Meg Tuohey smiles when she explains the meaning behind the dominant image of her on the internet.

“If you do any kind of Google search on me, you’ll find a photo of me holding a disco ball,” she says. “It’s because that’s how I see human beings. We’re all like mirror balls with many, many facets, so if something goes wrong in our lives, we can’t just work on fixing two or three of them.”

The relationship expert and registered psychologist founded Making Relationships Work six years ago to help women take the lead role in transforming their lives for the better.

“My philosophy is that we need to work on every single surface of that disco ball so we get to know ourselves as a whole,” she says. “Only then can we understand what we can do to make our life better.”

Tuohey and her team of psychologists, clinicians and mindset coaches have successfully helped dozens of women get their relationships – and much more – back on track, but her approach initially raised some eyebrows.

“When I started, I remember people being shocked and saying, ‘You want to do what? Help someone with their marriage, but only work with one of them? How on earth does that work?’” she recalls.

“But I’m very proud that everything we teach women about how to expand their identities and skill sets is evidence-based. I’ve yet to meet anyone with anywhere near the level of strategic thinking or understanding of proven practices as our team.”

The right solution

And North America certainly provides a ready market for her services.

Around four-in-10 marriages end in failure in the United States and Canada, with many divorces costing the couples upwards of US$100,000 if there are properties and children involved. When it comes to second and third marriages, the divorce rates are even higher, as more people over the age of 50 are splitting up than ever before, often causing emotional turmoil and financial stress.

Studies show that seeking counseling is an effective strategy to save a relationship, but even when couples do this, they may find it hard to get the help they need. Many unqualified and ineffective operators practice couples therapy with little or no formal training.

“The coaching industry is fraught with well-meaning people who think they know what they’re doing because maybe they’ve solved a problem in their own life and have a big heart,” Tuohey says.

“It’s not regulated so it’s a Wild West out there, with many coaches who don’t know how to approach the serious issues we encounter frequently, such as domestic violence, self-harm and other traumas.

“Unfortunately, I now have lots of copycats who dress themselves up in different ways trying to do what we do.”

Changing lives

The idea behind Making Relationships Work started when Tuohey was very young.

“I lived in a home where I wondered, ‘Why is it like this? Why is no-one coming to teach my parents how to do things better?’ I kept thinking, ‘There are so many good adults around us, surely one of them will say something to my parents’, but they never did.

“I made a vow to myself there and then that I’d be the person who came. After that, my mission became finding ways to change people’s lives and, in doing so, change mine.”

Tuohey, a finalist in The CEO Magazine’s 2024 Executive of the Year Awards, has completed more than 20 advanced certifications and programs on relationship dynamics, mindset coaching and psychology, and leads a team that’s largely unaltered from its original 2018 lineup.

“Most of my original people are still with me and they’ve helped me build something from nothing. They’re amazing and I’d trust every single one of them with anything. I trust them with my vision. I trust them with my clients. I trust them with solving problems. I trust them with their love for what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

Her programs use psychoeducation, where Mindset/Performance Coaches combine psychology, a powerful and effective tool in properly repairing badly damaged relationships rather than merely applying quick fix solutions.

“Confusion and pain are part of the human experience. So you need to work with them to bring clarity, grow wisdom and fundamentally change your ecosystem,” Tuohey says.

“When you do that, it changes your relationship, it changes how you parent, how you lead your business. It changes everything. Confusion and pain keep us stuck in a downward cycle that hurts us and the people we love.

“Every single day, women come to me feeling that they have no hope. Well, the good news is, they don’t have to rely on hope. I can empower them with the knowledge and tools for their marriage to be the thriving partnership it was meant to be and for them to take back control of their life.”