Couples Therapy with a Psychologist Melbourne

Illustration of diverse clients at Cova Psychology's Melbourne clinic, where psychologists provide professional care for depression and mental health support.

Are you worried about your relationship? Have you tried working on your relationship and been unable to achieve the improvement or changes you and your partner would both like?

It might be time to explore couples therapy with an experienced and qualified couples therapist.

We can help! Cova Psychology offers couples therapy via face-to-face session in Melbourne or online via telehealth.

Common Issues Addressed in Couples Therapy:

Couples can attend therapy to work on any issue that may be causing pain or dissatisfaction within their relationship. There is a misconception that couples therapy is only for couples who are in high conflict or considering separation.

Whilst therapy can certainly assist if that’s the case, many couples attend therapy as a preventative measure or feel like their relationship needs a “tune up” to keep things running smoothly. Some examples of issues addressed in couples therapy include:

How Couples Therapy can Help:

The Gottman Method Couples Therapy Process

The Gottman Method for couples therapy provides techniques grounded in research that enhance intimacy, reduce conflict, and increase the quality of a relationship. The couple therapists at Cova Psychology are trained in the Gottman method and are passionate about helping couples achieve greater connection and satisfaction in their relationships

Understanding the Gottman Method

The Gottman Method was created by psychologists John and Julie Gottman. The method is underpinned by rigorous research conducted by John Gottman and has demonstrated its efficacy in strengthening intimate relationships.

The Sound Relationship House Theory

Imagine your relationship as a structure where every instance of connection adds another brick to build the bond between you and your partner. This is at the core of Sound Relationship House Theory, which steers partners toward enhancing their connection, working through prior disagreements, and committing to a future together—key elements that underpin the well-being of any relationship.

The sound relationship house theory involves cultivating critical supporting walls such as companionship, adeptly handling disputes, and building towards common life aspirations.

As part of developing a stronger or more sound relationship house, the Gottman method works to help couples:

  • Building a Positive Perspective. Recognising positives in each other and in the relationship is essential for fostering lasting, healthy relationships.
  • Addressing Negative Conflict Patterns. The Gottman Method focuses on conflict and provides couples with effective conflict resolution techniques which foster healthy communication and a sense of understanding and compassion between couples.
  • Strengthening Emotional Connections. The Gottman Method is dedicated to strengthening the emotional bonds that form the core of any partnership. It concentrates on building up a couple’s sense of connectedness by disarming conflict, increase intimacy, respect, and affection, removing barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy, and creating a heightened sense of empathy and understanding for one another.
  • Creating Love Maps – A deeper understanding of one another is cultivated through tools such as “love maps” where partners build an explore one another’s likes, fears, and hopes, preferences etc.
  • Sharing Fondness and Admiration. The Gottman Method, focuses on establishing a culture of respect and appreciation for one another through couples therapy.

The Gottman Method Couples Therapy Process

Initial phases of Gottman Method couples therapy involve:

  • A comprehensive evaluation to identify both the strong points and potential improvement aspects of the relationship.
  • The development of a personalised therapeutic treatment plan tailored from this evaluation.
  • Determination of an appropriate schedule for frequency and length of therapy sessions designed to move the couple toward their goals.


This foundational step is essential as it establishes the groundwork for successful therapy. Following this step couples engage together (and at times individually) with their Gottman therapist. Both participants of the couple are required to commit to both the therapy sessions themselves as well as implementing the skills and learnings imparted in between the sessions.

If this Gottman Method couples therapy with a psychologist Melbourne sounds like it could be helpful to you and your partner don’t hesitate to be in touch.

If this page was helpful to you, our blog about improving communication with your partner might also be of interest.