting, giving new hope for a different and more rewarding future.

She finds it a privilege to be able to step into the lives of couples in trouble, and assist them to find insight, address issues, explore new ways of doing things and above all, reach a new understanding of yourselves which will allow positive changes in your relationship.

As well as relationship counselling and marriage counselling, she is available for appointments for pre-marriage counselling, sexual difficulties, porn addiction, narcissism and anger management.  For those clients unable to attend the clinic, she has facilities for phone and skype appointments.

Angelica’s couples are encouraged to use homework exercises she provides to actively engage with one another to increase the benefits of therapy work. She regularly suggests specific exercises, books, readings, videoclips, podcasts, and games.

Angelica is also interested in helping people to regain self worth, process trauma, and manage difficult personalities.

In addition to her 16 year’s experience in the public and private sectors, Angelica is a published researcher, has presented at conferences and workshops.

As a wife and mother of two children, Angelica prioritizes family and self care when she is not sharing her time between her clients, supervisees, and charity work.

Angelica is available for appointments relating to relationship and marriage counselling in Sydney, pre-marriage counselling, sexual difficulties, problematic pornography use, anger management, narcissism, and phone and skype appointments.

Understanding that people may seek relationship counselling for a range of reasons, his first task is to help each individual clarify his or her goals. He attends to the health and wellbeing of each individual in the relationship and does not assume that one or both people want to stay together. If both parties do, he helps them explore the strengths and weaknesses of the relevant aspects of the relationship. These may include communication and conflict management, fairness and power, trust and commitment, managing personality differences or individual mental health concerns, aspects of intimacy, and managing external stressors on the relationship such as finances, parenting, extended family, work, health, fertility issues and addictions. Within the counselling sessions, he fosters mature, respectful and constructive conversations to help the couple communicate and problem-solve more effectively in the ‘real world’.

Click here to read our interview with him about the marriage counselling and relationship counselling services he offers.

This Hart Psychologist has always held a strong interest and value in relationships. She enjoys working alongside couples as they gain insight into their process, consider their own and their partner’s wants and needs, make choices, and learn new ways of approaching familiar situations. This supports them in bringing about the changes that they hope for.  She can help with negative emotional patterns, communication and conflict, family disputes, and a wide range of sexual problems, including orgasm disorders and porn addiction.

She enjoys all aspects of her psychological practice and also offers individual therapy for adults. She has special interest and experience in treating the effects of trauma and working with adults healing the scars of earlier difficult life experiences. She has experience working with a range of areas including: fertility problems, grief and loss, anxiety, depression, life planning, and life transitions.

She is a full member of the Australian Psychological Society, and has more than 30 years experience as an individual, couple and group therapist, and is also a certified family mediator. Having been born and raised in Brazil, she also speaks Portuguese.

Relationship counselling is one of her passions.  She has extensive experience working with couples in distress, including same-sex couples and cross-cultural relationships. Her areas of interest and expertise include: sexuality issues, affairs or other breaches of trust, porn overuse and other compulsive behaviours, narcissism in relationships, conflict and anger management, stress, trauma, and grief. She also assists couples who are planning cohabitation or marriage, blending families, or considering a separation or divorce.

Creating a safe environment, where individual and cultural differences are valued and confidentiality is taken seriously, is central to her approach.  She enjoys helping clients solve problems and develop the full potential of their relationships.

Having trained in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy at Curtin University of Western Australia, and studied Family Therapy and Family Research at University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, the approach she uses is evidence based. She identifies emotion as the most important factor in adult attachment and the way couples bond. With an emphasis on the way in which partners connect emotionally and when in distressing patterns, she helps partners reconnect to build stronger bonds.  She also draws from other therapies such as psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural, in addressing and working through individual factors that also impact on our relationship with ourselves and partner.

She can assist with communication difficulties and the management of conflict, intimacy issues both physical and emotional, reconnecting after an affair, and issues to do with power and control.  She is also aware of the many and varied challenges faced by couples across the life span and can assist couples through difficult developmental transitions such as having children, coping with ageing, illness, and the blended family.

Within a confidential, safe and supportive environment, she can help you to work through your relationship issues and help you to achieve a deeper connection with your significant other.

At the core of her approach, Trish promotes the interest of the relationship. Differences may not always be resolved but accepted as part of respecting each other and prioritising the needs of the relationship.

Both individuals and all couples seeking relationship support will benefit from her years of experience and training by the world’s leading relationship experts such as Dr John Gottman. Trish utilises evidence-based approaches to develop an individualised treatment approach.

Typical issues that she sees contributing to relationship disharmony are communication, finances, sex, parenting, trust and extended family.

