Couples Counselling Maitland

Healthy relationships don’t “just happen” they’re built through small moments of care, honest communication, and a willingness to grow together.

At Soulful Support Counselling in Maitland (on Wonnarua Country), I offer a warm, grounded space for couples to slow down, feel heard, and find their way back to connection. Whether you’re navigating constant conflict, feeling like housemates rather than partners, rebuilding after a rupture, or wanting to strengthen a good relationship, you’re welcome here.

Is Couples Counselling Right for Us?

Couples seek support for many reasons. You may recognise yourselves in one or more of the following:

  • Communication feels stuck, conversations end in shutdown, stonewalling, or the same argument on repeat

  • You’re recovering from a breach of trust, betrayal, or significant life stress

  • Intimacy or affection has shifted, and it’s hard to reconnect

  • You’re managing different neurotypes, sensory needs, or energy levels and want strategies that respect both partners

  • Parenting, blended families, finances, or work stress are pulling you in different directions

  • You still care about each other but feel like you’ve lost the map

If any of this resonates, couples counselling can help you understand the pattern you’re caught in, so you can change it together.

How I Work

My approach is trauma-informed, neuroaffirming, and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. I work collaboratively, drawing on evidence-based frameworks and compassionate presence to create safety, connection, and growth.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): Supporting you to move from reactivity and blame toward shared safety, responsiveness, and secure bonding.

Gottman Method: Offering practical, research-backed strategies for conflict management, repair, and building trust and intimacy.

Internal Family Systems (IFS): Gently exploring the “protective parts” that show up in conflict, such as the critic, pleaser, fixer, or withdrawer, without shame or judgment.

Relational Life Therapy (RLT): Bringing honesty and directness into the room, with a focus on fairness, accountability, and respect. I may challenge unhelpful patterns while also empowering each partner’s voice, always in service of the relationship’s growth and safety.

Attachment Lens & Gottman-Informed Tools: Providing clear, actionable skills for communication, repair, and creating daily rituals of connection.

Somatic & Mindfulness Practices: Helping regulate the nervous system so tough conversations feel safer and more manageable.

Together, you’ll learn to:

  • Recognise the repeating cycle you get stuck in

  • Name what’s happening in the moment

  • Practise new ways of turning toward each other—especially when it feels hard

What You’ll Take Away

A shared understanding of your conflict cycle and how to step out of it

Tools to communicate needs and boundaries without blame or shutdown

Ways to repair quickly and effectively after tough moments

Strategies that respect different neurotypes, sensory needs, and pacing

Practical rituals of connection that keep the relationship nourished

A felt sense of safety and teamwork, even when you disagree

What Sessions Look Like

Initial joint session (90 minutes).
We map your relationship strengths and pain points, clarify goals, and start noticing your interaction pattern. I’ll share a simple framework so you both leave with language for what’s happening between you.

Individual sessions (one each).
Before our second couples session, I usually meet with each partner once. This safeguards privacy, gathers your perspectives, and helps me tailor our work. We keep the focus on the relationship, not taking sides.

Ongoing joint sessions (60 minutes or 90 minutes).
Most couples begin weekly or fortnightly, moving to monthly as things stabilise. Together we build skills for staying connected, repairing after conflict, and nurturing closeness in everyday life. Between sessions, I may offer brief practices or reflections that fit your routines (nothing overwhelming, small, doable steps).

In-person or Telehealth.
Attend in Maitland or online from anywhere in NSW. Evening and limited Saturday times are available at different points in the year.

A Note on Safety and Respect

This space supports honesty, accountability, and change. If there is ongoing family violence, coercive control, or significant safety concerns, we’ll discuss the most appropriate support options before (or instead of) couples work. Your wellbeing is the priority.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes couples work is most effective with both of you present. If your partner is unsure, I’m happy to talk through what sessions involve so you can decide together.

  • It depends on your goals and the complexity of what you’re navigating. Many couples notice shifts within 4–6 sessions; deeper repair can take longer. We’ll review progress regularly.

  • My role is not to side with one partner against the other, but to stand for the health of your relationship. At times this may mean I name behaviors that are unhelpful or hurtful, and this can feel like I’m leaning toward one partner. My commitment is always to fairness, balance, and helping you both create the respectful, connected relationship you want.

  • Yes. I’m a neuroaffirming practitioner and will collaborate with you on communication scaffolds, sensory-aware strategies, and pacing that respects both partners.

  • For many couples, yes. We’ll set up simple guidelines to make online sessions smooth and connected.

  • Absolutely. Counselling can help you gain clarity, whether that’s recommitting, redefining the relationship, or parting with care.

  • Safety always comes first. Abuse or violence is never acceptable in any form. If these behaviours arise, I will address them directly and firmly, while supporting accountability and change. In Couples Counselling this may mean pausing couples work and recommending individual support until it is safe and constructive to continue. My role is to protect both partners and ensure that counselling takes place in a respectful, safe environment.

About your counsellor Bree Edmondston

A registered counsellor and holistic practitioner. I integrate attachment-focused, evidence-informed approaches (EFT, IFS, ACT, RLT, Gottman) with mindfulness and somatic practices. Clients describe me as warm, steady, and practical. I aim to create a space where both partners feel safe enough to be honest, and hopeful enough to try something new.

Ready to Begin?

If you’re reading this, something matters enough to explore. That’s a powerful first step.
Book an initial couples session or get in touch to ask questions and see if we’re a good fit. I’d be honoured to support you both as you move from coping to connection, and from disconnection to deeper trust.