Clinical Referral Information

For referring
professionals.

A specialist couples and relationship counselling practice with deep clinical expertise in the parenthood transition. IPNB-informed, Gottman-trained, EFT-trained. Clear referral pathways for GPs, maternal and child health nurses, midwives, and allied health.

70–75%
of distressed couples recover with EFT — gains maintained at follow-up
67%
of couples experience significant relationship decline within 3 years of having a baby
increase in conflict during the parenthood transition — the most under-supported crisis in adult life

A trusted referral option for any stage of the relational journey.

This practice works with couples at every stage — from prevention before the first baby arrives to post-crisis repair years later. No referral letter required. No GP Mental Health Care Plan needed for couples counselling. Warm handover calls welcomed for complex or sensitive presentations.

We accept self-referral and professional referral equally. If a patient or client would benefit from specialist couples support — particularly through the parenthood transition — a simple email or phone call is all that's needed to begin the process.

Email a Referral → Warm Handover Call
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General Practitioners
Couples presenting with relationship distress, communication breakdown, or the relational sequelae of postnatal depression and anxiety. Particularly relevant for patients identified in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale where couple conflict is a contributing factor.
No referral letter neededNot Medicare-fundedWarm calls welcome
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Maternal & Child Health Nurses
Couples showing signs of relationship strain at key check-in points — particularly the 4-month and 12-month consultations. Father disengagement, invisible labour conflict, and co-parenting disagreement are all strong indicators. Early referral produces significantly better outcomes.
Preventive pathway availableBBH workshop — free June 2026
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Midwives & Obstetric Teams
Antenatal couples presenting with relational anxiety, unresolved conflict about birth or parenting expectations, or significant communication difficulties. Antenatal couples work in the third trimester produces the strongest long-term outcomes — intervening before the crisis begins.
Antenatal pathwayThird trimester ideal
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Psychologists & Counsellors
Individual clients whose primary presenting issue has a significant relational component, or where partner engagement would significantly accelerate outcomes. Individual couples-oriented work is also available where only one partner is willing to attend.
One-partner sessionsCollaborative care welcome
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Family Services & Early Childhood Workers
Families in early childhood services where parental relationship quality is identified as a protective or risk factor for child wellbeing. Couple relationship health is one of the strongest modifiable predictors of child developmental outcomes — a referral here is an investment in the whole family.
Parenthood specialisationFather-inclusive
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Legal & Mediation Professionals
Couples at the pre-separation decision point who may benefit from discernment counselling — a structured process for ambivalent couples who need clarity rather than premature commitment to a direction. Not couples therapy. 1–5 sessions. No pressure in either direction.
Discernment counsellingPre-separation

IPNB-informed practice, clinically integrated — not just referenced.

"This is not a practice that mentions Polyvagal Theory as background context. IPNB, Schore's Regulation Theory, Porges' Polyvagal framework, and Feldman's biobehavioral synchrony research are actively integrated into the clinical model — informing session sequencing, arousal tracking, and the theory of change across all couples work."
— Gabriel Carazo, Clinical Statement
ACA-Accredited Relationship Counsellor & Family Therapist Australian Counselling Association — full accreditation
Gottman Method Trained Level 1 & 2 Gottman Method Couples Therapy
EFT Trained (Externship) Emotionally Focused Therapy — ICEEFT affiliated training
Bringing Baby Home Certified Facilitator Gottman Institute — perinatal couples program
Victorian Father of the Year 2025 State recognition for clinical & community work in fatherhood
Presenting Researcher — Australian Fatherhood Research Symposium Deakin University, May 2026 — original research on father engagement
Founder — RAD DADS Australia's first council-funded father-specific bush playgroup program
E
Step 01 · We Start Here
Emotionally Focused Therapy
EFT identifies and restructures the negative interaction cycle at the level of attachment — accessing the primary emotions beneath defensive behaviour. The theory of change is bond restructuring, not skill acquisition. Safety must be established before skills can be taught.
Negative cycle mappingPrimary emotion accessAttachment restructuringHold Me Tight
A
Step 02 · The Understanding
Attachment Science & IPNB
Polyvagal Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology explain the neurobiological basis of the negative cycle. When couples understand that the cycle is driven by neuroception — not intention — the attribution shifts from "my partner is broken" to "we are in a pattern." This reframe is often permanent.
Polyvagal TheoryIPNB · SiegelSchore · PorgesWindow of Tolerance
G
Step 03 · The Skills
Gottman Method
With emotional safety established and attachment understood, Gottman's evidence-based tools become genuinely usable — not rehearsed scripts, but real skills on a foundation of mutual understanding. The Sound Relationship House. The Four Horsemen antidotes. Repair attempts. Bids for connection.
Sound Relationship HouseFour Horsemen antidotesRepair attemptsBids for connection

Clinical framework documentation is available on request for complex presentations or collaborative care arrangements. Warm handover calls are welcomed and actively encouraged for patients who may need careful transition support.

