Couples therapy in Mornington — private, depth-oriented sessions
In person at Suite 4, 346 Main Street, Mornington — and online.
Tumee Hugginson
Psychotherapist and couples therapist. MA Clinical Psychology. Gottman Method, Level 3.
Write a few lines and I will reply personally within one business day. The practice is kept deliberately small.
Is couples therapy or marriage counselling in Mornington right for us?
Therapy Atelier is a private, couples-only psychotherapy practice on Main Street, Mornington. If something between you has fractured — or quietly drifted — this is a place to work on it properly: unhurried ninety-minute sessions, complete discretion, and a therapist who works with couples and nothing else.
Couples across Mornington, Mount Eliza and Mount Martha come to Therapy Atelier for many reasons:
- recurring conflict that never quite resolves
- emotional distance
- the aftermath of betrayal
- intimacy and desire
- family or life transitions
- resentment or hurt that hasn’t found words
Some arrive in crisis; others come with the quieter feeling that something essential has begun to fade. Both are welcome.
Couples often arrive here having searched for marriage counselling, couples counselling, or a marriage counsellor in Mornington. The work at Therapy Atelier is couples psychotherapy — the same territory, approached with more depth and more time.
How I work with couples
I’m Tumee Hugginson — a psychotherapist and couples therapist (Gottman Method Level 3; Jungian psychoanalytic training). Sessions run for ninety minutes, usually weekly, so there is room to slow down and work with what actually drives the pattern between you — not just this week’s argument.
The work draws on the Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy, attachment science and psychodynamic depth practice, and the pace is always adjusted in conversation with you.
What sessions look like
- Couples only — no divided focus.
- Ninety-minute sessions rather than rushed hours.
- A private Main Street suite, chosen for discretion.
And honest work: therapy outcomes are never guaranteed, and I won’t pretend otherwise — what I offer is serious, structured attention to your relationship.
Fees and practical details
- Sessions are AUD $350 for ninety minutes.
- In person at Suite 4, 346 Main Street, Mornington VIC 3931, or online.
- Consulting hours are Monday to Saturday, 11am–5pm.
- Multi-day couples intensives are available where concentrated work fits better.
- Full details are on the fees page.
What a first session in Mornington involves
The first appointment is ninety minutes and is largely about understanding. I will want to hear from each of you separately within the session as well as together, because the account two people give of the same relationship is rarely identical, and both versions matter.
By the end of it you should have a clearer sense of what is actually happening between you, what kind of work it would take, and whether this practice is the right place for it. If it is not, I will say so and suggest what might be.
Nothing is decided in advance. You are not asked to commit to a number of sessions, and there is no charge for asking questions before you begin.
Weekly sessions, or something more concentrated
Most couples in Mornington begin with weekly ninety-minute sessions. That rhythm suits work that needs to settle between appointments, and it is how the majority of the practice runs.
Where something is urgent or long entrenched, a concentrated format sometimes serves better. Marathon couples therapy holds several sessions across consecutive days, and couples intensives extend that to three or five. Work does not have to be rebuilt at the start of every appointment, which for some couples is the difference that matters.
We can decide that together after a first session rather than before it.
Finding the rooms
The practice is at Suite 4, 346 Main Street, Mornington, a short walk from the Main Street shops with street parking nearby. The suite was chosen for discretion: it is a private consulting room rather than a clinic with a waiting area full of people.
Couples travel from Mount Eliza, Mount Martha, Mornington itself and across the wider Mornington Peninsula. Where travel is difficult, or where one partner is often away, sessions are held online and the work is no less serious for it.
Questions couples ask before they begin
Does couples therapy work if only one of us really wants to be here?
It can, though it is a different piece of work. Where one partner is unsure whether to stay, the first task is clarity rather than repair — that is set out on the page for when one of you is unsure.
How many sessions will we need?
There is no standard number and I would be wary of anyone who offers one. Some couples come for a defined piece of work over a few months; others stay longer. The work is reviewed with you openly rather than continuing by default.
Will you take sides?
No. My task is not to decide who is right but to help each of you see your own part in the pattern clearly enough to change it.
Is this covered by Medicare?
No. Couples therapy is not covered by Medicare in Australia; the fees page explains.
Do you see individuals?
No. This practice works with couples and nothing else, which is deliberate. Couples from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds may also want to read about intercultural couples.
The next step
Ninety minutes, A$350, in Mornington or online.
Write a few lines and I will reply personally within one business day. Or call 03 5939 4984 — every enquiry receives a personal reply within one business day.
You can also read more about the practice, when one of you is unsure, or see how couples therapy works across the Mornington Peninsula and in Melbourne.