RELATIONSHIP INTENSIVES

Disponible en español

What Is a Relationship Intensive?

Sometimes, one hour a week doesn't feel like enough.

 

You may finally get to the heart of an important conversation just as the session is ending. Or you may find yourselves spending session after session discussing different disagreements that somehow lead back to the same familiar pattern.

 

A Relationship Intensive provides dedicated time to slow things down.

 

Rather than meeting for a traditional weekly therapy hour, you and your partner spend 8 focused hours over two private half-days exploring the patterns shaping your relationship, how each of you responds when tension rises, and what may help you begin responding differently.

 

My approach won't simply focus on determining who is right, who is wrong, or how to stop the latest argument. We'll look at the larger relationship system that includes patterns of emotional reactivity, distance and closeness, family-of-origin experiences, expectations, and the ways each partner participates in the relationship process.

 

The goal isn't a perfect relationship. It's greater understanding, thoughtful choice, and a clearer way forward.

 

Why Choose a Relationship Intensive?

Traditional weekly therapy can be valuable, but some couples want more uninterrupted time to understand what's happening between them.

 

A Relationship Intensive provides:

• Dedicated time. Instead of stopping after 50–60 minutes, we have extended time to explore important concerns without repeatedly starting and stopping.

• A systemic perspective. We look beyond the immediate disagreement to understand the recurring relationship patterns underneath it.

• A personalized experience. Your intensive is shaped around your relationship, history, concerns, and goals rather than a standardized couples program.

• Space to slow emotional reactivity. When relationships become highly stressed, conversations can quickly become reactive. The extended format gives us opportunities to observe these processes as they happen and work toward more thoughtful responses.

• Attention to the individual and the relationship. Rather than asking one partner to change the other, we'll explore how each person functions within the relationship and where each partner has room to make meaningful changes in their own responses.

• A clearer path forward. By the end of the intensive, we'll identify important patterns, areas for continued work, and possible next steps for your relationship.

 

 

Who Might Benefit?

Relationship Intensives may be appropriate for couples who feel that their relationship deserves more focused attention than a weekly therapy hour currently provides.

 

You might consider an intensive if you:

• Keep having different versions of the same argument

• Feel caught between conflict, withdrawal, distance, or emotional reactivity

• Are working through betrayal or infidelity

• Feel disconnected and want to better understand what has happened between you

• Are navigating a significant transition, health concern, caregiving responsibility, career change, or family stress

• Experience recurring tension involving extended family or family-of-origin relationships

• Are considering separation and want dedicated space to think carefully about the relationship

• Want to better understand how ADHD, neurodivergence, chronic health concerns, or other individual differences interact with your relationship

• Have tried weekly couples therapy but feel you need more concentrated time

 

You don't need to be on the verge of ending your relationship to consider an intensive. Some couples simply recognize that something important deserves more time and attention.