RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

We offer relationship counselling for couples, singles and parent/child relationships.

How much time, energy and money do we invest in our careers, in seeking knowledge and developing our skills? And yet in comparison how much do we invest in our relationships? Although relationships are the most important thing in our life, we get very little education about them, other than what is modelled to us in our families and what we are exposed to culturally.

There is a wealth of research and invaluable information to help us to recognise, engage in, and better manage differences and any repeating stressors in our relationships. All relationships will go through a myriad of changes over their lifespan as we progress through different phases of life. There can be external stressors and internal changes we have not accounted or prepared for. Understanding ways to relate honestly, and develop healthy communication, without unrealistic expectations, is what you can expect from therapy.

GOTTMAN METHOD COUPLES THERAPY

Gottman Method Couples Therapy (GMCT) combines the knowledge and wisdom of 4 decades of research and clinical practice.

Why the Gottman Method works

Research shows that to make a relationship last, couples must become better friends, learn to manage conflict and create ways to support each other’s hopes for the future.

If you’re like many couples, you and your partner argue in a way that inflicts pain on the other. Disagreements bring out meanness and disrespect. Afterwards, you feel ashamed. This is not the person you believe yourself to be, and you have hurt the one you love. And yet next time you argue, you do it again.

Gottman Method Couples’ Therapy was developed to help you and your partner to:

• Increase respect, affection and closeness
• Break through and resolve conflict when you feel stuck
• Generate greater understanding
• Keep conflict discussions calm and respectful.

Transform inevitable relationship conflicts so you can build solid bridges between the two of you:

• Deepen your understanding of one another
• Repair old hurts and resentments
• Unearth the values and life purpose you share
• Strengthen your friendship
• Spice up your intimacy

The Gottman Couples’  Intensive Therapy approach has been demonstrated to have significant benefits for couples. It often leads to a significant reduction of feelings of distress, resolution of specific problems, and a stronger relationship. In many cases, it has moved couples from thinking of ending their relationship to recommitting to it in new ways.  Couples who have engaged in this process in the past have reported that they were able to work through a range of unresolved issues, ‘leave the baggage behind’ and go home with a renewed sense of commitment, closeness and hope for building a closer, more satisfying and intimate relationship together.

The Intensive Therapy approach is fast becoming one of the most popular and successful approaches to helping couples through relationship crises. It is an approach that we would recommend for couples wanting to reconnect and fall in love again.

MARATHON GOTTMAN METHOD COUPLES THERAPY PACKAGE

Marathon Couples Therapy – Have you ever heard of such a thing? Have you ever thought you and your partner could benefit from couples therapy? Maybe this is what you need. Marathon Couples Therapy is an alternative to regular weekly sessions and effective for couples who require immediate help.

Our two day intensive therapy allows you to transform those stuck conversations, you know the ones we mean – that start the same way, have the same middle and end the same way. Together with your therapist you will start a different narrative of your love story through reconnecting and feeling heard and seen. You will understand your patterns of communication and emotional drivers in a meaningful way, to create a bond that will last.

Marathon Couples Therapy is a highly researched and effective approach. Reported benefits include:

• Increased turning towards and bids for love
• Greater understanding of who your partner is and what drives them
• Conflict with positive outcomes- making way for deeper connection
• Positive sentiment override as your go to
• Investing in repair and vulnerability
• Enjoying the safety of your relationship with adventure and curiosity

What To Expect

• A highly experienced psychologist who has extensive training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy
• 6 hours of focussed couples counselling per day (9am – 5pm)
• Access to the Gottman Builder for ongoing support and skills practice
• A Gottman Relationship Check Up Assessment

• A personalised booklet containing the strategies relevant to your relationship to ensure you can continue to implement these strategies once therapy has finished (e.g. strategies to manage conflict, strengthening emotional bonds and safety, deepening friendship, improving intimacy and building trust)

Booking Marathon Couples Therapy

When you contact us to book in for couples therapy, you will speak to one of our knowledgeable reception staff, who can answer any further questions you might have about GMCT.

At this point, you will be asked to book the two sessions for you and your partner:

Session 1: 6 hours of focussed couples counselling with you and your partner

Session 2: 6 hours of focussed couples counselling with you and your partner

Please note that Sessions 1 and 2 are generally booked one month apart.

As part of the Marathon Counselling process, all couples will need to complete a comprehensive online Relationship Assessment a week prior to their session. The Assessment takes approximately 60 – 90mins on average, is filled out separately by both you and your partner and needs to be completed 14 days before your Initial Session. This enables us to tailor the best individualised treatment plan to address each couple’s needs. If Marathon Counselling is not suited to your current needs we will either suggest more sessions over a longer period of time or refund your deposit minus the assessment fee of $300.00.

A report will be provided and recommendations.

Fees

The investment for your relationship is $5250.00.

