A space to find your way back or deepen your connection.

COUPLES THERAPY IN THORNBURY, MELBOURNE.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE

People come to couples therapy for many reasons.

You've drifted apart and want to find your way back to each other, whether that's after years of distance, a major life transition, or simply losing touch with what brought you together;

You're stuck in the same conflict, again and again, and can't find a way through it on your own;

Trust has been broken, and you're working out whether, and how, to rebuild it;

You're navigating a relationship that doesn't fit a conventional mould, including LGBTQIA+ partnerships and consensually non-monogamous relationships, and want a therapist who meets your relationship as it actually is, not as a template;

You want to go deeper, not because something's wrong, but because you sense there's more available between you.

What is Couples Therapy?

Every relationship moves through seasons — periods of closeness, periods of distance, periods where the ground beneath you no longer feels as steady as it once did.

Couples therapy at Turning Ground isn't about fixing what's broken; it's about creating a space where both people can be met, fully, and where the patterns that keep you stuck can finally be seen clearly enough to shift.

Our approach is relational and depth-oriented — we work with what's happening between you in the room, not just what's been said about it. Drawing on attachment theory, emotion-focused therapy, and trauma-informed practice, we help couples find language for things that have long gone unspoken and rebuild the kind of connection that can hold real weight.

Who is it for?

Our therapists have experience supporting couples of all genders, sexualities, orientations, and dynamics, including but not limited to:

  • Couples who are dating or married;

  • Monogamous and non-monogamous couples;

  • Polyamorous relationships;

  • Inter-race and faith couples;

  • Straight, LGBTQIA+, and queer couples

  • Former couples who want to work through their experience after a break-up.

Our Couples Therapist

Al Jeffery (he/him)
PACFA Registered Clinical Therapist

Al offers couples therapy as a reflective, grounded space for couples of all orientations to deepen intimacy, trust, and emotional safety. Drawing on attachment, emotion-focused, and trauma-informed approaches, he helps partners understand their relational patterns while cultivating greater honesty, wholeness, and shared meaning—supporting relationships that feel more connected, resilient, and deeply fulfilling.

Read more about Al’s approach here

By investing in couples therapy, partners can strengthen their bond, deepen their commitment, and cultivate a more fulfilling and satisfying relationship.

Treatment approaches:

Depending on the couple’s needs, goals, and preferences, we draw on a range of evidence-based approaches, including:

  • PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy)

  • Emotion Focused Therapy

  • Gottman Relationship Therapy

  • Attachment-based therapy

  • Non-Violent Communication

A practice that welcomes all of you

We welcome LGBTQIA+ individuals and couples, people in consensually non-monogamous relationships, and partnerships that don't fit a conventional mould. We welcome people of all cultural backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life — including those for whom religion or spirituality is a source of meaning, and those for whom it may have been a source of harm.

What to expect:

No two relationships look the same, and your therapy shouldn't either. We work collaboratively, shaping our approach around your specific story rather than a fixed program — and both of you will have space to be heard, at your own pace.

Your first session

Sessions run for 80 minutes. Together with your therapist, you'll map out what's brought you here, what you're both hoping for, and what a workable path forward looks like. There's no script to follow, and no pressure to have it all figured out before you arrive.

There's no fixed number of sessions — some couples need a handful, others stay longer. That's something you shape together as you go. This is your process, and you stay in the driver's seat throughout.

An investment in your relationship:

All couples’ sessions are 80 minutes long and cost $250.
Medicare does not cover couples counselling at this stage.

Book a free Discovery Call

Please note: We do not work with relationships where ongoing domestic violence is present. If you are in a relationship where ongoing violence is present, please reach out to Safe Steps on 1800 015 188 to speak to a specialist who can assist you directly.

Frequently asked questions.

  • Research suggests that couples counselling can help couples improve their relationship satisfaction, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. It can also help couples work through issues such as conflict resolution, infidelity, intimacy problems, and trust issues. To get the most out of couples counselling, both parties should come with open minds and a willingness to listen and grow.

  • It typically takes 2-3 months before people begin to recognize noticeable improvements in their relationship. This time can vary depending on multiple factors, including; how long the two of you have been together, the severity of the challenges you’re facing, and the amount of effort you both put into making the relationship work, and others. When the challenges you’re facing are very challenging, it can take 1-2 years of continuous work to address the issues in a relationship. It’s common for people to begin with weekly sessions, and as they see improvement begin to taper off to fortnightly, and then monthly sessions.

  • As a team of clinicians, pricing varies across our practitioners. An approximation of pricing is:

    Couples Psychotherapy (80 minutes): $200 - $250

  • It can be common, and tough wanting to work on your relationship only to find that your partner isn’t interested. While many people are outrightly opposed to therapy of any kind, it might surprise you to learn that they might have good reasons. Often they feel they will be blamed, that it might make things worse, or that they'll be ganged up on by you and the therapist.

    You could try to understand their reasoning and see if there is any reassurance that can be offered. If they still would prefer not, we encourage you to consider individual therapy to work on your relationship challenges.

  • Whilst we believe the deepest therapeutic work can be done in person, each of our practitioners have set availabilities for Telehealth/online sessions.

  • Unfortunately at this stage Medicare does not fund couples counselling. Hopefully this changes in the future.

If your question is still not answered, or you would like to explore working with one of our practitioners, book a discovery call here.

The answers are in us,
in our relationships, and in the room between us.