Helping couples realise what they always hoped to be
Individual mental health care also available
Welcome
Every relationship undergoes peaks and troughs, and it is ordinary for couples to experience a loss of closeness amid troubles. Relationship disharmony is akin to climbing a mountain. Sometimes the challenges can feel painful and arduous. Counselling can help couples with the courage and conviction to keep climbing.
Whilst it may be daunting, making a choice to seek couples counselling is an important step towards positive change in a relationship. Counselling can help new couples develop resilience in their early stages; or support established couples to strengthen their bond and understanding of each other; or restore well-being to couples in distress.
Each therapist will have a different method and approach. It is key that you and your partner find a therapist with whom you both feel at ease. This ‘therapeutic alliance’ (the quality and strength of the collaborative relationship), plays a vital role in the change process, and is considered equally or more important as the counselling technique itself.
Introduction
Julie Breiland is a Registered Psychologist. Her clinical training and experience began in community mental health services, with work in a private psychiatric hospital following. Julie has been counselling adults, adolescents, and couples since 2004. In private psychological practice, she is counselling couples online, in addition to providing individual mental health care to adults via telehealth.
Julie is enthusiastic in her work and dedicated to helping couples realise what they always hoped to be. She is counselling couples online across Australia (from her Melbourne base). Julie has completed Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and utilises the Gottman Method in her work.
Julie is registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA), division of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), and Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Method
Gottman Method Couples Therapy is an evidence-based approach to relationships and couples counselling. The Gottman Method is the culmination of more than 40 years of scientific research with over 3,000 couples exploring relationship health and stability.
Goals of the Gottman Method include helping couples to enrich friendship behaviours and connectedness, productively handle conflict, and build together a life of shared meaning and purpose. One of the most prevailing findings is that negative feedback has greater potential to harm a relationship than positive responses to help a relationship.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy therefore focuses on the couple’s interaction style. The Gottman Method aims to support partners in maintaining a positive orientation to one another when their relationship encounters obstacles. Counselling integrates strength-based practices, validated behavioural interventions, and relationship building activities.
Sessions
In order to appreciate the circumstances specific to you and your partner, counselling begins with comprehensive assessment across three sessions. Part one involves a joint session, including an online questionnaire. Part two comprises an individual session each. Part three is a joint session again, entailing feedback, discussing goals, and customising a counselling plan for the distinctive needs of your relationship.
The aforementioned research indicate the average number of counselling sessions to be about 15. Every relationship, however, is as unique as the people in them. For some couples, only a few sessions might be needed to navigate a rough patch, whereas counselling could be the onset of a longer process of discovery for others.
Online couples counselling enables you and your partner to access help from anywhere in Australia. The preferred option for online counselling is Zoom, which allows virtual sessions over the internet without installing any programs. Your privacy is paramount and Zoom uses encryption to ensure sessions are confidential plus passcode protection against unauthorised use. A link is sent via email and upon clicking this link, you and your partner will enter your scheduled counselling session.
Rate
For individuals, a standard 50-minute consultation is $200
For couples, the counselling session is one hour at $250
Appointments from 6:00pm (inclusive)
Individual consultation $220
Couples counselling $270
Individuals are eligible for a Medicare rebate with a GP referral and Mental Health Care Plan. The Medicare rebate is currently $96.65 per session (capped at 10 sessions per calendar year).
Depending on your policy, private health insurance may help cover the cost of couples counselling or individual consultations, contingent upon your level of cover and benefits.
Please note, Medicare rebates do not apply for couples counselling. Additionally, only one funder can be claimed per individual consultation - either Medicare or private health but not both.