Trisha has worked in not for profit and government organisations within an employee assistance model for over a decade. She has a wealth of experience working with workplace issues including work stress, rehabilitation, bullying and harassment. Her areas of interest are Depression and Anxiety, Grief and Loss, Separation and Addiction work.

She works with individuals to progress towards their goals in a supportive and empathetic manner. Using a solution-focussed, strengths based framework, clients find positive approaches to address the presenting issue as well as practical strategies to manage the situation, whatever it may be.

She is trained in CBT, ACT, IPT and Motivational Interviewing. However will develop interventions based on the individual client’s way of operating, tailoring strategies to the client’s learning style.

Other areas of interest are in addictions, depression and anxiety, stress and grief and loss.

Trisha offers phone and Skype consultations for clients who are unable to attend the clinic.

He has a broad range of experience having worked with many groups including individual therapy with children, adolescents and adults as well as provision of couples and family therapy. He has particular interest in couples and relationship counselling, having seen ample evidence in his practice, that the pursuit of a healthy functioning relationship is a vital to wellbeing. He has a lot of experience working with autism.

He provides a supportive, safe and caring environment. He has an eclectic approach to therapy, with skills in a number of therapeutic techniques.

In relationship counselling, he provides an accommodating client focused approach to working through the personal, interpersonal and emotional issues bought into the room by the couples he works with.

Read our Interview with him here.

He is also available for Anger Management, Porn Addiction and Narcissism therapy, and is available for phone or skype sessions for clients who are unable to attend the clinic.

With her openness to the developmental transitions within families, she brings rich insight and collaboration to the emergence of new meanings for couples and assists them in the creation of a rich, full and meaningful lived experience. Her philosophical stance reflects an exposure to a wide range of approaches, and this is used to create a non-judgemental, open and accepting space within the counselling environment.

She understands that many couples who come into counselling are discouraged about the direction their relationships have taken, feeling hopeless about making changes. They can be accusatory and blaming towards their partner for the state of their relationship, resulting in increased defensiveness on the part of each partner.

This Hart Psychologist’s commitment to the couple relationship, is paramount in assisting the couple to see their dilemma as an opportunity to develop new alternatives in their relationship, which allow them to stop struggling, reconcile their differences and enhance their relationship.

She is available face-to-face and for phone and Skype appointments.

Dearne uses different therapeutic approaches depending on the individual’s needs.  These include: Person Centred, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused and Transactional Analysis.

In addition to her special interest in relationship counselling, her experience in private practice includes supporting people in crisis or at risk, as well as their families and friends, treatment of grief and loss, depression, anxiety, pregnancy issues & post and antenatal depression. She also provides sex counselling for the areas of mismatched libidos and erectile dysfunction.

Dearne has a very supportive and caring nature and sees clients from the Mona Vale Office.  She provides sydney relationship counselling, as well as pre-marriage counselling, anger management, porn addiction and narcissism counselling.

She is a certified Emotion Focused Therapist (EFT) and has obtained her certification with the ICEFT. In particular, she is interested in understanding how best to assist couples when there has been a significant traumatic or hurtful event/s. She commenced working with couples in 1993 while on a placement with Relationships Australia.  Since this time, she has continued to undertake specialist training in working with couples.

She has been in the field of counselling since 1986, and has an employment history of providing counselling for non-government, government and private agencies. Areas she has training include: Emotionally Focused Therapy – Couples & Individuals, Relationship Counselling, Schema Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Grief & Bereavement Therapy, Hypnosis, Recovery from Abuse, Body Image issues, Workplace Stress management, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, and Anxiety & Depression.

She has studied in several areas of the social sciences, and holds the following degrees: Honours B. Soc. Sc. (Pysch.); Graduate Degree in Psychology; Bachelor of Social Work; Bachelor of Education; Graduate Diploma in Counselling and a Master of Counselling.

Please note: She currently offers Sex Therapy from her Brisbane CBD clinic only.

See all of our Relationship Counselling Brisbane locations.

She has a keen interest in working with couples and families and believes that good relationships can be central to one’s psychological and physical wellbeing.

She is particularly passionate and committed to assisting couples develop skills and resilience to tackle life problems and work towards addressing the needs of each individual as well as the needs of the couple. She has a special interest in sexual intimacy, trust, conflict and communication issues. She works with couples towards achieving realistic and wise decisions about their relationship.

Her warm, caring approach and respectful non-judgmental manner validates her deep belief in engaging with her clients and developing a trusting, safe and collaborative environment.

She uses evidence – based psychology to improve the wellbeing of young people and adults.  Her approach incorporates cognitive-behavioural therapy, solution focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy as well as elements of mindfulness and positive psychology.

Read this therapist’s interview about her work here.

She is available for appointments for Sydney Marriage Counselling, Relationship Counselling, Family Counselling, Sexual Difficulties, Porn Addiction, Narcissism, Pre-Marriage Counselling, Phone Appointments and Skype Appointments.

