What to Look For in a Couples Counsellor

Couples counselling is a specialised skill - different from individual therapy - so it's worth knowing what separates a well-trained couples counsellor from a general one. Look for:

• Registration with a governing body such as PACFA or ACA

• Specific training in relationship or couples counselling, not just general counselling

• Ongoing clinical supervision

• Evidence-based methods, backed by research rather than a general talk-therapy approach

At Hopeful Counselling, we meet all of the above - and we specialise in the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the two leading evidence-based approaches in couples therapy.

Why Evidence-Based Therapy Matters

Evidence-based therapy means the approach has been tested and shown to actually work - not just theorised. It gives you confidence that your sessions are grounded in what genuinely helps couples, not guesswork. It also means your counsellor can adapt to your specific situation using methods proven to create real, lasting change - not a generic, one-size-fits-all process.

Is Couples Counselling Right for You?

• Are you experiencing perpetual conflict over the same issues?

• Are you experiencing an escalation in your fights?

• Are you experiencing more and more distance between each other?

• Are you unable to discuss your concerns about the relationship without ensuing conflict?

• Are you having sex less or not at all?

• Are you spending little or no time together?

• Are you considering a romantic relationship outside of your relationship with your partner?
  

Here's What Couples Counselling Can Help You Build:

It can help couples to:

• learn how to communicate in ways that minimise unnecessary conflict

• better understand the struggles, challenges, needs and fears of each other

• foster safety in the relationship

• address addictions

• build intimacy and more satisfying bonds of connection

• learn how to move through perpetual communication gridlocks

• have healthy boundaries in their relationship

• navigate transitions in life (i.e. childbirth, empty nest, divorce)

• address sexual problems

• rebuild trust after infidelity, affairs and betrayals
  

What to Expect in Couples Counselling:

It's completely normal to feel nervous before your first session - worried the counsellor might take sides, or feeling embarrassed to admit you're struggling. The truth is, every couple struggles with something. We approach every session with empathy, not judgement.

You can expect the following:

• The first sessions will typically involve assessment and mutual sharing. Your counsellor will ask each person to offer their individual perspective on the relationship concerns that are presented. Assessment may include an opportunity to do an online relationship assessment such as the Gottman Relationship Checkup.

• Your counsellor will work with you to identify and examine the underlying dynamics behind the cycles and perpetual patterns that exist in your relationship.

• A tailored action plan will be developed by your counsellor in consultation with you that is aligned with your specific goals in therapy.