A 50% deposit ($2,625) is due upon booking, the final 50% is due 7 days before your first appointment.

The four hour follow up sessions will be an investment of $1400.

A 50% deposit ($700) is due upon booking, the final 50% is due 7 days before your first appointment.

STANDARD GOTTMAN METHOD COUPLES THERAPY PACKAGE

Our standard Gottman Method Couples Therapy package includes a 3 hour Initial Session, followed by a 2 hour Feedback Session one to two weeks later, and then ongoing 1-2 hour appointments.

Booking Gottman Method Couples Therapy

When you contact us to book in for couples therapy, you will speak to one of our knowledgeable reception staff, who can answer any further questions you might have about GMCT.

You will then be allocated to one of our highly skilled psychologists, all of whom have been trained in GMCT.

At this point, you will be asked to book four sessions for you and your partner for the detailed assessment phase:

Session 1: A joint session with you and your partner to meet your psychologist, and for your psychologist to perform an initial assessment on the both of you, your relationship, and the presenting issues;

Session 2: An individual session with one of you, in order for your psychologist to further assess the issues from that partner’s perspective;

Session 3: An individual assessment session with the other partner;

Session 4: A joint Feedback session to discuss all results of the assessment, including the Gottman online assessment questionnaire (discussed below), and treatment planning.

Please note that Sessions 1 – 3 are generally booked in one ‘Initial Appointment’ – 3 hour block. Session 4 is generally booked one to two weeks later – 2 hours.

Upon booking, you will be asked to complete the Gottman Institute’s online assessment questionnaire – The Relationship Checkup. This is a comprehensive psychometric measure that pinpoints the specific areas of need within your relationship. The Assessment is completed outside of session, and takes approximately 60-90mins, on average. It is filled out separately by both of you, and needs to be completed at least 7 days before your Initial Session.

Whilst completing the assessment phase may feel onerous, the more information you are able to provide your psychologist, the more able your psychologist will be to tailor a treatment plan for you and your partner that addresses the specific issues within your relationship.

The Gottman Institute recommends a minimum 17 hrs of therapy (not including the initial 4 assessment sessions) to cover the basic necessities of the treatment.

Shoalhaven Psychology recommends 11 – 12, 1-2 hour treatment sessions after the initial assessment sessions (as from experience these sessions can comfortably address issues and skills effectively).

Finally there is the relapse prevention stage or follow up phase which can take anything from 3 to 7 hours across 6-10 months – your clinician will talk to you about these sessions and they can be booked at a later date if required.

However every couple is different and you can discuss your therapy needs and length of therapy time with your psychologist.

Fees

The investment for your relationship is $2,300 (Initial 4 assessment sessions).

A 50% deposit ($1,150) is due upon booking, the final 50% is due 7 days before your first appointment.

Upon booking the initial 4 assessment sessions, we will book a further 12 hours worth of appointments with your clinician to ensure that you have treatment sessions in place to get the best outcomes for your investment in your relationship. The investment for your follow up appointments is $4200.

A 50% deposit ($2,100) is due upon booking, the final 50% is due 7 days before your first appointment.

Additional sessions are charged at a rate of $275 ($285 with Janine) per session.

WHO MAY NOT BE SUITABLE

• Couples where there is serious ongoing domestic violence
• If one, or both people in the relationship has an active drug or alcohol addiction
• One, or both partners have serious untreated mental health issues (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder). This does not include conditions that have been successfully treated in the past.
• If there is an undisclosed affair or an ongoing affair that the partner is not willing to cease.
• If either partner is currently experiencing suicidal, homicidal or serious self-harming thoughts.

Please contact us if you are unsure of whether your situation is suitable for this type of therapy. If you are assessed as unsuitable, we can recommend more appropriate treatments and/or referral for you to gain the assistance you need.

STRATEGIES FOR RELATIONSHIPS

There are some strategies you can apply and immediately see results from, and there is deeper work you can engage in to take your relationship to its full potential. Counselling will be more effective the more you are willing to share and process.

Developing emotional intelligence is integral to relationships. Emotional intelligence is having the capacity to be aware of, control, and express emotions. We need to be able to recognise the feelings of others also, so we can handle our relationships judiciously and empathetically, as this will add to our success and happiness in life.

Some strategies you can apply now:

• Try telling your partner each day something you appreciate about them. The Gottman Institute has found if there are five positive interactions for every negative interaction, a couple can have a stable and happy relationship over time.
• It’s ok to fight but you need to be better at repair and forgiving -: conflict is an opportunity to learn to love your partner better over time; apologising is not about wrong and right but shows that you value your relationship more than your ego.

These strategies can be applied in all our relationships.

If your partner is unwilling to come to Relationship Therapy (they may take longer to process the value of therapy), it can still be very beneficial to come on your own. Therapy can empower you to be an agent of change in your relationship.