For couples, he focuses on the underlying needs that are typically unmet when relationships become distressed.  These needs may include a desire to be truly heard and responded to by the individual’s partner, the need for connection, safety and intimacy and sometimes the need for greater autonomy in the relationship.  These personal needs are explored in great depth as when they are unmet relationships become battlefields of characterised by arguments, verbal attacks and withdrawal which leaves both individuals feeling hurt and hopeless about the future.  He typically sees positive results from therapy after a few initial sessions, and primarily follows an Emotionally Focussed Therapy (EFT) approach in his work with couples.  He also uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) approaches.

He also sees clients for anger management, narcissism, pre-marriage counselling, phone and skype counselling.

This Hart therapist has specialised training in sex therapy both in Australia and the USA. She also understands personally and theoretically the impact that trauma can have on both the individual and the couple dynamics in any relationship. She is currently undergoing further advanced trauma studies in Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR).

She creates a safe, non-judgemental environment that enables her clients to share openly their thoughts and concerns. This then enables her to utilise a number of different techniques and modalities which allow her clients to move to a more positive, open and even joyful space, taking with them the tools they have learned, allowing progression of their own journey. In this way, she has helped hundreds of individuals and couples.

She works with individuals and couples struggling with issues pertaining to gender, sexuality, self-acceptance, grief and loss, adoption, depression and anxiety, eating disorders, and interpersonal relationships. Together she explores with her clients their values, identifies their commitments and the aspects of their life that are important to them, and then works to sensitively peel back the numerous life stressors that might keep her client from not living the life that is desired.

She offers an integrated holistic approach, working with the emotional, the physical, the mental and the existential/spiritual. She believes that a treatment plan should be individually tailored to each client or couple. She likes to partner with clients, involving them regarding the focus of the work, the duration, the review of work and what success will look like. In this way, her clients are active participants in the therapeutic process, and therefore in their own healing.

She believes that our close relationships form a very important part of our well-being. She is passionate about assisting her clients to grow and nurture their relationships and has many years of experience in teaching communication, conflict resolution and social skills required to achieve this.

She is very passionate about working with couples and individuals on their relationships and helping them create health relationships. She has had some training using Gottman’s work and from the Hart Centre on relationships. She tailors the sessions to suit the needs of her clients and works towards helping couples achieve their goals. She has helped many couples make positive changes in their relationships through learning to communicate, understand and listen to each other better, deal with conflict better, learn to let go and forgive each other and learn to support each other and work as a team. She aims to engage with both couples to help them both work together to achieve their goals.

Her passion is to teach couples how to “fireproof “ their relationship through learning the skills of communication and conflict resolution, and providing them with a template for resolving past and future challenges with a new found confidence.

She often sees couple relationships troubled by poor communication skills; an inability to resolve conflict; difficulty in making joint decisions; trust and infidelity issues; different approaches to parenting styles, money, sex and extended families as well as problems associated with separation and divorce.

She works with both individuals and couples to discover new ways of experiencing themselves and their relationships that are rewarding and fulfilling.

She works with Face to Face counselling as well as Skype, Email and Phone Counselling.

She has run Couples Workshops, Pre-Marital Education for Engaged Couples and Weight Awareness programs. She has attended a wide variety of Conferences and Workshops over the years both in Australia and Internationally.

She is married with children.

He provides effective therapeutic support to adults, couples and families. He also teaches and supervises counselling students.

Each session with this Hart therapist is focused on his client’s needs by starting where the client is at. He incorporates a range of therapeutic approaches to address a variety of concerns, in a way which is meaningful for each of his clients.

He is a clinical member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Association of Australia, Australian Society of Sex Educators and Research Therapists NSW, and the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association. Prior to working in private practice, he has a substantial background working in management and consultancy in the public and private sectors.

Click here to read our interview about the counselling he offers.

Memberships:

• Clinical member Psychotherapy and Counselling Association of Australia (PACFA),
• Australian Society of Sex Educators and Research Therapists NSW ASSET (NSW),
• Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association ANZMHA)

She is exceptionally qualified in couples counselling, and in helping couples sort through the issues and dysfunctional patterns that prevent them enjoying their relationships. She believes that the nearly all troubled relationships can be assisted to regain the openness, joy and flow that are the hallmarks of health.

Her doctoral thesis was on migration and the psychological identities that this experience creates. She tutored in psychology at a University and counselled at a university’s Psychology Clinic. She was also a crisis counsellor at a suicide line. In her early career she worked in community settings, counselling families and individuals dealing with child protection and parenting, suicide risk, mental health and relationships issues. Later she supported those living with dementia, their families and carers, through counselling and educational activities targeting the general public and volunteers.

