Couples, relationship & marriage counselling in Fremantle & online
Relationships can be both a beautiful and challenging journey that holds a mirror to both the best and worst parts of yourself. Relationships teach you tough lessons: that things aren’t always light and happy, you won’t always like your partner, and you certainly won’t be the same couple you were when you got together. Every relationship needs constant re-iteration and new chapters.
When you lean into your relationship and tend to it with thoughtfulness, curiosity and care, you can absolutely come out stronger and better. We’re here to help you do that, in a gentle, relatable and warm-hearted way.
We are experienced and respected couples counsellors with appointments available Monday-Saturday with after-hours availability.
Relationships are the most complex part of our human experience, and we’re here to soften the landing.
Better Relationships Start Here
I know relationship issues are incredibly scary to feel, and even harder to acknowledge to yourself.
Yet you are not alone. These are all common experiences in couples that we can help you work through.
Here are some of the issues that may arise in your relationship where we can help through relationship counselling:
Questioning if this is the right partner for you or if your relationship is ending or not worth it anymore.
Have different love languages and don’t want to compromise on how each other wants to be loved.
Have trouble communicating calmly.
Recurring fights that erupt over the same issues.
Not able to resolve issues, resulting in them becoming ongoing fights, silent retreats or just swept under the rug.
You don’t feel seen, valued or understood by your partner, and they don’t seem to care about your feelings.
Your arguments are triggering and bring out the worst in you, either by having intense reactions, or shutting down and withdrawing.
You feel like you’ve lost the spark and you’re confused about how to get it back.
You don’t want to repeat the patterns of your parents or head towards divorce or separation.
You feel lonely in your relationship and like you’re the only one who cares or is fighting for the relationship;
You’re stuck in the ‘distancer’ and ‘pursuer’ dynamic where one partner wants more intimacy and one partner needs more space;
You can’t seem to express yourself sexually or find satisfaction in the bedroom.
You’re entering a new family dynamic, of separation, co-parenting, blended families or single parenthood.
Go beneath the tip of the iceberg to
talk about what really matters.
How Counselling Can Help your relationship
I’ll encourage you to face your challenges and transitions with curiosity, compassion and communication; to get you both to the next chapter in your relationship with gentleness, kindness. and patience.
Often, re-negotiating your relationship is a way to decide together what isn’t working, what is, and what needs to change. By taking time out to reflect on your relationship, you’ll gain clarity.
We often don’t need to throw the whole relationship out the window, but we do need to reflect, ask the hard questions, know what works and doesn’t work for you both, and have the courage to define and redefine your relationship in a unique way that works just for you two.
Counselling focuses on getting to the heart of the matter, allowing you to know what you're feeling and how to articulate it, and to ask for what you really need to feel safe, treasured and alive in the relationship.
You don’t need to follow anyone else’s script, rather find your own voice and what works for your unique dynamic. We’ll work to find your unique blueprint and shut out the world of' ‘shoulds’ so you can find what works for you
You’ll feel more capable and have a deep understanding of how you and your partner operate.
You’ll be equipped with effective communication skills so that you can resolve issues faster.
You’ll be invited to take self-responsibility and find where you can support your partner better and lean into connection and friendship again.
The skills needed to navigate these complex challenges will support you to find your way again.
We are all humans figuring out complex relationships together, so we’ll work hard to find a unique approach that suits your unique relationship in a practical, insightful and relatable way.
Improve Your Relationship Skills
You’ve done the hard part by finding the one you want to be with.
Now you can learn all of the teachable skills you can use to maintain your relationship:
We’d love to teach how you how to:
Discussing issues in a healthy way that doesn’t provoke aggression.
Truly hear each other and slow down your conversations.
Seeing each other’s experience and how they view your interactions.
Resolving issues, not ignoring them or leaving them unresolved.
Understanding your partner’s love language.
Fight about what really matters, not superficial tiffs.
Staying away from criticism, stonewalling and withdrawal.
Recovering and healing after a fight.
Finding your emotional and sexual connection again.
Learning each other’s vision and hopes for the future.
Know if together or apart is the best option for you.
