Non-Financial Retirement Counselling
The money question has a ready answer. The identity question is where people struggle. We attend to the psychological and relational dimensions of retirement — the transition nobody talks about.
The transition nobody talks about
For decades, professional identity, daily structure, collegial relationships and a sense of contribution have been woven into your working life. Retirement dissolves this fabric — sometimes abruptly.
Financial planning rightly addresses the economics of retirement with great rigour. Society has told us that if the finances work, everything else will follow. But it doesn't always. And that's not a failure — it's a transition that deserves the same care and preparation you brought to your career.
For many, it is the psychological and relational dimensions that prove most challenging: the loss of identity and purpose, loss of workplace social connections, loss of structure and routine, relationship strain with partners, grief about ageing and mortality.
Our work attends to exactly these dimensions, drawing on clinical psychology, adult development, and the accumulated wisdom of those who have navigated this passage well.
Professional Services
Each engagement is as individual as the person undertaking it. All sessions are confidential, held one-on-one or as a couple, and conducted in person or via videoconference.
One-to-one sessions exploring the personal, psychological and relational dimensions of your retirement. Held in confidence and conducted at your pace.
Retirement reconfigures daily life for couples in profound ways. Joint sessions support partners in navigating shared space, changed routines and evolving expectations — together.
For those approaching retirement in the coming months or years. Structured conversations to anticipate challenges, clarify values and enter the transition confidently and purposefully.
Tailored to senior leaders stepping back from significant organisational responsibility and generational family business founders — addressing the particular challenges of relinquishing authority, status and mission.
Working with employers and professional associations to support outgoing executives and senior professionals through thoughtful, structured retirement transition programmes.
Client Voices
I thought I was just bored and restless. It took a few sessions to realise I was grieving. Once I named it, everything started to shift — notably my irritability.
My partner retired two years before me and we nearly didn't survive it. This helped us understand each other's experience and build something that works for both of us.
I had everything planned financially. I hadn't planned on feeling de-skilled and invisible. Having somewhere to actually talk about that without being told to "take up Pickleball" — was everything.
The toughest part was the change from a busy "live to work" mindset to actually becoming family-centred and learning to enjoy the leisure pace. I got there.
About the Principal
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Larry Marlow brings an unusual depth of experience to retirement counselling — one that bridges the inner life of individuals and the outer demands of professional leadership. His career has moved through two complementary disciplines: clinical psychology and senior executive development.
As a practising clinical psychologist, Larry worked closely with individuals navigating major life transitions, identity disruption and questions of personal meaning — developing the listening skills, therapeutic acuity and conceptual frameworks that now inform his retirement counselling practice.
In parallel, Larry built a substantial career as the founder and CEO of an Australian management consultancy and as a University Adjunct Professor, advising organisations on strategy and leadership development. He understands, from the inside, the psychology of high-achieving professionals — how deeply identity, self-worth and purpose can become fused with role and belonging.
It is precisely this fusion — so positively functional during a career — that retirement can so painfully unsettle. Larry's practice brings together clinical depth, executive understanding and genuine human warmth to help clients not merely cope with retirement, but flourish in it.
Begin a Conversation
All enquiries are treated with complete confidentiality. A free 20-minute initial conversation carries no obligation — it is simply an opportunity to explore whether this work might be of value to you.
This is a counselling service, not a financial advisory service. We do not provide financial, legal or investment advice.