She has worked in private practice for over 10 years, specialising in couples counselling and family counselling for over 7 years. She has helped couples with relationship difficulties better manage the personal issues with children and family during marriage, separation, and divorce.

She is fluent in Spanish.

Areas of expertise
She has experience and training in assisting clients with a broad spectrum of presenting concerns, including:

– Relationships – communication, infidelity, and relationship dissatisfaction
– Family breakdown, including divorce and related difficulties
– Parenting and family issues
– Support for families and carers affected by mental illness or physical illness
– Peri- and post-natal depression
– Depression
– Grief and loss
– Anxiety, including social anxiety
– Generalised anxiety and perfectionism
– Obsessions and compulsions
– Post-traumatic stress
– Self-esteem
– Stress and burnout
– Difficulties of adjustment to life transitions
– Career challenges – return from parental leave, career change, redundancy
– Work/life balance
– Working with cultural diversity, cultural values and beliefs

Depending on her client’s needs and preferences, she uses a variety of evidence-based approaches.

In couples counselling, she works collaboratively with her clients to help them express what they need in their intimate relationships to feel safe, secure, and uniquely valued.

She has a strong interest in relationship issues resulting from affairs and betrayals, depression, chronic illness, intergenerational trauma, grief and loss, and problems with sexual and emotional intimacy. She is also committed to working with clients who are experiencing conflict arising from major life transitions (e.g., births, deaths, marriages, children leaving home, starting school, relocation, job changes and retraining), and in the prevention of intimate partner violence.

She uses a range of therapeutic approaches to suit her clients’ needs.

She is passionate about supporting her clients to create new meaning and opportunities in life.

This Hart therapist invests his enthusiasm and energy into identifying each person’s strengths, from which he can guide rebuilding trust or hope in marital or personal distress.  The joy from seeing a person awaken to a new reality in life is what he strives to achieve.  He helps committed couples to benefit from a reinvigorated vital and intimate partnership.  He believes every person deserves their experience-rich life journey to be fulfilling and purposeful.  He incorporates the latest neurobiological understandings with the emotional underpinnings of human functioning to help each person or couple be the best they want to be for themselves, each other, and their family. He can offer individual therapy and support where an individual needs to resolve personal vulnerabilities or participate in individual therapy.

His professional development has focused on helping people build a critical reflective capacity.  This enhances resilience within individuals and couples to the everyday life struggles that sometimes overwhelm.  He has training certificates awarded from prominent world leaders in respective science-based specialties, in the primary areas of his interest.  His ongoing professional development has focussed on couple therapies, trauma treatment, relationship repair, attachment bonding disruptions and resolution, internal family systems theory, sexual therapy, Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, transactional analysis, narrative therapy, monitoring self-harm and suicidal ideation, personality disorder support, dissociation, understanding psychosis, dealing with child sexual abuse and veteran mental health.

He is motivated to honour and foster the spiritual, cultural and philosophical orientation of individuals.  He respects all forms of gender relationships and is sensitive to multicultural and multifaith perspectives.

Following retirement from a corporate career, he has reinvigorated his motivation and passion for helping those in personal distress.  Accordingly, with his deep understanding of the demands of corporate life and its influence on family dynamics, he is also equipped to support the needs of professionals and senior executives.

He provides practical ways to help partners move forward, to create emotional connection, that strengthens relationships. He is non-judgemental in his approach and offers an unbiased service.

Several new areas of counselling he is offering now include;

1. Intimacy & Desire Counselling

Desire problems can include:

• lack of desire by one or both partners
• mismatched libidos
• Maintaining a good sex life when tired from children
• Power struggles and who chases who – the masculine/feminine
• Getting your sex life back on track after life gets in the way
• Lack of communication about sex and sexual problems
• Sexual knots or combinations of misinterpretations and shutdowns
• Recovering from affairs
• Sex over 50 – including menopause, slower erections, lack of desire and resentment

2. Sex Therapy

• Erectile difficulties
• Premature ejaculation
• Delayed ejaculation
• Orgasmic disorders
• Painful intercourse /vaginismus
• Fetishes, Exhibitionistic disorder
• Hypersexual disorder
• Paedophilia

3. Sexual trauma

4. Porn addiction

Clients find she has a warm, empathic and non-judgemental approach which allows them to safely explore their issues. She also has a fine understanding of the importance of relationships in people’s lives, for their sense of well-being, happiness and health. She knows how painful and stressful it can be when these relationships founder, and she recognises the courage involved in taking the step to seek help. She worked full-time at Relationships Australia for six years at the beginning of her career, and has also been trained in individual therapy. She is also experienced in working with female same-sex couples, and with people suffering from childhood traumas.

She also has several years experience conducting online Skype consultations.

