You may be in the middle of a relationship crisis and feel like there is too much happening to address an hour at a time.

You may understand the pattern you’re caught in but find that a traditional session ends just as you’re getting somewhere important.

Or you may be traveling from farther away and want the opportunity to do a more concentrated piece of work while you’re here.

A Couples Intensive gives us extended, uninterrupted time to slow things down, understand what’s happening between you, and begin working on it without watching the clock quite so closely.

More time doesn’t mean four hours of talking about the problem. It gives us time to understand it, work with it, practice something different, and see what happens next.

In a traditional session, there are times when we have to decide what can reasonably be addressed that day—and what needs to wait.

An intensive gives us more room to follow something important when it emerges.

We can slow down a difficult interaction and understand what’s happening underneath it. We can identify the pattern that keeps pulling you back into the same conflict, learn a different way to respond, and actually practice it together.

There is also time to move between understanding and application—to talk, teach, practice, pause, regroup, and try again.

The goal isn’t to cover more material. It’s to have enough time to work more deeply with what matters most.

Before the intensive, you’ll complete the Gottman Relationship Checkup, which gives us a detailed picture of your relationship’s strengths as well as areas that may need attention.

We’ll also have a brief phone consultation beforehand so I can understand what’s bringing you in, what you hope to accomplish, and whether an intensive is the right format for the work you need.

The intensive itself is structured but flexible. We’ll identify priorities, look closely at the patterns affecting your relationship, and spend time learning and practicing skills you can use outside the therapy room.

Depending on what you need, the work may feel more like therapy at some moments and more like a private relationship workshop at others.

Breaks are built into our time together. Four hours is a significant amount of focused relationship work, and stepping away briefly can be just as important as knowing when to keep going.

We have a plan for the day—but we’ll use the time where your relationship needs it most.