Robyn Blake Mortimer (she/her)
I love providing practical skills to help ND couples better understand each other, improve their communication and deepen their loving connection. It is especially rewarding to train other practitioners in my model of "Neurodivergent Friendly Couples Therapy" so we can reach more couples with up-to-date, evidence based neuro-affirming guidance.
(Reminder that this entry only applies to this individual psychologist. You can find out if the other psychologists at this practice are members, by searching for them by name.)
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Therapy/Support
Training (see website for upcoming events)
Self help materials and training for clinicians
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My books are closed for therapy but I am available for training opportunities.
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Phone: 0423 617 735
Email: robyn@tunedincouples.com
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I developed a successful private practice in South Australia called "Tuned in Couples". This is booming due to word of mouth referrals and the effectiveness of the research based methods developed by Doctors John and Julie Gottman. I have been a fully certified Gottman Method Couples Therapist since 2012, the second in all of Australia and the first in South Australia. In 2019, I trained with the Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) in the USA. A long journey of self discovery followed as I progressed from confusion to formal identification as a late diagnosed, highly masked AuDHDer.
My focus is now on sharing neurodivergent affirming information and resources with my couples who are all highly successful entrepreneurs or professional people. Many of them are health professionals who prioritise research and evidence based practice. It is very difficult to seek support when you work in the industry yourself.
I focus on establishing an environment which is respectful of all brain types and accommodates for different sensory needs and communication preferences.
I structure my counselling around my Neurodivergent Friendly Couples Therapy model (NFCT) which provides a readily accessible guide for the couples, as well as in guiding policies and choices of other couples therapists.
The couples describe feeling relieved to be understood, as if I "got it" and didn't blame them for having different challenges, or processing differences to neurotypical pairings. I am currently working on how to move beyond working in a one to one mode of delivery because my waitlist has become too long. I needed to close my books.
In order to share my hard earned lived experience and professional expertise more widely, I have launched The Neurodivergent Relationships Hub. www.ndrelationshipshub.com.au
This online space is a work in progress with two strands. Firstly, there is self help materials and a masterclass for couples to provide neuro-affirming knowledge about common relationship challenges, and well as the many beautiful strengths of Autistic and / ADHDer neurotypes. This was in response to so many of my clients complaining that they had not been told about this information years earlier. Too often they would postpone coming to therapy until it was the last resort and it was so much harder to work through accumulated resentment and negative patterns of interaction. The research does indicate it is 7 years on average, from first noticing a problem until the couple attends therapy. A lot of hurt can happen in that time.
In the self help materials I aim to provide preventative resources and skill development when there is a much stronger amount of goodwill and flexibility in the system. They usually still like each other and want to stay together! I am currently working on a more detailed self paced toolkit to help couples to better understand how different traits play out in a neurodivergent relationship, as well as some suggestions about how to navigate this. I aim for those additional resources to be live by mid October this year when I will be presenting a workshop to the Certified Gottman Method Couples Therapists Retreat on the Gold Coast.
The other strand is professional development training for clinicians to gain skills in implementing Neurodivergent Friendly Couples therapy. (NFCT) I had presented these materials in 2023 as a 3 day training to PESI but it needs to be updated with the deeper understanding I have gained about ableism and masking following my formal diagnosis. The new improved version is due to be launched from the ND Relationships Hub in 2026.
I am currently thrilled to bring together two special interests, teaching and clinical psychology. It is exciting to enter this next phase of my career and build a legacy for the next wave of psychologists and couples therapists. Together we can help more of our neurodivergent couples, or those in other relationship structures, to thrive.
My vision is that the next generation of neurodivergent people will be well supported in the sphere of relationships and not have to go through the bad experiences I endured.