Where other practices refer to us.

Six distinct clinical pathways, each designed for a specific moment in the couple and family lifecycle. The parenthood transition is our deepest area of specialism — it's where the referral need is greatest and where early intervention produces the strongest outcomes.

Core Service · All Stages
Couples Counselling

Gottman Method and EFT integrated for couples at every stage — from first signs of disconnection to the conversation about whether to stay. Warm, direct, evidence-based. Most couples see meaningful shift within 6–10 sessions.

Quiet disconnection — love present, connection missing
Pursuer-withdrawer cycle on repeat
Trust broken — emotional or physical breach
Any stage of relationship distress
Refer a patient →
Post-Crisis · Repair
Relationship Repair After Children

For couples who've been in survival mode for years and are only now able to ask — what happened to us? And can we find our way back? Longer-form integrative work, Gottman and EFT, without a fixed timeline.

Years of accumulated resentment
Co-parenting functional — couple relationship absent
Parallel lives in the same house
Refer a patient →
Ambivalence · Clarity
Discernment Counselling

Not couples therapy — a structured process for couples where one or both are ambivalent about whether to stay. 1–5 sessions. No pressure in either direction. Clarity, not persuasion, is the goal. Useful before legal proceedings begin.

One or both partners considering separation
Pre-separation ambivalence
Not ready to leave, not sure how to stay
Refer a patient →
Individual · Father-Specific
Father Re-Engagement Pathway

For fathers who have become disengaged from their partner and/or child. Individual therapeutic work before re-entering the family system. Structured, identity-affirming, and directly connected to Gabriel's original research on father activation and biobehavioral synchrony.

Father withdrawal or disengagement post-birth
Paternal identity disruption
Paternal PND or anxiety
Refer a patient →

Simple, clear, no paperwork.

No GP Mental Health Care Plan. No referral letter required. The simplest pathway is a direct email or phone call — we'll take it from there.

01
Contact us directly
Email info@rangescounselling.com or call 0406 020 577. A brief description of the presenting situation is sufficient — no formal referral letter needed. Warm handover calls actively welcomed for complex or sensitive presentations.
02
We make contact within 48 hours
We'll reach out to the patient or couple directly, or provide you with a Calendly booking link to pass on. We can also call the patient with them in your room if that's easier — whatever reduces the barrier to engagement.
03
Free 20-minute consultation
Every couple or individual begins with a free 20-minute phone or video consultation — no clinical intake, no assessment, no obligation. This reduces drop-off significantly and gives both parties a chance to assess fit before committing.
04
Feedback to referrer on request
With appropriate consent, we can provide brief written updates or verbal feedback to referring practitioners. Particularly useful for complex presentations or where coordinated care across services is beneficial.
05
Onward referral where appropriate
Where individual mental health support is indicated alongside couples work, we actively support onward or parallel referral. We hold a clear scope of practice and make recommendations when presentations fall outside it.

A note on Medicare: Couples counselling is not covered by Medicare in Australia. Private health fund coverage varies — some funds partially cover sessions; worth checking with the patient's fund. Individual therapy sessions within a couples context may be claimable in some circumstances. No commitment is required at the free consultation.

Reach us directly.

No referral letter. No paperwork. Email, phone, or warm handover call — whichever works best for your patient. We'll take it from there.

Location
Kyneton, Macedon Ranges VIC
Telehealth
Available Australia-wide
Wed 9am–8pm Thu 9am–8pm Fri 9am–8pm Sat 9am–12pm Evening appts to 8pm

Bringing Baby Home — June 2026. A free, three-session online relationship workshop for new and soon-to-be parents. Gottman Institute certified. Funded by Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Kyneton Community House. Ideal for patients who are not yet ready for individual couples counselling.

Register a patient — free & no referral needed →

Clinical practice grounded in original research.

This practice integrates the most rigorous couples and developmental research available — not as background context, but as active clinical frameworks informing session sequencing, theory of change, and intervention design.

Activation Relationship Theory
Paquette's Father-Child Activation Relationship
The theoretical foundation for understanding the father's distinct role in child development — not as a secondary attachment figure, but as the primary activator of exploration and risk tolerance. Gabriel's clinical practice translates this into direct couple and family intervention.
Paquette (2004) · Grossmann et al. (2002)
Biobehavioral Synchrony
Feldman's Physiological Co-regulation Research
Connection is not a feeling — it is a physiological state of synchrony between two nervous systems. Feldman's research on biobehavioral synchrony informs how this practice understands and targets felt connection in couples work — before any words are exchanged.
Feldman (2007, 2017)
Parenthood Transition Research
Shapiro, Gottman & Carrère — Father Variable
Foundational research demonstrating that early increases in husband positive affect during conflict accounted for 35% of the variance in later wife positive affect — and that father engagement is one of the most directly addressable buffers against the postpartum conflict curve.
Shapiro, Gottman & Carrère (2000)
Security of Exploration
Grossmann's 22-Year Longitudinal Study
The Grossmanns' research establishing the father's unique role in security of exploration — distinct from the mother's role in attachment security. Foundational to understanding why father engagement has distinct and non-substitutable developmental effects.
Grossmann et al. (2002, 2008)
May 2026 · Deakin University

Australian Fatherhood Research Symposium — Presenting Researcher

Gabriel is presenting original research at the Australian Fatherhood Research Symposium at Deakin University in May 2026 — translating activation relationship theory and biobehavioral synchrony research into practical clinical and community intervention frameworks.

