Couples Psychologists in Melbourne, Australia

Couples counselling works with two people, and with what happens between them. It does not treat one of them.

Both partners usually attend ¹. Couples counselling works on repeated arguments, an affair, sex, money, parenting, or a decision about separating.

It does not rule on who is right. It is not for married couples alone. Ask a practitioner which approach they use.

If you are afraid of your partner, say so to the practitioner before any joint session is booked. Ask to be seen on your own first. The support numbers at the top of this page are for that situation.

Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.

Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.

Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.

Our Melbourne fee guide puts a session with a psychologist at $220 to $290. Those are advertised prices.

Cairnmillar Institute Community Clinic. Phone 1800 391 393. Community Clinic sessions are free. The clinic is open to the public and you do not need a referral. Its locations include Melbourne CBD and Hawthorn.

• Relationship Matters Counselling and Mediation in Melbourne offers couple and relationship counselling, in person or online, at fees scaled to income.²

Usually. Partners are almost always seen together¹. Couples sessions require safety.

Some practitioners will see one partner alone where the other will not attend. Ask what a practitioner does when one person is unwilling.

No. Couples counselling is for people in a relationship, married or not, of any gender, living together or not. The same practitioners work with couples deciding whether to separate, and with couples who have already separated and are parenting together. Say which of those describes you at first contact.

No. The work is with what happens between two people rather than with a verdict on either of them. Effective work with couples needs its own theories and methods, drawn from research on relationships. Ask a practitioner how they handle it when you disagree in the room.

Yes, and many practitioners offer it. Couples therapy by video shows few significant differences from face-to-face sessions³. Symptom reduction, engagement and the therapeutic alliance are comparable.

Sitting in the same room at home suits some couples and not others. Ask what a practitioner offers.

Each practitioner sets their own fee.

TherapyRoute publishes a cost guide for Melbourne⁴ and one for Sydney⁵. Both are written for therapy in that city rather than for couples work. We have not checked either guide against what the practitioners on this page charge.

Lower-fee couples services exist, and the panel above names one in Melbourne. In another city, ask a community service what it charges.

Where a practitioner states a fee on their listing, that figure is their own. Ask before the first session. Ask too whether the fee runs per session or per person in the room.

Couple therapy is an effective treatment for relationship distress, and the main models reach broadly similar results⁶.

Behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, emotionally focused and integrative behavioural couple therapy meet the criteria researchers use for a well-established treatment⁷.

Those findings describe groups of couples in studies. They are not a forecast about any one relationship, and nobody listed here can promise you an outcome.

Ask a practitioner which of those approaches they work in. The approach is something you ask about.

Practice differs on what comes first. Some approaches open with a formal assessment that combines joint and individual meetings. Others use no set assessment stage¹.

Registered psychologists in Australia follow the Psychology Board of Australia's code of conduct, in force since 1 December 2025.

Ask before you start whether the practitioner sees each partner alone. Ask what they do with what one partner tells them privately.

Medicare's Better Access initiative pays benefits for a patient with a clinically diagnosed mental disorder⁸. A partner can join that treatment as a family member or carer when the patient consents and stays out of the session⁹.

Medicare pays for only a few of these sessions a year, and they count against the patient's own allowance. Ask the practitioner which Medicare item applies to your sessions before the first one.

There is no threshold you have to cross first. Relationship distress is one of the commonest reasons adults seek psychotherapy at all⁶.

Distress between partners travels. It is associated with mood, anxiety and substance-use difficulties in the partners themselves, and with difficulties for children in the household¹.

Couples counselling works on a repeating argument, an affair, a separation or a divorce, or none of those. You do not have to agree on the problem, or on whether the relationship continues, before you make contact.

Titles you will see include Psychologist (Psych), Provisional Psychologist (Prov. Psych) and Clinical Psychologist.

Search the register by name at Psychology Board of Australia (via AHPRA). Check that the name and title match and that the entry is current. If they do not, ask the practitioner why.

See the Australia page.