We’re respected couples therapists who’ve helped many couples not only stay together, but start a new chapter in their relationship that feels lighter, more connected, intimate and hopeful again.
Experienced and respected therapists to choose from
You have options! Gabriella de Mori and Katie Woodley-Smith are both experienced and respected couples therapists who will hold your relationship with reverence while working to resolve your tension and communication challenges.
Gabriella de Mori
Gabriella is a warm, punchy, highly attuned and perceptive registered counsellor who has a wealth of personal and professional experience.
She enjoys guiding couples through navigating your life challenges in a way that discovers your unique strengths and dynamics, Gabriella helps couples explore your family of origin influences as well as practice clear and effective communication strategies and boundaries.
She is an expert at uncovering the unspoken dynamics in your relationship, giving you new insights and ways of understanding your interactions that go beyond the surface-level arguments.
Gabriella will guide you to notice your nervous system activation and emotions underneath your reactions to steer you towards softness and compassion over fighting and tension.
Gabriella encourages you to take a proactive approach to couples counselling and value it as part of strengthening and safeguarding the future of your relationship.
She particularly enjoys validating the normal stresses of relationships, being relatable, rejecting perfectionism and internal criticism and connecting you back to relationships so you don’t get lost in the traffic of life.
Life is always busy, but your relationship health is important to nurture and cultivate.
She believes in a collaborative approach by inspiring you with thoughtful questions to find the unique blueprint that will work for you, and doesn’t believe in a ‘one-sized fits all’ approach.
She will show you helpful tools and resources, that draw on the best of nervous system regulation (Polyvagal Theory), attachment styles, emotion focused-therapy and practice strategies to improve the ease of your family and household routine.
Gabriella works with many LGBTQIA+ couples with joy and has a special interest in sex therapy and modern dating/relationship experiences and approaches as well as supporting fertility journeys.
She is not a mother, but definitely claims to be the favourite Aunty.
Qualifications
Registered counsellor (PACFA) with the following reputable tertiary education qualifications:
Master of Counselling, Notre Dame University, 2015.
Gottman Couples Method Training, Level 1.
Master of International Health, 2009.
Bachelor of Social Science, 2007.
Rebates available with private health insurers: Bupa, HCF, HCF, Medibank, ahm and ARHG .
Katie Woodley-Smith
Katie Woodley-Smith brings her wealth of experience, warmth and wisdom to couples counselling from a gentle, compassionate and curious perspective.
She has a special focus on attachment in relationships which helps you see the broader dynamics at play of your emotional needs, reactions and triggers.
Katie illuminates how you bring your childhood and earlier relationship experiences into your current relationships so you can see patterns and unhelpful ways of relating more clearly.
Katie takes a relatable, patient approach to help you explore your ways of relating, giving and receiving love, emotional regulation and inner safety.
Katie gently supports clients in their challenges with attachment, childhood experiences, trauma, relationships, feelings of emotional disconnection, family stress, separation and parenting.
She works well with you if one partner feels avoidant or shut down, and one partner is emotionally open and has deeper emotional needs.
Katie can guide you to understand the ‘distancer’ and ‘persuer’ dynamic in relationships and how to get out of the cycle that so many couples find themselves in.
She works with an emotion-focused perspective building empathy and helping you to communicate in ways that bring you together. She is a soft place to land where you can be deeply heard, understood and supported.
Katie supports couples dealing with parenting challenges and navigating the overwhelm of family life by guiding parents to create secure attachments with their children, regulate your reactions and triggers more smoothly and wisely, and aims towards family cohesion and safety.
Katie is passionate about separation counselling or supporting couples to reconcile post-separation.
She believes separation can be done better, and more gently when done intentionally, discussed openly and collaboratively planned.
She is a wife of nearly 20 years and proud mother of teenage children.
Qualifications
Registered counsellor (PACFA) with the following reputable tertiary education qualifications:
Master of Counselling, Notre Dame University, 2017.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.
Professional development in Internal Family Systems, Schema, Regulation and Emotion-Focused therapy.
Rebates available with private health insurers: Bupa, HCF, Medibank, ahm and ARHG
Not sure who is the best fit for you?
