Goal-Directed Professional Psychology Services
Goal-Directed Professional Psychology Services
Who we are & what we do.
About
Dr Cory Middleton
Dr Cory Middleton is a registered psychologist providing relationship counselling, individual counselling, career counselling, marriage preparation programs as well as more clinical work such as depression, anxiety, grief, loss, personal resilience and pain management.
What you'll experience working with Dr Cory Middleton:
a great listener who understands competing perspectives in many of life’s challenges
the ability to describe the research in easy to apply ways
a counsellor / coach who ‘gets it’ when it comes to professional couples and the work and family pressures that impact connection
lack of psycho-babble or gimmicks
real life experience, professionally and personally
a professional and trusted service
Separately to his work here at Relationship-Talk, Dr Cory is a Director and executive coach at the Talent Development Academy (see www.tdacademy.com.au). Coaching senior leaders means that Dr Cory understands the pressures faced by couples in juggling home-life with work goals. It can be an exhaustive challenge, often navigating different life pressures.
About
Mariam Middleton
Mariam has over 15 years of clinical experience, providing professional counselling support and social work services to individuals, couples and families dealing with difficult moments in life. Mariam as a warm and deeply empathetic style that seeks to understand you first, before helping to guide you through practical strategies and evidence-based techniques.
At times of significant life stress and pressure, it is natural to feel a range of mixed emotions. Mariam helps you to acknowledge these strong emotions, yet guide you through to the many practical commitments you could make to help you build back up to a sense of normality.
Areas Mariam covers includes:
Emotional Support: Mariam offers a safe and supportive environment for individuals to express their emotions, such as anger, sadness, fear, or confusion.
Trauma Processing: Mariam helps individuals process traumatic events, understand their impact on mental health, and develop coping strategies.
Safety Planning: Mariam works with Victims of crime and supports them in developing safety plans to minimize the risk of future victimisation, especially in cases of domestic violence or stalking.
Crisis Intervention: Mariam provides crisis support for individuals and for onsite organisational crisis support.
Empowerment: Mariam is a supportive guide and mentor for those seeking to regain a sense of control and empowerment in their lives.
Building Resilience: Mariam style of practice is to continuously build resilience and strengthen coping skills to help individuals navigate current and future stress.
Healing Relationships: Mariam assists in addressing conflicts, rebuilding trust, and improving communication within relationships.
Grief and Loss Counselling: Mariam has advanced skill and specialises in the area of grief and loss counselling. Mariam helps to find confidence in effectively incorporating healthy grief patterns into a productive life.
Depression, anxiety and mood-disturbances: Mariam utlises Cognitive behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance-Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support individuals in recovering from bouts of depression and/or anxiety.
Adjusting to Parenthood: Mariam enjoys working closely with new mums to build confidence and capability in managing the many life changes common through these early years of becoming a new parent.
As component of her work Relationship-Talk, Mariam has developed a specialised practice area focusing on grief and loss (see www.grief-talk.com.au).
Mariam is also a seasoned Employee Assistance Counsellor.
About our Couples approach
‘The Gottman Method.’
What is so special about Gottman Method Couples Counselling?
The Gottman Method of Couples Counselling is the result of over four decades of research on marital stability and divorce prediction, the work of Dr's John and Julie Gottman. This research relied on intensive, detailed, and long-term scientific study of thousands of couples, producing a data-driven framework that describes why marriages succeed or fail.
The Gottman’s are respected throughout the world as the foremost leaders of relationship psychology and marriage research. Dr John Gottman was recently voted one of the Top 10 Most Influential Therapists of the past quarter-century by the Psychotherapy Networker. They are authors of over 200 published academic articles and authors of over 40 books. Their most famous book is the New York Times bestseller The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work.
The Gottman Method of Couples Counselling helps couples do three things:
Build Your Friendship System:
Become better friends and increase your positive feelings for one another
Build Your Conflict Management System:
Improve the way you handle conflict
Build Shared Meaning & Values System:
Improve the sense of alignment regarding values & the way to connect
What predicts divorce?
Interestingly, the Gottman's research discovered that for those couples who eventually divorced, there was an ever so slight yet noticeable difference in the way they discussed disagreements. Couples that would go on to become divorced had slightly more negativity than positivity (1.25 times more). By comparison, couples that remained in a happy and more stable relationship had a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interaction during disagreement. That is, positivity was expressed 5 times more often than negativity, specifically during times of disagreement. Even during disagreement, happy couples have skills that help them maintain respect, affection, appreciation and even humour.
Upon a closer look at the differences between negative and positive interaction, the Gottman's discovered 4 key areas of concern:
Criticism (verse Complaining Gently or with more care and respect)
Defensiveness (verse allowing oneself to be influenced by their partner, a fundamentally important skill)
Contempt (verse developing a culture of mutual appreciation and expression)
Stonewalling (verse emotion-regulation, keeping your cool, and helping your partner keep their cool)
So how do these 4 areas of concern typically play out in relationships? There seems to be a common path to emotional distance and disconnection. The pattern of disconnection and connection is made up of your habits of interaction. Your interaction cycles move you closer of further away from the connection you desire.
Making your relationship work
The Gottman research identified several very practical skills that separate the masters from the disasters in relationships. Essentially these skills are grouped into 3 areas of focus:
The Friendship System: practical skills to know each other, like each other and be there for each other
The Conflict Management System: practical skills to communicate more effectively at times of disagreement
The Shared Meaning & Values System: practical skills to help couples feel more fulfilled in their vision for the relationship
Dr Cory well help you through this program of counselling by following the below path.
RELATIONSHIP-TALK, IT'S WHAT WE DO
Professional counselling for individuals and couples who need support with relationships and relationship-related stress.
Stuck in a pattern of poor habits and uncomfortable feelings?
Disconnected from others or feeling lonely?
Do you argue more than you would like?
Relationship-Talk is a place to come, learn and to be supported in your challenges.
