Couples / Family Coaching Programs

Clinical Services for Individuals:

My name is Leigh and I can be your professional coach.

With over 25+ years experience in the social services, I am regarded as a Senior Counsellor. 

​

Sometimes, even despite best intentions, our personal relationships may sour or perhaps just not go so well. Tensions can escalate, emotions spill over and communication can go awry. Distress can arise. Our confidence in ourselves and the future may waiver. We can feel either stuck or rather miserable.

Perhaps safety, physical or mental, is becoming a growing concern, or you start to see a pattern in functioning that seems troubling or repetitive. 

Intervention from a third party may assist for all of these scenarios.

As your coach, I work with everyone directly involved as a non-biased support and a conduit to identify the specific dynamics at play. 

​

The aim of the intervention is to consider what is the desired outcome and what changes should or need to take place to obtain it. I use the following framework: 

​

1. 'The Story We Tell Ourselves' 

This governs PERSPECTIVE and EXPECTATION/S (which often informs emotions and subsequent actions). I teach active listening skills that help you resist the urge to rebut or argue. Sitting with discomfort and asking additional questions from a position of curiosity can be a powerful skill.

2. Behavioural modification 

Where there are behavioural obstacles deemed unhealthy and/or dysfunctional, counselling sessions are provided. Couples or family coaching does not involve 'personality conversion'.

3. Increase self-awareness and emotional intelligence

Decrease emotional avoidance and add more effective tools in the toolkit for coping and responding to situations.

Avoidance can be a coping mechanism. It may not be effective or it may slide you over to the more maladaptive side of coping with an issue. My coaching approach can normalise what we as humans do to get through (a situation or event). 

In a safe environment we can face those realities through the gift of pluralising (sharing of ideas) and start to consider other options or views available to us.

​

4. Improve communication

Most couples and families start to spiral once communication goes awry. Communication changes can make the biggest difference in managing conflict. 

​

5. Promote Strengths.

Coaching starts with and then continues to build on identified strengths of individuals and strengths evident in the relationship. 

Hope can spring forth from couples and families realising that any negative aspects of their functioning are not necessarily outweighed by strengths or positives. 

​

​

Accessing Coaching Services:

Clinic hours: 

Monday and Tuesday: 1000 - 2000 hours 

Friday 0900 - 1500 hours

Clinic is closed over school and public holidays

​

Location: 

Pathways Health & Research Centre

Level 2, Suite 7/ 88 Boundary Street 4101.

​

Protocol:

Session 1: Initial Consultation

Time: 1.5 hour session

Aim: Establish the issues to address 

Framework:

• Group Consultation                 20 mins

• Individual session                    30 mins (per participant)

• Group summary                       10 mins

Subsequent Sessions:

Time: 1 hour session  

Framework: Individual session for each participant

Aim: To establish the specific areas of concern and/or growth in a safe and private space.

​

Ongoing Sessions

Time: 1 hour session (per participant) 

Framework: Alternate between group and individual sessions

Aim: Working on the coaching model as a means of identifying goals and areas in which we need to focus on. I do supplement with psycho education to assist all parties to remain child, strengths, solution and safety focused.

​

Please contact me to discuss what your needs are and how I can help your situation. We can then go through rates and set an appointment.

​