She provides truly empathetic support as she journeys with her clients through a variety of challenges they face, providing them with real and practical tools to manage conflict, deepen their connection and strengthen friendship and intimacy.  Key to the success of her work is relating to both partners with equity and empathy, helping them to repair, rebuild and connect.

Whether you are looking to deepen your relationship, recover from an affair, manage ongoing conflicts, work through financial issues, work through addictions, deal with family issues, external stresses on the relationship, or many other issues facing couples; Gottman therapy is designed to teach you the tools to manage these and deepen the bond and happiness in your relationship.

Sessions focus on the couples immediate needs as well as the goals they have set out in their plan which we develop together. We learn about key tools and practice using these.

Her holistic approach moves clients forward quickly and successfully. By acknowledging and addressing the root of problems, she provides clients with the tools to create permanent, positive change in their lives while encouraging a greater sense of self-awareness. Open minded, compassionate and respectful, she is committed to helping people improve their wellbeing by resolving conflict and developing effective communication and problem-solving skills. The ultimate aim is for clients to experience a more fulfilling life, better relationships and a deeper understanding of themselves.

Shecombines both eastern and western therapies and her highly effective approach is based on addressing all aspects of wellbeing including mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.

She is a Professional Counsellor, Life Coach, Master NLP Practitioner, Time Line Therapist and Hypnotherapist.

This Hart therapist is keen to remain at the forefront of credibility and integrity in her chosen industry. As a certified professional, she demonstrates her commitment to her clients. They always have the assurance that she not only knows what she is talking about, but she is dedicated to delivering solutions. She works with many successful clients to achieve happiness.

She is a down to earth woman who knows success in life and is often supported by those who love her most. She also recognizes the importance of self-growth in herself and others. Being a mother of three (3), a wife, a daughter and a grand mother of two (2) she knows the importance of strong and reliable relationships. These are the foundations that allow one the freedom to move forward with confidence.

Throughout her many and varied experiences, her acute awareness of what works and what doesn’t has allowed her to help others in developing their own successful strategies and procedures. From her experience of different types of counsellors and coaches, she noticed a more flexible, attuned and direct approach was needed to fully service the needs of individuals.

She has a particular interest in assisting couples to explore those matters that are often sensitive or difficult to discuss including sexual problems.  Her approach to such matters ensures that you can feel comfortable exploring matters of sensitivity without the usual level of distress that typically goes with discussing such issues.

She is passionate about helping people to rebuild strong relationships by helping couples and families to explore and investigate what makes each other feel happy and loved.  She will work with you to help each partner in the relationship recognise how to successfully, and happily, meet each other’s needs so that you can re-kindle that ‘in-love’ feeling once again and heal your relationship.

Whether your relationship is with your spouse, your friend, your partner or your children, she will use her supportive, warm and caring approach to helping each of you understand how to love one another once again so that each partner in the relationship can feel valued, respected, understood and loved.

In addition to her specialising in relationship counselling and seeing clients for sexual difficulties, she also sees clients for pre-marriage counselling, anger management, narcissism and porn addiction.

When we enter long term relationships, we do so with hope and optimism  – with little thought of challenges that might arise. When confronted with these, many of us are able surmount them and our relationships bond into robust partnerships. Unfortunately when we encounter problems  (whether because of unforeseen differences in beliefs or expectations, differences in child raising or in the face of pressures such as financial) these can stress or threaten our relationships – leading to a cycle of emotional distancing,  communication difficulties, conflict,  emotional estrangement, abuse or at worst violence.

In those instances where couples decide to separate, this Hart therapist respects this, and offers separation counselling to enable a parting with as much respect and as little hurt to each party and their children.

His experience includes:

• Co-founder of Master of Counselling at ANU
• Founder of First Professional Marriage Guidance Training Programme in the ACT
• Supervisor of relationship counsellors in the ACT
• Consultant to SA Marriage Guidance Council (now Relationships Australia)
• Family Therapy and Relationship Training at McMasterUniversity
• Founder of Master of Clinical Psychology at Adelaide University
• Member of founding committees of SA Family Therapy Association and ASSERT (now Sexology Australia)

She works with both individuals and couples in her Adelaide practice, who present with a wide range of issues including: anxiety, stress, depression, anger issues, communication difficulties, relationship and sexual problems, infidelity, parenting problems and much more.

She has a special interest in working with couples, in new or long-standing relationships. She gently brings awareness to any destructive patterns and habits that may have formed over a long period of time, or may have been brought from previous relationships and childhood experiences. Her skill is in seeing the things that may be difficult to see from the inside and helping people, without judgement or pressure, to find a way forward that honours the needs of both partners.

