About me

I am Gillian Fernandes, my pronouns are she/her and I work and live on Wurundjeri land.

I have a Master of Counselling degree specialising in couples and relationships. I am experienced in working with couples, individuals, and polyamorous relationships to increase emotional connection and relationship satisfaction.

I also work at Relationships Australia where I work with people facing infidelity, parenting concerns, emotional distance, communication difficulties, sex and intimacy issues, identity and sexuality questions, separation, and forming new relationships. I also completed an internship and practiced at the Melbourne Specialist Relationship Counselling Clinic. I am accredited with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).

My approach

I support folks to de-escalate their relationship conflict, gain insight into what is keeping them stuck in their problematic patterns, use strategies to avoid escalating relationship distress, enhance deep connection, and increase sexual intimacy.

I have an energetic and warm approach to counselling. Sessions start with all parties, we may do some individual sessions if needed, and then we’d come back together to share and reconnect.

I do not follow one counselling modality, instead I use a combination of therapeutic approaches such as emotionally focused therapy, attachment theory, Gottman, and neuroscience to create an individualised approach for each relationship.

Session structure

I tend to see most of my couples together for the initial session. Then we may split into individual sessions depending on what we need to uncover. Joint sessions after individual session can be profound. Helping clients come to their individual truth and then creating a space where they can share it with their partner can be hugely beneficial to the progress of couple therapy. It also creates a foundation of understanding oneself, and then being able to practice articulating what needs to be communicated to the other.

For couples stuck in high conflict or that have been in a difficult place for a long time, we can start with individual sessions before commencing joint sessions. This is great if you are struggling to hear each other and may need to 'vent' before being able to do the work together. 

There is flexibility around how we conduct sessions depending on how the relationship feels and is operating. For new clients, I will call you for a 15-minute introductory chat where we can talk about session structure and any questions you may have.

Also find me on