Couples Therapy in Elsternwick

Relationships can go through periods where communication becomes harder, the same arguments keep resurfacing, or emotional distance starts to grow. Sometimes there’s a clear event behind the change. Other times, couples simply find themselves stuck in patterns they can’t seem to shift on their own.

Couples therapy provides a structured space to better understand what’s happening between you, rather than focusing on who’s “right” or “wrong”. At Your Psychologist in Elsternwick, Franco Greco works with couples experiencing communication difficulties, recurring conflict, trust issues, intimacy concerns and other relationship challenges. Therapy is tailored to the relationship and draws on evidence-based approaches to help both partners recognise unhelpful patterns and develop more constructive ways of relating to one another.

When can couples therapy help?

Couples don’t need to be at breaking point before seeking support. In fact, therapy can be useful whenever a relationship feels increasingly difficult, disconnected or repetitive. You might find that small disagreements escalate quickly, important conversations are avoided, or one or both partners feel unheard, criticised or taken for granted.

Couples counselling may also be helpful when navigating significant changes or pressures, including becoming parents, blended-family dynamics, work stress, grief, infidelity, separation, changes in intimacy or major life decisions. In some cases, the aim is to strengthen and repair the relationship. In others, therapy can help couples gain clarity about what they each want and how to move forward respectfully.

What is the Gottman Method?

The Gottman Method is a widely utilised and highly regarded approach to couples therapy, embraced by psychologists all over the world. It aims to:

• Disarm conflicting verbal communication
• Increase intimacy, respect, and affection
• Remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy
• Create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship

By conducting counselling sessions both together and separately, Franco Greco aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamic at play in your relationship. From here, we can provide tailored guidance and evidence-based techniques to improve your relationship in three key areas – friendship, conflict management and the creation of shared meaning.

Another term often used in couples therapy is the “Four Horsemen”, which refers to the four key elements of an unhealthy relationship – criticism of the partner’s personality, defensiveness, stonewalling (or refusing to interact) and contempt.

The Gottman Method aims to combat these negative patterns by helping the couple to develop more positive and productive responses to relationship situations.

Looking beyond the argument itself

Recurring relationship problems are rarely just about the topic being argued over. A disagreement about money, parenting, household responsibilities or intimacy may be connected to deeper feelings of rejection, insecurity, mistrust or not feeling valued. When couples only focus on the surface-level disagreement, the same dynamic can continue even when the subject changes.

Franco’s approach to couples therapy looks at both the interaction happening in the present and the individual experiences each person brings into the relationship. Understanding these patterns can help couples recognise why certain situations become particularly charged and create room for different responses.

What are the benefits of engaging in couples therapy with the assistance of the Gottman Method?

At Your Psychologist in Elsternwick, we’ve seen couples seek therapy due to relationship issues like frequent arguing, difficulty communicating, mistrust, dissatisfaction with sexual or emotional intimacy, co-dependency, and coping with shared trauma or grief.

Using an integrated approach that combines schema therapy with the Gottman Method, evidence-based psychologist and internationally accredited coach Franco Greco focuses on the complex interplay between two people and their history, with the goal to:

• Improve communication
• Rebuild trust
• Identify key areas that lead to conflict
• Teach partners how to manage conflict in a healthy way
• Establish a greater sense of respect for one another
• Improve couples’ abilities to deal with issues such as parenting, sexual problems, grief, loss and separation

This model suggests ways to explain, improve and resolve some of the obstacles to successful relationships, through its focus on meeting basic human needs – that is to feel safe, secure, connected and cared about. Together, we’ll explore the factors that interfere with getting those needs met in healthy and adaptive ways.

What happens during couples counselling?

Couples therapy isn’t simply about taking turns airing grievances. Sessions are designed to help identify the cycles that keep conflict going and give both partners a clearer understanding of how their behaviour affects the relationship. This can include looking at communication habits, emotional triggers, expectations, unmet needs and the ways each person responds when they feel threatened, criticised or disconnected.

Depending on what’s happening in the relationship, Franco may work with both partners together as well as individually. This helps build a fuller picture of the relationship dynamic and allows therapy to address both shared difficulties and the personal patterns that may be contributing to them.

The goal isn’t to create a relationship without disagreements (conflict is a normal part of being close to another person). Instead, couples therapy can help partners approach disagreement in a way that feels safer, more respectful and less damaging to the connection between them.

Couples counselling in Elsternwick with Franco Greco

Franco Greco brings more than 20 years of counselling and coaching experience to his work with couples, combining the Gottman Method with Schema Therapy and other evidence-based psychological approaches. Rather than applying the same formula to every relationship, therapy is shaped around the couple, their history and the particular patterns causing difficulty.

For couples looking for relationship or couples counselling in Elsternwick, Your Psychologist offers a private setting where difficult conversations can be explored constructively, with a focus on creating meaningful and sustainable change.


Book an appointment at Your Psychologist in Elsternwick 

No relationship is perfect. However, if you and your partner feel that your relationship would benefit from couples therapy, don’t hesitate to book an initial consultation with Franco Greco today. We also provide divorce mediation therapy, depression counselling and other evidence-based therapy services.