Couples’ Therapy
Choose your path:
80-minute sessions (recommended)
53-minute sessions (traditional)
A 6-hour weekend intensive
80-Minute Relationship Accelerator Sessions (Recommended)
The most effective path for couples ready for significant change.
Why are they called Accelerator sessions?
These sessions are a faster, more complete way to get to your goals. You have heard the old joke about being in therapy, where the client says something vulnerable or profound, and the therapist says, “Well, that’s all the time we have today…”
It happens too often in couples’ therapy. Here’s why we came up with a new program:
Return on investment: By investing in an extra half-hour of dedicated skill-building, you can reduce the total length of weeks or months spent in therapy.
Reduced stress: Therapy often involves "opening a door" to a difficult topic only to have the session end before it’s resolved. With 80 minutes, more time is available to work through difficult topics.
What is the $60 surcharge for?
We all have a lot to learn when it comes to communication. Our education surcharge covers psychological education — “psychoeducation” — that will move your relationship forward faster than talk therapy alone. We teach you tried-and-true Gottman Institute techniques to repair and grow your relationship.
Many couples pay thousands of dollars for week-long retreats to learn these skills. We break it down into 30-minute actionable insights in every session. Unfortunately, this education is not covered by insurance.
The rest of the session is typically covered by insurance (subject to your insurance benefits). Please note that this charge is in addition to any copays or deductibles for your couples’ therapy sessions.
Medicaid and Medicare members receive a 50% discount on the surcharge!
More than you ever wanted to know about your insurance…
Insurance companies don’t really want to cover couples’ therapy. It is billed under a header of “Family Therapy,” and the therapist is required to address the “primary” client’s mental health diagnosis as the main reason for every session. Insurance also only covers a 26-minute session for this lofty goal; therefore, insurance pays significantly less for couples’ therapy than individual therapy. This is one of the main reasons it’s so hard to find a couples’ therapist who takes insurance.
Complex relationships don’t fit into a small box. While insurance typically only covers about 26 minutes of face-to-face time, the Gottman Method — one of the most effective and sought-after tools — is designed for 80-minute sessions.
In a standard session, couples may spend the entire time reporting on the latest issue or disagreement, leaving less room for actual growth. Our 80-minute model changes that by combining the insurance-covered portion with time dedicated strictly to relationship psychoeducation and skills development, ensuring you have the time to go beyond putting out fires, and move toward resolution before leaving the room.
By investing in this extra educational time, you gain the space to actively learn and rehearse behavioral strategies with real-time coaching. Instead of just talking about your problems, you are utilizing the extended format to master communication tools and navigate difficult conversations to a point of de-escalation. We truly believe this model is the most effective way to serve our couples, prioritizing long-term skill-building over the limitations of a clock.
We want to bridge the gap with you, and allow you to use your insurance to the maximum amount allowed. Couples therapy shouldn’t just be for those who can afford to pay (or are so desperate that they are willing to pay) a $200/hour fee.
Our clinicians are trained in The Gottman Method, and are highly-specialized.
One-Hour Foundational Sessions
Targeted skill-building for consistent maintenance.
,If your schedule or budget requires a shorter format, a 53-minute session provides a focused, high-impact experience.
These sessions include:
Education: A brief, intensive look at a relationship skill or concept. This may be a combination of modalities, including the Gottman Method.
Efficient Support: We process your current challenges together and wrap up each session with clarity and a plan for the week ahead.
What is the $30 surcharge for?
It covers the psychoeducation component of each session. The rest of the session is typically covered by insurance, subject to your insurance benefits. Please note that this charge is in addition to any copays or deductibles for your couples’ therapy sessions.
We waive the surcharge for Medicaid and Medicare members.
How are these sessions different from “traditional” couples’ therapy?
There is a specialized behavioral and communication component within Gottman therapy. It works, and that’s why so many couples seek it out. That’s why we want to offer it to you, too.
Most couples therapy has some education within its structure. However, couples therapy is not well-covered by insurance — they only cover 26 minutes of the session. Because of this, therapists who provide “traditional” couples’ therapy are reimbursed a fraction of what individual therapists are paid. This is one of the main reasons it’s so hard to find couples therapists who take insurance. Many Gottman therapists are self-pay-only, at $120-$250 per hour.