Don’t worry, that’s our job to guide you.
When you enquire, Gabriella will review your inquiry and make a recommendation.
Couples & Marriage Therapy Reviews
“At first I didn’t think counselling was for me. My relationship with my wife had been deteriorating for several years and it came to the point where I left the family home. It was a difficult decision to make, but I couldn’t handle to constant arguing, especially in front of our two beautiful children. I hated being away from my wife and kids, but I didn’t know what else to do. It was only then that I realised that I needed help to save my family and marriage of 18 years. My wife suggested counselling, but I wasn’t convinced a complete stranger could help our marriage.
I agreed to go and see Gabriella. Before our first session, I was nervous, anxious and not very optimistic. Gabriella made both my wife and I feel welcome and comfortable. I was able to open up to her and let her know how I was feeling, as did my wife, without being criticised or judged. Gabriella just listened. She then gave us effective strategies to help us communicate better (which was our biggest problem). My wife and I continue to use these strategies and our marriage is back on track. I’m not going to lie, we still have our ups and downs, but by using the strategies Gabriella has given us, I feel we are able to better deal with our issues.
I would strongly recommend counselling with Gabriella if you are serious about saving your marriage. Go to counselling with an open mind, be honest with yourself and be prepared for the difficult questions. Thank you Gabriella for enabling me to reconnect with my beautiful wife and saving my marriage.”- James, Couples Counselling client
“I felt really sad when our sessions with Gabriella came to an end. It was like we were losing a friend. The minute we walked in, she made us feel comfortable and at home. She gave my husband and I some awesome strategies to better communicate with each other, which was what we were struggling with. We lost our way and Gabriella was able to help us to reconnect and remind us of why we fell in love 15 years ago. I can absolutely, highly recommend Gabriella for anyone needing someone beautiful to talk with. Thank you again for being our saviour. - Annie, Couples Counselling Client
“You have been amazing !!! Everyone thinks couples counselling is scary and its actually not! I honestly don’t know why couples leave it to the last straw to save a relationship…it should be part of every couple’s journey I think! We are really enjoying our journey with you; The guidance, awareness and tools you have given so far have been invaluable. We couldn’t have chosen a better counsellor for us; A big thank you to your approach, you have helped us beyond words! We are really excited about our future together, it’s great to be feeling hopeful again. I love Thursdays now!!! “-Tate + Alyssa, couples counselling clients
Session Information
Sessions available Monday- Saturday.
Sessions are 60 and 90 minutes.
After-hours and Saturday appointments are available.
Session fees will be discussed when you contact.
Choose between weekly/fortnightly/monthly sessions.
Medibank, BUPA, HCF and AHM rebates are available.
All our therapists are sex-positive and open for all couple dynamics and those at all stages of relationships, whether you're in your first few months, or decades into your relationship. This includes separating or separated couples, blended families and co-parents.
We warm-heartedly welcome LGBTIQA+, open/poly and BIPOC clients to all our service and spaces.
Bonus Support for couples
All couples who work with us receive additional couples resources via email that give you concrete, usable and insightful strategies to implement.
These include:
Fighting Fair Rules so you have a lear guideline for how to have difficult conversations that you can both follow clearly.
Reflection questions to understand how your upbringing and background are challenging your current relationship.
Nervous System Model to understand why some partners shut down dn withdraw, and why some partners get activated, angry or agitated, and how to soothe each other.
Suggested Date Ideas and Exercises to reconnect you emotionally and physically and get out of your usual routine.
Strategies for unwanted thoughts so that you can get out of ruminating loops about the negative aspects of yourself or your partner to have kinder and more compassionate self-talk.
Sex & Intimacy Questions to help you have a dynamic conversation around getting your spark back again.
Relationship Check-Up Guide to explore how a weekly check-in can help your relationship become more streamlined, proactive, connected, and organised. Yes, sometimes scheduling can help!
Gottman Therapy Relationship Sound House Model to show you the 5 key aspects of a happy relationship that 40+ years of relationship research has shown us.
Technology for relationship tips so you can systemise, organise and get clarity on how to run your household as efficiently as possible, with tech!
