Catholic Relationship Counselling - in Brisbane or online

Brisbane’s Private Practice for Catholic Relationship Counselling

At Lighthouse Relationships, we believe in the transformative power of faith and love. Our mission is to guide all couples who come to us through the complexities of their relationships, with a special focus on Catholic couples and c - helping them build a more intimate and Godly marriage, a faithful and fulfilling family life, and a grace-filled personal journey.

Our approach is hopeful, evidence-based, and deeply aligned with our personal faith journeys. If you are seeking a counsellor who understands where you are coming from as a Catholic, we invite you to make a booking with one of our three practitioners who are practicing Catholics; Matt James, Megan Kozak, or Nahum Kozak. We are so excited to be able to help people communicate, rebuild trust, and discover one another; it is always an honour to be allowed to walk alongside a couple for a portion of their journey.

What do we mean by Catholic Couples Therapists?

There are many ideas out in the world of just what ‘Catholic’ means. For us, it means we have had experiences of God’s love, and have been inspired to follow Jesus. We have personal prayer lives, read the Bible, and are part of the Brisbane Catholic Archdiocese, belonging to faith communities in the form of local parishes. We (imperfectly) try to model our lives on Jesus' example of love, and seek to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We believe we are called to use our unique gifts and talents for the good of the community and the world.

How Does Our Catholic Faith Influence our Therapy?

How our faith affects therapy varies depending on the couple. We are guided by how each couple presents to us. If a couple does not mention their faith to us through the initial assessment phase, we do not raise it with them; this is out of respect for the boundaries of our clients. With these couples we believe that we are called to show them love, teaching evidence-based relationship skills, and helping them to love one another.

Other couples - and you know who you are! - do raise the fact that they have a faith of some kind, whether Catholic, or the wider circle of Christian faiths, or the even wider circle of faiths that exist. One of the main differences here is that we, as people of faith, have a larger shared vocabulary with clients. We can understand what it means to be a believer in this day and age. Some clients find it helpful and relieving to be able to talk about their own faith journey and to know that their therapist understand faith from personal experience and belief.

What are the Boundaries for us as both Therapists and People of Faith?

All of the usual boundaries apply - for instance, regarding confidentiality, professionalism, the use of evidence-based skills, interventions, and practices. We also adhere to the normal boundaries around safety.

We do not seek to evangelise through our therapy; our main focus is on helping the two of you speak your truth, your own experiences to one another, and to assist you to deeply understand one another.

We do not seek to influence your decisions. Our focus is on helping clients to find their voice, and to have deep understanding of one another. We seek to equip couples to make their own decisions together as a couple, to make good, collaborative decisions that take into account the needs of both partners at a genuine and deep level. This boundary regarding not influencing decisions applies to all decisions a couple makes. On the rare occasions that a couple we are working with are discerning separation, we do not provide advise about whether to stay together or not, but rather help couples to communicate well with each other about what their feelings, needs and hopes are moving forward.

Lastly, we do not judge our clients. People of all stripes, types and persuasions are welcome to our practice. Clients simply need a willingness to engage in the process, to reflect, and to be open to trying new strategies and skills.