How to stop bickering with your partner
Bickering, niggling ongoing arguments between a couple can really drag a relationship down and lead to general unhappiness for everyone concerned – the couple and any children who are often witness to it. Bickering can also impact extended family and friends if …
Adolescent Violence and Abuse in Families
There is a lot of discussion about violence between adult partners, but very little about teenagers who are violent and abusive towards other family members. As a Family Therapist I meet many parents who feel like they are “walking on eggshells” around …
How Post-Separation Counselling Can Help you Separate well if you have Kids
Sometimes during couples counselling, the couple decide to separate. If the couple have children, they commonly ask the Couples Counsellor about ongoing counselling to help them separate well. This is called Post-Separation Counselling. It is different to mediation which is a dispute-resolution process …
What do I do if my child/teen doesn’t like my new partner?
How’s it going with your children and your new partner? Do your children like and respect him or her? Does your new partner get along with your children? Are there fights, resentments, complaints? Or do you feel caught between the people you love …
I’m not attracted to my partner any more. My partner doesn’t seem to be attracted to me. What can we do?
If you are reading this blog you may be in a relationship which has gone a bit stale. You love your partner and perhaps enjoy the family you have created with them. But the sex is non-existent and worse still you are …
Should Step-Parents Discipline?
One of the hardest parenting gigs is being a step-parent. They often find themselves expected to do parenting chores such as running kids to soccer or enduring kid-friendly dinners. They may be expected to put up with attitude from teenagers and share the …
How do I introduce my children to a new partner?
You have separated. Maybe just newly separated. And you have met somebody else. But your children don’t know. Your ex doesn’t know either. And you are not sure how to introduce your children to your new partner, or how you should involve …
My family doesn’t believe I was sexually abused
There are many different types of sexual abuse and assault. But every single act of sexual abuse or assault leaves an imprint on the brain, and every survivor is left with ongoing trauma. There is further trauma when the abuse has occurred …
Why did my partner cheat on me?
At the Sydney Couple and Family Specialists we see many couples for marriage and relationship counselling – and probably one of the most common (and painful) presentations is when one person has betrayed the other. There are lots of different ways to …
When is controlling behaviour from a partner toxic or abusive?
Many people can appear controlling in a relationship and I certainly see many examples of it in couples counselling. Often controlling behaviours show up because the person is feeling insecure or highly anxious. Anxiety fuels controlling behaviours in relationships. But there …