20/05/2026
If you’re new to the page, a bit About Me!
I’m Michelle Janssen, a couples counsellor based in Paddington, Brisbane. I hold a Master of Counselling, am a PACFA Clinical Member, and am on the Gottman Certification track with monthly clinical supervision. I’ve been featured on ABC Radio Brisbane, 97.3FM, Channel 7, and Refinery29 Australia as a relationship expert.
I’ve also been on the other side of the couples therapy couch myself. I know how much courage it takes to walk into that room, and I don’t take that lightly.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with couples in their 20s and 30s who are serious about their relationship and ready to do something about it.
Most of the couples I see fall into one of two camps. Some are in crisis, usually because there’s been an affair, a betrayal, or a breach of trust that’s turned everything upside down. Others aren’t in crisis exactly, but they can feel their patterns hardening. They’re having the same fight on rotation, feeling unheard, and starting to wonder if this is just how it’s going to be.
What they have in common is that they’re intentional people who know that strong relationships don’t just happen, they’re built.
I’m particularly drawn to working with couples who don’t have children yet. That might mean you’ve chosen to be childfree, or you’re still figuring that out, or you’re thinking about having a baby and want to make sure your relationship is on solid ground first.
WHAT I SPECIALISE IN
Affair recovery is my primary specialty. That includes physical affairs, emotional affairs, and digital infidelity, things like secretive texting, online relationships, and behaviours that blur the line between friendship and betrayal. Modern cheating is complicated, and I help couples work out what actually happened, what it means, and what they want to do about it. Some couples decide to rebuild. Some don’t. My job isn’t to push you either way, it’s to help you make that decision from a clear place rather than a painful one.
I also specialise in breaking recurring conflict cycles. If you’re having the same argument over and over, it’s rarely actually about what you’re arguing about. I’m good at asking the questions that get underneath the surface fight to what’s really going on.
Other areas I work with regularly include navigating big life decisions together (children, finances, living arrangements), managing in-laws and friendships as a couple, building connection and shared meaning when kids aren’t the organising principle of your life, and preparing for the transition to parenthood.
HOW I WORK
Sessions are 90 minutes. I work in a short-term model focused on sustainable results, with check-ins and maintenance sessions available as needed. My approach is grounded in the Gottman Method, one of the most well-researched frameworks in couples therapy, which means the work we do is evidence-based, not just a venting session where you fight and go home feeling worse than when you arrived.
I’m warm, direct, and I won’t sit back and watch you argue in circles. You can do that for free at home. My priority is helping you have better conversations with each other, and every session has a purpose. You’ll leave with something concrete to practise.
I won’t take sides, and I won’t tell you to break up.
What I will do is help both of you feel genuinely heard, which is often where the real shift starts to happen.
I see couples in person at my Paddington office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, and offer online sessions as well.
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
I think my real superpower is asking good questions. The kind that move the conversation past the surface-level argument and into what’s actually underneath it. Couples often tell me they feel safe with me in a way they didn’t expect, that both of them feel like I’m on their side, not just one person’s advocate. That balance matters enormously in this work.
I’m also not a passive therapist. I’m in the room with you. I’ll reflect back what I’m noticing, I’ll name patterns as I see them, and I’ll be straight with you, always with kindness, but straight.
FEES AND AVAILABILITY
Sessions are $290 for a 90-minute couples session. I am registered with most major private health funds. Counselling is not Medicare funded.
Available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday in person in Paddington. Online sessions also available.
HOW TO BOOK
Visit www.brisbanecouplescounselling.com and click Book Now.