Passenger Parenting Drift
The gradual transition from active relational engagement to passive participation in the family system — a clinical framework for understanding and reversing father disengagement.
The Activation Relationship
A practitioner framework translating Paquette's theory into direct clinical intervention — assessing activation quality and designing stage-matched therapeutic responses.
Six Stages of Father Activation Identity Development
A developmental framework mapping the identity arc of father engagement — from pre-awareness through to fully activated relational presence. Used in both individual and group therapeutic contexts.
The Invisible Start
A framework for understanding the neurobiological window of opportunity in early paternal engagement — and why the first 72 hours postpartum are disproportionately significant for long-term father-child synchrony.
Two Systems One Child Model
An integrative clinical model for working with the mother-child and father-child dyads as a unified system — with distinct but interdependent developmental functions that together constitute the infant's full relational environment.

Download the
Referrer 1-Pager.

A single-page clinical summary designed to sit in your referral folder, be shared with colleagues, or be handed to patients at the point of referral. Covers the practice overview, clinical framework, referral indications, and contact details.

Suitable for GP and allied health referral folders

Print-ready A4 format — clean, professional

Shareable with colleagues and reception teams

📄
Ranges Counselling — Referrer Information
PDF · A4 · Print-ready
Practice overview & clinical framework
Referral indications by presenting issue
Credentials & accreditations
Referral process — step by step
Contact details & availability
Medicare & fee information
Free BBH community program details
📧 Request the 1-Pager by Email
Reply within 24 hours · PDF format

Common referrer questions.

Practical answers to the questions we hear most from GPs, MCH nurses, and allied health professionals.

"The most valuable referrals come from practitioners who understand that the couple relationship is not separate from the individual's mental health — it is the context in which it either heals or deteriorates."

— Gabriel Carazo

No. Couples counselling does not require a referral letter or a GP Mental Health Care Plan. Patients can self-refer directly, or you can email or call us with a brief description of the presenting situation. The simplest pathway is a direct email to info@rangescounselling.com — we'll follow up with the couple within 48 hours.
Couples counselling is not covered by Medicare in Australia. Some private health funds partially cover sessions — worth checking with the patient's fund. Individual therapy sessions within a couples context may be claimable under some fund policies. Session fees and payment information are discussed at the free initial consultation — no financial commitment at that stage.
Individual couples-oriented work is available and often effective. Working with one partner on their role in the relational system frequently shifts the dynamic in ways that bring the other partner in within a few sessions. It's a strong and often underutilised place to start — and it's appropriate for patients whose partners have flatly refused to engage.
We aim to make first contact within 48 hours of referral. The free 20-minute consultation can usually be scheduled within the same week. First sessions are typically available within 1–2 weeks. Evening appointments are available Wednesday to Friday until 8pm, which significantly improves accessibility for working couples. Telehealth is available Australia-wide.
Yes — with appropriate written consent from both partners. We can provide brief written progress updates or participate in case conferencing where coordinated care is beneficial. This is particularly useful for complex presentations — for example, where PND and couple conflict are both active and being managed by separate practitioners.
Yes to both. Couples in acute conflict are seen regularly and the EFT-first approach is specifically designed to work at the attachment level before attempting skill-building — it's safe and effective in high-distress presentations. Couples considering separation may benefit from discernment counselling — a structured 1–5 session process for ambivalent couples that focuses on clarity, not persuasion. We do not take a position on whether couples should stay together.
Three things distinguish this practice. Specialism — deep clinical expertise in the parenthood transition specifically, which is where the referral need is greatest in your patient population. Framework integration — EFT and Gottman are sequenced deliberately: EFT creates emotional safety first, then Gottman skills are taught on that foundation. The father dimension — father engagement is treated as a clinical variable with specific intervention pathways, not an afterthought. This is unusual in perinatal couples work and makes a material difference to outcomes.

The simplest referral
you'll make this week.

No paperwork. No referral letter. Email or call — we'll take it from there. Warm handover calls actively welcomed.

info@rangescounselling.com · 0406 020 577 · Wed–Fri 9am–8pm · Sat 9am–12pm · Kyneton, Macedon Ranges VIC · Telehealth Australia-wide