She works with clients in a creative and open way that ensures it is a joint process that seeks to empower and bring confidence to everyone involved. She is naturally skilled in hearing her client’s unique perspective and understanding and bringing to light the ways people are thinking, feeling and behaving and how this is affecting their interactions and personal sense of wellbeing. She is experienced in teaching and supporting people to communicate in healthy, honest and respectful ways that greatly improve their relationships.

This Hart therapist most enjoys working with couples who are committed to putting in the effort required both personally and relationally, as this is where lasting change occurs.

She takes a collaborative and learning approach to work with couples. Each relationship is unique and a human’s individual needs and goals for their relationship matters. She helps couples chart a way forward to get out of being stuck and stop fighting and to build connection, bonding and achieve their goals. Enough loneliness, distance and disengagement!

She has 3 qualifications- counselling, applied science and an aspect of science devoted to human factors and the manifestation of mental health issues to bodily symptoms.

In addition, she is trained in multiple therapeutic modalities… because her work as a couple’s therapist is one of her passions. She also supervises and trains therapists in the Developmental Model of couple’s therapy.

She is a discernment counsellor and she loves helping couples make that very important decision – to stay or go. She is a specialist in this field as she has facilitated teams making complex decisions.

For couples who are uncertain about whether to divorce or not, she can facilitate the decision-making process, on this important matter. Building trust and good communication are paramount to successful relationships. She helps to build greater connection and care between couples who choose to stay together or to separate amicably, if staying together is not the goal.

He is often told that he brings a different dynamic to couples therapy, without siding with either partner. He sees his role in couples therapy is to put the truth on the table so that the couple can decide on what they will do with that truth, and not make any judgements.

Although he draws from constant training in different methods of counselling, he enjoys the viewpoints of ACT for couples and the work of Dr John Gottman, but he has also studied Narrative Therapy and CBT. Clients tell him that he uses a common-sense approach to his work with them. He looks to use his training to provide resources and the opportunity for the couple to explore their relationship experiences in a more open way. This has proven to be successful in partners increasing their understanding their own reactions and also being more understanding of the impact on the other.

He doesn’t allow any particular counselling methodology to define the way he works with clients – rather, he joins with the couple where they are at and understands what is important to them and what they are hoping to achieve from the counselling process.

Before becoming a psychologist, he worked in a number of significant roles in the Public Sector for over 20 years, initially as an economist and later as an Executive for 16 years.

This experience has given him great insight and understanding of what it is like to be a professional or an executive working in complex roles and managing a range of life, relationships, and workplace challenges. He has experienced what it is like to be a professional or executive who feels stuck in a negative pattern or cycle in their life, work or relationships.

This personal experience of being in a ‘life funk’ … worried about not performing to others’ expectations … feeling that he is letting down his wife (also an executive) and children … not truly following his own path and true passion.

This passion is about helping people like him … to improve their life, relationships and work. To find out what makes them tick and figure out what is ‘holding them back’ from achieving their dreams.

This passion led him to pursue his dream of becoming a psychologist, helping professionals and executives individually and in couples therapy.

Building on his successful career as an Executive and training as a coach, he decided to pursue his true passion in becoming a psychologist in private practice. He has established a special practice that delivers cutting edge therapy and counselling to executive and professional clients. Through his extensive experience as a psychologist and coach, he has come to understand what works and what doesn’t work in therapy and what leads to lasting change.

His psychological approach draws inspiration from Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Karen Horney – famous psychologists in the 20th century – that ‘all problems are interpersonal problems.’ He has witnessed through in his own life and his clients – that our problems are manifested through our relationships with significant people in our personal, education and workplace life. He observes that:

“In my own life and the life of my clients, I now recognise that individuals present or are confronted with problems that at the root level are in connection to their relationships.”

His aim is to help you get to the root cause of the problem and to overcome the hidden roadblocks that have stopped you (as an individual or couple) feeling better and living the life that you want to live. In doing so, you will feel more confident, happy, hopeful and better connected to those around you.

He is aware of the importance of healthy communication and the role emotions play in relationships. Without effective communication tools and the ability to clearly express emotions, couples and families often face a vast array of difficulties.

He works with couples in the areas of building trust, navigating divorce, couple and family reunification, same-sex relationship difficulties, infidelity, sexual disorders and violence. He also conducts individual sessions in the following areas: abuse, eating disorders, gender identity stress, anxiety, depression, bullying, drug and alcohol addiction, panic attacks, grief, loss and traumas.

This Hart therapist has trained in Italy to become a psychotherapist. After his degree in Clinical Psychology, he completed a post graduate degree in Family Psychotherapy. He has more than 10 years of practice in working with clients experiencing a variety of mental and relational health issues.

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Telehealth/Digital Health at the University of Melbourne. He has been involved in academia for more than 10 years publishing also several works.

