Our story

Your course guides

Cheryl is a psychotherapist and has a background in nursing, counselling and family therapy. She undertook intensive training in adult psychotherapy and graduated from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy. Cheryl also undertook teacher training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and has been leading Mindfulness Meditation groups for many years.

Cheryl has been in private practice since 1988 and is a founding director of LifeConnect Australia and has served on several boards. Cheryl has extensive experience in working with group dynamics and individuals, and specialises in individual psychotherapy, relationship counselling and coaching. She has a special interest in the developmental phases of life and has applied, lectured and taught on this subject for many years. Cheryl has developed the practical application of these insights, and is the author of the successful Couplet program, supporting couples and partners to deepen their relationship and to live more fulfilled and enriched lives together.

David is a registered clinical psychologist who has been in private practice for over 25 years in North Sydney, Australia. During this time, David has served on several boards and as an Honorary Associate and Field Supervisor at Macquarie University for 17 years on the Masters of Counselling Psychology and Doctorate of Psychology programs. David is currently Adjunct Fellow at Western Sydney University and Field Supervisor on the Masters of Clinical Psychology program.

Through his work, David supports people suffering from general mental health conditions, as well as corporate coaching, working on issues such as career development, managing staff, leadership, strategy, communication, conflict resolution and stress management.

The creation of the Couplet program…

This program has come into being, evolved and developed through many years of working our own relationship: in the personal space; as a marriage; as partners; in parenting a blended family; as professional colleagues and business partners; along with working with many individuals and couples in our private psychology practice.

We quickly realized, as humans we all suffer, we needed courage to face our pain and a good relationship requires and deserves work, commitment to learning, upskilling, growing awareness (in truck loads), lots of self-compassion, kindness for self and others and the willingness to grow.

We recognised that we got very little training in this at school or our families of origin. Nor did the generations before us get very much conscious of formal learning on how to grow a meaningful relationship.

Another important learning, and this we learnt very early in our careers was that very little growth and development takes place in a vacuum and that we all need someone to facilitate our development. In fact, we only grow through our various relationships.

We developed this course for couples out of our personal experiences and our therapeutic work. Helping people manage the difficulties they face is very rewarding. It may come as a surprise that many difficulties facing couples can be managed with a little training. Skills training in communication, listening deeply with interest, gaining insight into and sharing the values that we hold dear, understanding each other’s ways of showing love. These qualities have all been researched and when cultivated have been shown to benefit couples in having happier and more fulfilling lives together. Over 15 years ago we first developed a course which included these and other relationship skills.

The course has evolved to go beyond skills training and incorporates an understanding of the developmental phases of life. It centers around making use of these skills with greater sharing and understanding, to build a life together. To share dreams, to overcome difficulties, making space for differences all facilitates working together constructively on a shared future. We designed the course to be fun, creative, and awareness building, to grow intimacy and to laugh and dream together. For many years we ran the course as a weekend workshop, often away in little boutique hotels. These environments created safe and comfortable spaces for vulnerability, intimacy laughter and authentic connections.

Such experiences were rich and meaningful for everyone. Many couples who had completed the course made the request that we put the whole course online. So here it is, in a clear and flexible format, to do at home or to take your loved one away, to share dreams together and make the relationship come really alive.