Dr Judith C Miller offers a couples counselling service (also referred to as couples therapy, marriage counselling or relationship counselling) for couples of any age in the Northern Rivers area, NSW. This includes Byron Bay, Lennox Head, Ballina, Evans Head, Alstonville, Wollongbar and Lismore.
Individual and couples sessions
If you are dissatisfied with your relationship and would like to make a face to face or online appointment with me, it is preferable that your partner is willing to see me too.
I prefer to see you together for counselling sessions as soon as possible and then each of you separately. Because we bring our life experience to our adult relationships, the process often involves individual sessions. It can be necessary to deal with unresolved issues from the past that are causing distress and conflict in our current relationship.
As you both gain the clarity to identify your own issues and what you want in the relationship, I would see you again together for as many sessions as it takes for you to hear and understand each other’s position and agree on a way forward.
Couples struggling with unresolved conflicts and relationship issues, seek help for many reasons:
Busy lives, work, careers and child rearing often squeeze out any time or energy for parents as a couple. They lose touch, stop talking, drift apart, feel isolated and often become resentful. Some self-medicate and get trapped in substance abuse. Asking for help is the first and most important step in turning one’s life around.
Falling in love makes it easy to ignore important discussions such as, children, finances, values and needs and the division of labour in running a household. These kinds of issues can arise after the first phase of a committed relationship. They can be dealt with in counselling as you find an equitable way forward to a rich and fulfilling life together.
Newly retired couples can be shocked by how irritated they are by their partner now that they are no longer going out to work. Nothing they had looked forward to is fun when they are arguing constantly and getting on each other’s nerves. They can be facilitated in the process of rediscovering their partner, learning to communicate again and negotiating a future they can get excited about.
The couples counselling process
What kind of relationship do you want?
I will work with you to help you discover what kind of relationship you really want. With some support and guided practice, you can improve your communication, learn to deal with differences and disagree without getting into a fight. It is also possible to rediscover the person you first fell in love with and recreate a close and rewarding relationship.
Consequences of trauma
If, in the process of couples counselling, you discover that your difficulties or other mental health struggles are the result of previous damaging relationships or the consequences of family violence and childhood trauma, I will work with you in whatever way best suits your needs.
Multiple approaches
In my counselling practice I draw on many approaches to therapy. All of these seek to help you find the freedom to be your best self, to discover the resources you have within you to be the parent and partner you want to be and to live your life to the full in the context of your family, your work-place and the wider community.
What if it doesn't work?
Not all relationships can be rescued. If, after a few sessions, you decide to go your separate ways, I can help you through that process. You will have the satisfaction of having done your best and part with a better understanding of who you are, what you need and why you are separating.