He loves to diversify his interests in a variety of mental health issues and relationship conditions in order to support his clients in every stage of their lives. He has gained extensive experience in public and private sectors and helps his clients to recover from different mental and relationship issues by harmonising theoretical and clinical understanding.

He supports couples facing a range of emotional and relationship issues such as communication breakdowns, sexual disorders, loss of trust, parenting styles and extended family issues.

He has been intensively trained to treat individuals, couples and families. He has had the opportunity to attend The Family and Relationship Therapy Centre which is led by some of the European pioneers of the Systemic Family approach. He stays up-to-date with the ongoing European therapy methodologies, bringing science and new models to his practice.

Furthermore, he has also completed a post graduate degree in Clinical Sexology.  This allows him to competently work with individuals and couples through a wide range of sexual issues.

He can also deliver therapy sessions in Italian language.

Her approach is responsive, empathic and relational. She understands how skills developed in the therapy space need to be transferable to a couple’s home life. She provides specific strategies and tools to get things ‘back on track’, improve communication and effectively manage conflict. It’s often the ‘little things’ couples fight about or the ‘same old’ things, which become roadblocks to intimacy and connection. She will initially explore your goals for the relationship and help identify where your strengths and challenges are.

She loves spending spare time with her husband, adult children, toy poodle and going for walks in nature. She also enjoys creating large abstract artworks on canvas, which often informs her counselling work around what requires more focus or attending to.

Working on your relationship takes commitment, practice, time and courage. She will support you to give it your ‘best shot’ and create lasting change.

She will often adjust her techniques to meet the client’s needs as each individual is unique and demands a different hearing/ approach. She integrates Mindfulness in her sessions, finding the method can be very useful at times.

She is the author of an honours-thesis.

This Hart therapist has trained many of Melbourne’s counselling and hypnotherapists as a senior lecturer at leading colleges and universities in Melbourne.

Having seen many clients over the past 24 years, her clinical experience is both extensive and diverse. Her sexual therapy and relationship counselling has provided many clients find a safe port to begin the process of discovery and recovery.

Many adults present with sexual issues related to healing after the end of a relationship, requiring special understanding and counselling to overcome any obsticals. It is often important to intervene early, repairing any resentments and hurts before they become a larger problem.

At times non-sexual relationships outside of the primary coupleship (sometimes referred to as “emotional affairs”) cause insecurities and jealousy. These situations need special understanding to sort out before permanent damage is caused, or the relationship difficulties become terminal.

Sexual dysfunctions or other sexual issues can arise from many different beginnings, such as a life stage dilemma, past emotional difficulties and thought patterns, as well as physical medical health issues. Discovering and understanding these issues will assist on the road to healing and wholeness.

Hypnotherapy is often helpful in cases requiring behaviour change, such as dealing with porn addiction, premature ejaculation and many other aspects of sexual therapy.

As a trained hypnotherapist, she is able to effectively use hypnotherapy to assist with behaviour change for both sexual and other issues as desired by the client.

Developing healthier minds creates more productive relationships and positive personal environment.

Couples usually make appointments only when the chill in their relationship has reached zero degrees. What once had been a loving relationship is now characterized by irreconcilable differences in their beliefs about financial decisions, physical intimacy, contact with relatives, and even how to load the dishwasher. They are used to hearing daily comments from each other such as:

“I can’t put up with your sporting obsession, and you’re always ignoring me!”

“I can never do anything right”

“I’m here at home all day with the kids, how would you possibly understand what that is like?”

“You are always blaming me!”

Because they have practiced their side of the argument for so long and they are so good at knowing how to attack each other’s weaknesses, persistent patterns have developed.

Change takes time and relapses will occur!

Couples often arrive believing that the therapist’s job is to “fix” their partner. Many couples are sceptical about whether therapy will work.

Each needs to understand that they are both good people; however, their patterns of communication have created a daily fencing duel. The therapy process will hopefully return you to your prior loving relationship only after you each become aware of how each contributes to this daily duel and begin to make changes. Awareness about the part that you each play in this relationship drama is essential.

Couples often arrive at the session believing that each partner will be laying out his or her “position” and the therapist will act as a referee to decide who is right. It is not a matter of one person being right or wrong, since both partners make sense from their perspective.

This Hart therapist points out to couples that the process will work if they both “are willing to try on some new ideas and own their part in it.”

By pointing out the importance of the “we” and not the “me” in their relationship, they begin to understand that both are expected to participate by making changes. This means that counselling is a joint venture to better understand the relationship rather than an adversarial one.

She has received cutting-edge training from the preeminent world authorities on relationships, Prof. Susan Johnson, Prof. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman.

Early in her career, before writing a novel, she was a love and relationships columnist for a national magazine.

