Couples
You always pictured your relationship would be flourishing as you became a family. You saw yourself being supported and held by your partner as you start your journey toward being a parent. But it’s so different to what you expected…
You may be losing touch with one another, leaving you to feel alone and isolated. You may be arguing or fighting more than usual. You may have different expectations of your roles, so you feel like you’re doing it tougher. You may be disagreeing on what’s best for your child. Or maybe there’s added pressure of finances, work, or extended family in the mix, so tensions are running high. And you’re tired.
Whether it be preparing for bringing your first child into the world, or navigating the early months with a newborn, or adjusting to bringing another baby into the home, or evening blending your families, it can be really tough when you feel like you’re at odds with the person who you count on.
I get it. And I know you want it to be different.
What is perinatal focused couples counselling?
Couples or relationship counselling is a therapeutic approach to helping partners overcome the issues and challenges that are affecting their relationship.
Relationships take work, particularly in the perinatal stage. Whether it be before, during or after pregnancy and birth it is important to consistently put in effort and nurture your relationship by communicating your needs, wants, and desires with your partner, and listening to them when they do the same. Couples counselling provides an opportunity to explore your relationship in a safe, non-judgemental, unbiased environment; gain an understanding of factors that may be influencing your situation; then work towards moving forward with tools and strategies to improve your relationship.
Who is perinatal focused couples counselling for?
Couples counselling is for those that want to restore and strengthen their relationship, particularly in the perinatal and parenting phase, through focusing on:
• Supporting you in building intimacy and trust
• Learning to communicate better
• Fostering mutual respect
• Building deeper connections
• Processing and healing from trauma and grief
• Managing stressors, conflict and expectations of parenthood
• Boundary setting (with each other, or extended family)
• Strategies for effective decision-making as partners and parents.
• Strategies for parenting within blended families
This approach is particularly beneficial for couples in the perinatal stage seeking support to grow and nurture a healthy and resilient relationship.
Note, our couples counselling is not suitable for domestic violence situations.
Our approach
Many couples reach out when things already feel strained. You might feel more like housemates than partners. Conversations turn into conflict or shutdown. One of you feels unseen. The other feels constantly criticised. And underneath it all is the fear that you don’t know how to get back to each other, or whether it’s even possible.
This is incredibly common in the perinatal period. Stress is higher. Sleep is broken. Birth experiences and past trauma sit closer to the surface. Most couples don’t want years of therapy. They want things to ease. They want communication that doesn’t escalate. They want to feel close again.
This is why Britt, our couples therapist, works with Emotionally Focused Therapy and Internal Family Systems. Together, these approaches help you understand what’s really driving the distance between you… the raw emotions, the protective reactions, the parts of you that shut down or become defensive because they don’t feel safe.
This work helps you:
• understand why the same conflicts keep repeating
• communicate without spiralling into arguments
• recognise the parts of you that feel hurt, overwhelmed, or alone
• respond to each other with more clarity and safety
• rebuild connection in a way that is realistic for early parenthood
It’s not about blame. It’s not about rehashing everything that went wrong. It’s about helping both of you make sense of what is happening beneath the surface so you can break the cycle you’re stuck in and begin to reconnect.
You don’t need to arrive with perfect communication. You just need a space where the two of you can finally understand each other again, and a path that helps things feel easier, not heavier.
Fees
Initial session – 60 minutes $200
Subsequent sessions – 60 minutes $175
60 minutes $165
Fees are payable in full prior to the appointment.
Make an appointment
Couples counselling sessions with Britt are available in Highgate WA and online, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays
To book your initial appointment, either book directly via the Highgate calendar link below, or complete the form below it to submit an enquiry and I will contact you directly: