Marriage and couples counselling in Sydney

Effective, tailored, research-based counselling helping couples strengthen their relationship and emotional bond.

Support and guidance to build a strong connection

As humans, we’re hard-wired to seek out close bonds and loving relationships are essential to our health and wellbeing. But Hollywood romantic comedies have a lot to answer for. The reality of love and relationships is far messier.

The team at MyLife Psychologists can help. We believe all couples deserve support and guidance to build a strong and loving connection with each other. Our relationship therapists are highly trained and experienced in couples counselling.

We understand making the decision to go to couples therapy can feel like a big step. It means admitting your partnership isn’t perfect, which can be confronting. Couples in distress are often experiencing high levels of anger, resentment, fear, hurt and mistrust. For those experiencing ambivalence about their relationship, couples counselling can also help partners clarify uncertainty and manage separation in a way that fosters positive relationships.

We’ve established a warm, judgement-free space for you to show up as you – whatever that looks like. It’s important to us that you both feel comfortable, respected and understood at all times. You will feel safe and supported to work through sensitive relationship issues using a proven approach.

You can find out more about our approach to therapy and what to expect from your treatment.

Here are some of the things we can support couples with:

  • Improving communication, connection and intimacy
  • Reducing conflict and misunderstandings
  • Expressing your needs clearly
  • Building safety and security to navigate difficult times
  • Recovering from relationship injuries such as affairs
  • Improving intimacy and your sexual relationship
  • Managing sexual concerns (e.g. mismatched libido/desire, sexual pain, erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation)
  • Clarifying and establishing boundaries with each other, negotiating living arrangements and maintaining a friendship after separation
  • Negotiating relationship roles of parenting, housework etc.
couples counselling Sydney

FAQs

It’s a common misconception that you only go to couples therapy when your relationship is in serious trouble. This can mean couples wait far too long to get effective support with their relationship issues. After years of conflict, goodwill and kindness have often broken down, making conflict resolution and reconnection more challenging.

If you’re not sure, here are some common indicators that couples therapy may be of benefit to you and your partner.

  • You’re stuck in negative communication patterns
  • Your interactions are mostly transactional with little emotional connection
  • You’re afraid to bring things up with your partner
  • Trust has been broken in your relationship
  • You’re so disconnected it starts to feel like you’re living separate lives
  • You’re experiencing ongoing sexual problems in your relationship
  • Your arguments are frequently distressing for either or both of you
  • You’ve gone through something significant or devastating

The work of Drs John and Julie Gottman, renowned couples therapists and researchers, has helped us better understand the strengths of same-sex relationships. Their research has demonstrated that:

  • Strengths like humour and the ability to calm down during an argument are especially important in the success of same-sex couples.
    Compared to straight couples, gay and lesbian couples use more affection and humour when they bring up a disagreement, with a more positive response to this.
  • Same-sex couples, in comparison to straight couples, are more likely to remain positive after a disagreement, which is important for repair.
  • Same-sex couples use less controlling and hostile emotional tactics, which may reflect a greater degree of fairness and equality in these relationships.
  • In arguments, lesbian couples tend to be more emotionally expressive, both positively and negatively, than gay men.
  • When it comes to repairing after a disagreement, gay men find this more difficult than lesbian or straight couples if the initiator of the disagreement becomes too negative.

Ready to get support?

We offer couples therapy appointments on weekdays during business hours and after hours in our Alexandria consultation rooms and online via video.