About Maxine + Services

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About Maxine and the Services she Provides

My Work with Couples

"My counselling journey began in 2014 in Galway, after realising my career as as Chartered Accountant wans'nt my calling. Since then I’ve devoted my professional life to working with couples. Over the years, I’ve trained in the Developmental Model at The Couples Institute in the US and, more recently, with Relate in the UK. I’m a registered member of the BACP, and to date I’ve worked with hundreds of couples, helping them navigate challenging times and find a way forward that feels right for them.

Couples work is my passion — I find it deeply rewarding to help partners reconnect, communicate more effectively, and create lasting change. I also come from a family of both therapists and divorcees, which, I suspect, played no small part in shaping my interest in relationships.

Having spent much of my life as an expatriate, I understand the unique pressures that can come with living abroad — distance from family, cultural adjustment, and the strain these can place on a relationship. I’m committed to offering high-quality, compassionate support to couples wherever they are in the world. I work online via Zoom, making therapy accessible to clients across time zones and borders."

Contact Maxine

email: mlauriecounselling@gmail.com

MCCS Certified Marriage Preparation Course

Specifically for:

Catholic or any other couples who require Marriage Preparation Certification before getting married.
MCCS has been running private marriage preparation courses since 2003.
MCCS Certificates are accepted by many local priests in Ireland, However, it is wise to check before signing up, as some insist you do the Church's own Group Marriage Preparation Course.

THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM CHURCH RUN GROUP COURSES BECAUSE:

It is a private session with just the two of you and myself.
It is only 3 hours long, many other courses run over 1-2 days.
It is delivered via Zoom from the comfort of your own home, wherever in the world you may be. Particularly beneficial if you are living abroad or even in different locations.
It is personalised to each individual and unique couple.
It's a couples skills intensive designed to help future proof your relationship.
You can return for periodic reviews or counselling if ever needed.

Customised to help you stay true to yourself AND your relationship

WHAT YOU WILL GET

A Pre-course questionnaire to complete and return. These will help you to think about different aspects of your relationship and prepare you for your Course. It also allows me (your therapist) to get some insight into your unique relationship before you come. This gives me a head start on the areas that may need particular focus to help smooth your way forward.
A practical road map of relationship stages, and tools, skills and insights that lay a solid foundation to build your marriage

upon

A course that covers 13 key areas of key relationship building e.g. roles, expectations, personal strengths and limitations, communication, managing conflict, intimacy, finances, extended family, parenting and more.
A keepsake toolkit which includes 11 Handouts which reinforces everything covered in your course and more to keep your relationship on track, whenever, wherever ....
Certificate of Completion.
Follow-up sessions if desired
understand the underlying causes of relationship distress and how to avoid these pitfalls
Help you break any repeated negative cycles from your families of origin.
discuss 13 key areas of relationships (some that you may not have considered before) and be supported through any difficult discussions.
Aquire the skills to navigate, manage and celebrate your unique differences
Explore your individual goals and the goals you have together. Learn ways to make room for both and how best to support each other’s personal development and desires.

CONTACT MAXINE

EMAIL: mlauriecounselling@gmail.com

Ultimate gift for your relationship package

YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS AN INVESTMENT Put the time in now to reap rewards in the future

An ounce of early prevention can save you from a ton of escalating misery

Wouldn’t it be great to future-proof your unique relationship by knowing where things are likely to go wrong BEFORE it happens?

You may be dating or living together, and marriage may not be on your agenda, or you may be struggling newlyweds: regardless, the prime time to learn what it takes to build a lasting relationship is early in your commitment.

The sooner you learn what it takes to redirect negative patterns, the less likely they will become entrenched and destructive.

Most of us didn’t get good relationship guidance at school…and many didn’t get it at home either

This personalised course is designed to help YOU reflect on where YOUR relationship is at and the patterns and habits you need to be aware of to prevent trouble down the track.

This is a private three-hour session

with a 15-minute break halfway through

It's just the two of you with one experienced couples therapist
Delivered to you in the comfort of your home via Zoom
Custom-designed to help you stay true to yourself AND your relationship

SPECIFICALLY FOR;

Engaged couples of any denomination
Newlyweds
Any couple considering, or perhaps struggling with, relationship commitment - regardless of religion, race, culture or sexual orientation.
Any couple who want to put everything on the table and check in with each other to see if they are on the same page about the future.
As THE most valuable gift to a couple that you care about.

Many couples enter long-term commitment full of love, but without the tools to navigate the challenges that inevitably come along. This package offers partners a guided space to explore how they communicate, resolve conflict, and support each other’s growth — before negative patterns set in.

For parents, this can be a meaningful and supportive gift to give to your grown up children: not a test of their relationship, but an investment in its success. It’s a chance for couples to deepen understanding, strengthen their bond, and ensure they’re building on solid ground — together.

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF:

You want to be equipped with guidelines and tools for a successful relationship. Start as you mean to go on.
You have specific areas you would like to work through before or after a big commitment, like getting engaged, buying a house, relocating, starting a family for example.
You are not sure whether to make these commitments or not.
You want to gift a meaningful, long-lasting engagement or wedding present to a couple you care about.

