Your relationships, starting with you

You don’t need to come as a couple. Many people come on their own because they want to understand their part in their relationships, or because they keep finding themselves in the same place with different people.

Changing your own part in a pattern can shift the whole relationship.

Thérèse van Maanen, registered psychologist and RT-certified therapist offering individual therapy and counselling in Melbourne and the Macedon Ranges

People I work with

People whose partner doesn’t want to come to therapy, or isn’t ready yet

People going through separation, or thinking about it

People who keep ending up in the same kind of relationship, or the same kind of argument

People working through relationships with parents, adult children, siblings or colleagues

People who want to understand how their family and past shape the way they love and react now

Neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ clients

You don’t need to be in crisis to come.

Thérèse van Maanen, RT-certified relational therapist in Melbourne and the Macedon Ranges

How I work

I’m a registered psychologist and RLT Certified Couples Therapist ++. Relational Life Therapy™ works with individuals as well as couples. Together we look at the patterns you find yourself in, where they came from, and what a different move would look like. It’s warm, direct and practical, and I’ll be honest with you, including about the things that are hard to hear.

What to expect

A free introductory call
Fifteen minutes to tell me a little about what’s happening, ask questions and see whether we’re a good fit.

Sessions
Individual sessions are 60 minutes. We’ll agree together on how often to meet.

Between sessions
If you’ve agreed to AI-assisted notes, you’ll receive a written summary after each session.

If your partner joins later
If your partner decides to come along later, we can talk about how best to include them.

Medicare
If you have a referral from your GP under a Mental Health Treatment Plan, you may be eligible for a Medicare rebate. Book an Introductory call

Trauma-informed care

I’m a trauma-informed practitioner. In RLT, we recognise that painful experiences in the families we grew up in are often at the root of relationship difficulties. RLT isn’t a trauma therapy as such. It explores how those early experiences show up in your relationships now, so you can understand them and respond differently. Being trauma-informed means I pace the work with care, and I can recognise when deeper trauma work is needed.

Self-reflection Quiz

5 ways shame shows up in relationships

Shame rarely announces itself. More often it hides behind habits we don’t even notice: getting defensive, keeping the peace at any cost, pulling away, or needing to be perfect.

Drawing on the work of family therapist Terry Real and Relational Life Therapy, this short quiz helps you notice which patterns might show up for you when things get difficult with the person you love.

Answer each question thinking about your current (or most recent) partner.

20 questions · about 4 minutes · your answers stay on your device

Based on Relational Life Therapy (RLT), developed by Terry Real. Created by Thérèse van Maanen, a Certified RLT Couples Therapist at Relational Lives.

Locations

St Kilda, Melbourne

IN PERSON

Macedon Ranges

IN PERSON

Online

ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

Relational Lives therapy clinic in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria, offering individual and couples therapy
Relational Lives clinic location in St Kilda, Melbourne, for individual and couples therapy
Relational therapy room at Relational Lives in St Kilda, Melbourne