Every relationship has its challenges. My goal is to provide you with the practical, evidence-based tools you need to move past gridlock and rebuild a strong, lasting connection. “Small things often create big changes over time.” — Dr John Gottman
"Every couple has to negotiate each other's erotic independence as part of the larger conversation about our individuality and our connection" - Esther Perel Let's talk about sex - what is working and what is not? What are your erotic fantasies? I can help you rekindle your sexual spark!
"Love me tender, love me true" Are you both still on the same page? Dr Karin can help you develop shared meaning and greater connection.
Every relationship has its challenges. My goal is to provide you with the practical, evidence-based tools you need to move past gridlock and rebuild a strong, lasting connection. “Small things often create big changes over time.” — Dr John Gottman
Gottman Method Couples Therapy in Melbourne
Reconnect, Resolve Conflict, and Rebuild Intimacy
Every relationship faces challenges. Whether you want to navigate long-standing disagreements, build deeper emotional closeness, or rekindle your sexual spark, the Gottman Method provides practical, "nuts-and-bolts" tools designed to create lasting change.
Unlike traditional marriage counselling, this world-renowned approach is entirely data-driven. It is built on longitudinal research tracking over 3,000 couples across five decades to uncover what actually makes relationships succeed or fail. By studying real-time physical responses, body language, and communication habits, this research achieved an unprecedented 91% accuracy rate in predicting relationship longevity.
When you engage in Gottman therapy, you aren't working with abstract theories—you are learning the exact, replicable habits of couples who successfully maintain long-term love.
Why Choose Dr Karin du Plessis?
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Active and Directive: You won't just sit and talk. Dr Karin actively coaches you, working alongside you to break unhelpful cycles quickly.
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Empathic & Balanced: A safe, supportive, and completely confidential environment. To ensure true clinical transparency, we maintain a strict "no secrets" policy between partners, ensuring both voices are heard equally and honestly.
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Defeating the "Four Horsemen": Learn to identify and eliminate the four most destructive habits identified by research—Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling—and replace them with scientifically proven, healthy antidotes.
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Support for Trust and Betrayal Recovery: If your relationship has suffered from a breach of trust or infidelity, we apply a structured Gottman framework focused on Atonement, Attunement, and Attachment to help you safely process trauma, understand vulnerabilities, and rebuild a transparent foundation.
Our 5-Step Progress Framework
For couples entering ongoing therapy, we use a structured, goal-oriented process rooted in clinical data to help you move forward efficiently:
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Assessment: We begin with a joint session to explore your relationship history, followed by private individual sessions. During this phase, you will complete the official online Gottman relationship questionnaire (approx. AU$60 / US$39 paid directly to the Gottman Institute). Dr Karin then shares clear, research-backed treatment recommendations to define your shared goals.
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Treatment: Joint weekly or fortnightly sessions focused on practical tools and tailored between-session exercises to permanently cement your new skills.
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Phasing Out: As your communication improves and conflicts are managed productively, we reduce session frequency to let you test your new habits independently.
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Termination: A final dedicated session to celebrate your progress, outline remaining growth areas, and confidently conclude regular therapy.
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Outcome Evaluation: Brief follow-ups over two years (at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months). Long-term research proves that these specific touchpoints drastically reduce the risk of relapse, ensuring you do not fall back into old, unhelpful patterns.
When is couples counselling not recommended?
There are specific situations where joint therapy is not helpful and is clinically contraindicated:
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Ongoing Aggression or Coercive Control: If there is active physical aggression or coercive control in your relationship, couples counselling is not helpful and is contraindicated until internal individual changes take place that enable violence to no longer be an option.
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Active Secrets or Ongoing Infidelity: Couples counselling has limited or no value if there are major secrets being kept, such as ongoing infidelity. True progress requires complete transparency from both partners.
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Lack of Combined Commitment: For therapy to be effective, both individuals must be willing to openly examine relationship dynamics and participate honestly in the process.
Standalone Service: Couples Relationship Health Assessment
Not every couple is looking for ongoing therapy right away. If you simply want a comprehensive, scientific map of your relationship, we offer the Couples Relationship Health Assessment as a premium standalone service.
This package provides a precise "relational health snapshot" identifying your exact strengths and vulnerabilities. It consists of four targeted 50-minute consultations (an initial joint history session, two private individual sessions, and a comprehensive joint feedback roadmap session) alongside the official online Gottman questionnaire. You will leave with a practical, research-based custom action plan tailored entirely to your relationship.
Dr Karin is a registered clinical supervisor providing specialised Professional Clinical Supervision and case consultation for therapists. Available online via Zoom on Tuesdays, these sessions focus on mastering the implementation of the Gottman Method, navigating complex couples dynamics, and building a sustainable private practice framework.
Flexible Weekend In-Person & National Online Appointments
We offer specialised weekend availability for face-to-face sessions in Melbourne, alongside flexible weeknight online options available to couples anywhere in Australia:
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In-Clinic (Carlton North, Melbourne): Saturdays & Sundays | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
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Online (Zoom) – Australia-Wide: Mondays | 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm (AEST/AEDT)
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Clinical Supervision (Zoom): Tuesdays | Afternoons & Evenings
Please note: Service provision is strictly limited to clients physically located within Australia.
Ready to build a lasting relationship or elevate your practice?
Don't wait for communication issues to become permanently gridlocked.