WHAT YOU WILL GET:

A Pre-course questionnaire to complete and return. These will help you to think about different aspects of your relationship and prepare you for your Course. It also allows me (your therapist) to get some insight into your unique relationship before you come. This gives me a head start on the areas that may need particular focus to help smooth your way forward.
A practical road map of relationship stages, and tools, skills and insights that lay a solid foundation to build your marriage upon
A Course that covers 13 key areas of key relationship building e.g. roles, expectations, personal strengths and limitations, communication, managing conflict, intimacy, finances, extended family, parenting and more.
A keepsake Toolkit which includes 11 Handouts which reinforces everything covered in your course and more to keep your relationship on track, whenever, wherever ....
Follow-up sessions if desired

IT OFFERS AN UNPARELLED OPPORTUNITY TO;

Understand the underlying causes of relationship distress and how to avoid these pitfalls.
Help you break any repeated negative cycles from your families of origin.
Discuss 13 key areas of relationships (some that you may not have considered before) and be supported through any difficult discussions.
Acquire the skills to navigate, manage and celebrate your unique differences
Explore your individual goals and the goals you have together. Learn ways to make room for both and how best to support each other’s personal development and desires.

Weekly Couples Counselling

I specialise in couples therapy offering 60-minute weekly sessions online via Zoom.

My approach is integrative, bringing together the various modalities I’ve studied — including systemic, psychodynamic, and developmental — to tailor the work to the couple in front of me.

I SUPPORT COUPLES NAVIGATING A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES

Emotional and relational challenges:

Growing apart or feeling emotionally disconnected
Trust issues and rebuilding after betrayal
Repeating patterns of conflict or resentment
Difficulties expressing needs and emotions
Managing differences in attachment styles

Life-stage and situational challenges:

Adjusting to major life transitions (moving abroad, career changes, retirement, becoming a parent)
Financial stress and disagreements about money
Fertility issues and family planning
Blended families and step-parenting
Caring responsibilities for parents or relatives
Empty nest or post-children relationship shifts

Identity and values-related challenges:

·Navigating cultural or religious differences
Power imbalances in the relationship
Negotiating autonomy and togetherness
Exploring sexual orientation or gender identity within the relationship
Differences in values, priorities, or life goals
Navigating neurodiversity within the relationship (e.g. ADHD, autism, or differing communication and processing styles)
Sex and desire discrepancies
The impact of addiction (inactive) and recovery on the relationship

I’m particularly passionate about working with couples living abroad, helping them find a sense of “home” within their relationship. Being away from familiar surroundings can present its own unique challenges, and therapy can offer a grounding space to reconnect and strengthen your bond wherever you are in the world.

Couples Intensives

A 6 Hour Skills Intensive Course In One or Two Parts

Alongside weekly counselling, I also offer 6 hour Couples Intensives in one or two parts— a deeper, more focused way to work on your relationship.

An intensive provides the space to slow down, understand long-standing patterns, and begin meaningful change in a concentrated period of time.

This format can be especially helpful for couples who are:

Feeling stuck in repeating cycles of conflict or disconnection
Recovering from a betrayal or major rupture
Living abroad or with busy schedules that make weekly sessions difficult
Wanting to make significant progress quickly

It's not suitable for clients with current ongoing addictions or domestic abuse.

ABOUT THIS INTENSIVE

It's just the two of you and myself.
The course is in two 3-hour Parts. With 15 min break in each. It can be scheduled to suit you. Either all in one day, over 2 consecutive days or a week apart.
It is tailored to your unique relationship.
It includes a specifically designed, user-friendly takeaway toolkit.

THIS SKILLS INTENSIVE COURSE IS DIFFERENT FROM REGULAR COUNSELLING SESSIONS

The pre-assessment helps us get to the heart of your unique issues faster.
You achieve far more in a shorter period
The focus is on teaching each of you skills to navigate differences, communicate more effectively, soothe and manage triggers, and work effectively together as a team.
Everything is backed up and reinforced in your takeaway relationship toolkit.

THIS MAY BE FOR YOU IF:

You want a review of where you are in your relationship now, and professional guidance on how to get your unique relationship onto a better track. ·
You are stuck in the same negative cycles and want help getting unstuck!
You want to move away from blaming and fault-finding and set meaningful goals that work.
You are both motivated to work on improving your relationship.
You want to gain clarity about the future of your relationship. Each partner leaves with a better understanding of themselves, and their partner.

Pre-Course Assessment Questionnaire: Includes 80 questions in 13 relationship areas

The Questionnaires are specifically designed to:

Help me:

Do a personalised assessment of each of you and your couple dynamic so I can focus help where most needed and make the best use of our time together.

Help each of you to:

Reflect on how you, personally, are managing in each key relationship area -

What is going well or not so well? Where are you particularly struggling?

The questionnaires will take you time to complete. So, put aside a quiet period to focus on this.

IN PART ONE - 3 HOURS INC. 15 MIN BREAK

We will review how you are managing in 13 different areas of your relationship and focus on skills, tools and guidelines to help you in areas that are particularly challenging for each of you.
You will each have the opportunity to get actively involved in defining your expectations, differences and ambitions.
You will be encouraged to have conversations that perhaps you have never had and will be supported in this process.
You will each get a specifically designed user-friendly Toolkit, which includes 11 + handouts and exercises that back up our work, plus more. This will reinforce the work done in your intensive and help keep you on track throughout your relationship. It can be referred to as and when needed.

IN PART TWO - 3 HOURS INC. 15 MIN BREAK

You will get carefully selected additional handouts to support
you’re your unique relationship and to add to your toolkit

You will have the opportunity to:

Keep working on troublesome areas as needed.
Practice good communication skills in the session.
Learn how to navigate differences and work collaboratively as a strong team.
Explore your triggers and focus on skills to calm and manage these.
Each define meaningful self-goals that will help keep your relationship on track.