Madonna Hirning

If your relationship feels strained, disconnected, or stuck in the same patterns, Madonna Hirning, Sunshine Coast Psychologist and Certified Gottman Couples Therapist, offers practical, evidence-based support to help you reconnect.

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Madonna has been practicing as a Psychologist on the Sunshine Coast for 30 years, with two decades focused on private practice. Over the last 10 years, her work has centered almost exclusively on supporting couples through couples therapy.

 

In 2019, she became the first Certified Gottman Couples Therapist on the Sunshine Coast, a framework that informs much of her clinical approach.

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Relationship Workshops & Gottman Method Training

Alongside working with couples in her private practice, Madonna also enjoys facilitating The Art and Science of Love Workshop on the Sunshine Coast and loves seeing couples come from both within the region and across Australia to learn how to draw upon the Gottman research to gain practical knowledge and skills to improve their relationship.

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Real-Life Relationship Experience & Perspective

Outside of the clinic, Madonna has been married for 28 years and has two children, a teenager and a young adult, and a very cute Golden Retriever. This personal experience provides her with a practical understanding of the impact our primary relationships have on family life and overall well-being.

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How Madonna Supports Couples

Madonna works with couples to help them manage different conflict styles and navigate core differences that feel stuck and can result in escalating conflict or difficulty talking about the issue.

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She can also assist couples to develop healthier and more positive communication patterns and to work through the disconnect that can occur through the parenting years or in navigating busy lives with competing demands to restore a sense of closeness and connection.

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In her work with couples, Madonna provides support for a variety of complex dynamics, including:

• Neurodiversity: Navigating the unique communication and sensory needs of couples where one or both partners are neurodivergent.

• Betrayal Recovery: Assisting couples in the process of recovering from infidelity and managing the impact of betrayal trauma. Processing past hurt.

• Trauma-Informed Support: Helping partners identify how past trauma can surface in current relationship triggers.

• Dual-Career & Business Owners: Addressing the specific stressors and boundary challenges faced by couples who run a business together.

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Couples Therapy Approach

Her goal is to help couples build a practical toolkit for communication and conflict management that works beyond the therapy room, whether through weekly sessions or a two-day couples intensive.