Her couples’ consultations facilitate emotional connection and the longevity of love.  While appreciating the uniqueness of each client, in terms of their feelings, concerns, needs, priorities, background and personality, her comprehensive knowledge of the complexity of relationships helps cultivate the intimate environment clients yearn for.

This Hart Psychologist can help couples:

• Identify interaction patterns that lead to distress
• Communicate in ways that emotionally connect them
• Manage conflict and problem-solve in a productive manner
• State needs clearly
• Work through unresolved issues
• Negotiate change
• Repair emotional wounds after betrayal, abuse or emotional neglect

She can help individuals:

• Change self-defeating thoughts and behaviours
• Clarify thoughts and emotions
• Explore the unrewarding aspects of their life and increase their sense of contentment
• Develop insight into what underpins their unfavourable reactions and behaviours
• Expand awareness, acceptance and compassion towards self and others
• Feel some relief if they’re in pain, or adapt to circumstances that are outside their control.

Clients can expect respect, compassion and a down-to-earth approach.  Every consultation is aimed at deepening their emotional connection and developing a more satisfying involvement.  When we improve the quality of our intimate relationship, we improve the quality of our life.

She is approachable and outcome focused. She is creative in helping increase awareness and both understanding and respectful when helping unpack her clients past and present challenges. She will work with her clients to get back on track in a safe and supportive environment and focuses on providing the tools needed to improve their self-esteem and self-confidence, strengthen relationships and reach their individual goals.

She looks to empower her clients and individualises the therapeutic approach for each person. She does this by using evidence-based, cognitive behavioural therapy techniques that go way beyond just listening to the issues or concerns at hand, and truly helps you to progress to the life you want with greater wellbeing and life satisfaction.

This Hart therapist assists her clients to explore their concerns and see and experience a future with positive change. Counselling sessions can develop into a positive, uplifting, and empowering experience.

Each session with this Hart therapist is developed to meet the clients’ personal therapeutic needs. She incorporates many contemporary models of counselling into her practice, including: Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, Person-centred and Solution-Focused Therapy. She uses an integrated, client-centred approach, and is skilled at helping her clients address a variety of issues. She is ready to listen, so make the choice, to make a change and experience how counselling can help you to create a brighter today and tomorrow.

She is a proud member of The Hart Centre and registered with The Australian Counselling Association.  She ensures ongoing development and enhancements of her skills to deliver fresh and relevant professional support for her clients.

This Hart therapist is experienced in working with clients dealing with stress, burn out, work harassment, depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, low self-worth, and relationship and family breakdowns.

She works with adults, couples and teenagers, creating a positive and honest relationship so they can achieve their goals. She motivates her clients and helps them through difficult situations. She is aware that asking for help is not easy, but it is the first step towards positive change.

Each session with this Hart therapist is tailored to meet her clients’ personal therapeutic needs. She incorporates many contemporary models of counselling into her practice, using an integrated, client-centered approach, and is skilled at helping her clients address a variety of issues.

Too often people abandon a relationship believing it to be unsalvageable, when it can not only be saved, but improved way beyond what they believed possible. All it takes is a willingness to be open, honest, and experience the discomfort that comes with change. Unlike repeating the same old behaviour expecting a different outcome, this discomfort will end.

This Hart therapist provides a non judgemental, connected, safe and solution focused space, which sees the therapist and the clients as partners in the experience.  The client is always responsible for setting the vision and she will do her best to provide the “how to get there” opportunities, so the client can arrive at the “best fit” solution for themselves.

Should you choose to work with this Hart therapist, you will grow your communication and ability to connect with the person that you love. You will learn about your patterns and triggers, and how to choose safer, kinder and more loving responses.

She has been in the field for some time, holding a comprehensive set of tools and experience to assist you in identifying and remove the blocks that you are experiencing.  This includes enhancing emotional intelligence, understanding each others’ perspective, family of origin influences, love language, the assumption trap, managing conflict, and realising personal growth, so you can contribute positively to the relationship.

She is a warm, approachable human being who is committed to helping you heal the wounds you have inadvertently inflicted on each other so you can move forward into a relationship of your choosing.

In 2020, she published her first book, which demonstrates the links between family of origin (FOO), the safety behaviours/core beliefs that are created in response to our FOO and how they play out in our adult relationships with self and others.

She provides safety, non judgement and a genuine interest in all that work with her. She has a background in clinical hypnotherapy which enables her to offer alternative ways to overcome the core beliefs formed in childhood.

She is genuine, respectful and loves working with others to achieve their goals.

Prior to retraining in counselling, this therapist worked in education for thirty years including working in schools, aid, and development projects, and within universities. She has extensive experience working in remote First Nations communities in Australia. She has also lived, worked and studied in Canada, the Pacific, South East Asia and the Balkans. Her diverse background provides a strong professional foundation for her counselling practice.