Adding this affordable educational time on top of the 26 minutes that insurance provides is the best way we know to serve couples.
The Weekend Intensive: A Deep Dive Into Lasting Connection
Is a 6-hour Intensive right for us?
Our intensives are highly personalized. We work with one couple at a time to navigate:
Communication & Conflict: Resolving cycles of "shutting down," chronic fighting, or the eerie silence of having nothing left to say.
Trust & Recovery: Rebuilding after infidelity or addressing deep-seated issues around money, trust, and values.
Intimacy & Connection: Restoring intimacy, emotional vulnerability, and a genuine sense of friendship.
Shared Meaning: Aligning on life goals, (including parenting styles), and creating a shared future you both believe in.
An Investment in Your Future
This isn't just about solving a current crisis; it’s about installing a new operating system for your partnership. Sometimes, it’s about creating your “Relationship 2.0.” By dedicating this time to each other, you are prioritizing your family’s emotional foundation.
We have limited openings for this exclusive experience. Fill out a Request Form today to see if a Weekend Intensive is the right next step for your relationship.
Cost is $600 per couple — this may be reduced by your insurance coverage. Contact us today for an estimate.
About Gottman Method Couples Therapy
The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy is based on Dr. John Gottman’s research, which has focused on what makes relationships succeed or fail.
From this research, Drs. John and Julie Gottman have created a method of therapy that emphasizes a “nuts-and-bolts” approach to improving clients’ relationships.
This method is designed to help teach specific tools to deepen friendship and intimacy in your relationship. To help you productively manage conflicts, you will be given methods to manage “resolvable problems” and dialogue about “gridlocked” (or perpetual) issues. We will also work together to help you appreciate your relationship’s strengths and to gently navigate through its vulnerabilities.
This work follows your lead (we aren’t doing a scripted thing each week), but we do put some things in place as we go:
Understanding your partner’s point of view when managing conflict. We slow it down and make sure each side feels heard and understood. To accomplish this, we use “I” statements, talk about feelings, and state positive needs. Studies have shown that cooperation happens best (even with warring countries!) after both sides effectively understand the other’s point of view.
Eliminating the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” These are: (1) Defensiveness, (2) Criticism, (3) Stonewalling, and (4) Contempt. Did you know that contempt is the number one predictor of divorce/separation? Interesting fact: research shows that something as small as eye-rolling counts as contempt, and is a reliable predictor of divorce if couples don’t intervene.
We deal directly with “gridlocked” issues. And we don’t solve most of them. Research shows that about 80% of issues in relationships are never solved. We can, however, learn to dialogue about them, come to an understanding, and find ways to understand the need behind the conflict.
We work on skills like self-soothing, making effective repairs, learning how to start up a conversation with each other, de-escalating quarrels, processing fights and betrayals, and so much more.
We work on building friendship and intimacy, making room for fun and laughter, turning toward each other, and creating shared meaning. Remembering why you like each other and finding joy in your relationship is the whole point, right?
What should you expect in your sessions?
In true Gottman therapy, we first get to know you in your relationship.
This includes discussion and paperwork.
It’s VERY thorough, but it’s also fascinating!
Before we begin working on your challenges, we need to know what they are.
We also need to know about your strengths, your coping mechanisms,
your patterns, and your stuck points.
If you decide to proceed,
here’s how our first three sessions will go:
Session 1
Oral History
Both of you attend together for 90 minutes.
We’ll work to gain understanding about your relationship up to this point.
At the end of this session, you’ll go home with paperwork. It will take you a while to get through it, but it will give us a clear and thorough picture of who you both are, and what you need.
Session 2
Separate Sessions
This session should be about 90 minutes, but we may see each of you separately, for 45 minutes. This can be scheduled separately if needed.
In this session, we’ll dive more deeply into your needs as individuals, and what you hope for in your life and relationship. We’ll be referring to the paperwork you already filled out, as well as anything else that is important to you.
Session 3
Going over everything
We all come back together for 90 minutes.
We will discuss your strengths and challenges as a couple, and what will come next.
After this session, we are ready to begin the work. At each session, you’ll bring in what seems most important to you, and we’ll work from there.