Frequently asked questions

That’s a difficult one! Some couples reach their goals fairly quickly, others take more time. There are many variables at play – how complex are the couple’s presenting problems? How long have they been in conflict, or feeling disconnected? How willing are they to be flexible with each other and work on their relationship? I would suggest to all couples that we take stock of progress regularly and assess what work is left to be done.

My current recommendation for a couple is to start with three of the half-day (3 hour) intensive sessions, usually all within the same week. That way we compress the equivalent of about 9 or 10 weeks work into the space of a week. After that third intensive session, we decide together how we wish to proceed for any further work. Follow-ups are usually 2-hour sessions, spaced out by a few weeks.

Sometimes! There is definitely no workbook to be completed here, but I may suggest some reading to help support the work in session. We may also discuss activities for you to work on together in between sessions and at some point we may also use written mental dialogues as part of our process.

You may feel that your kids are the cause of most of your stresses and lead to many of the arguments between you. However, couples therapy can (and should) be challenging, and will require your full attention to be on yourselves and your relationship. You may also not want your kids to overhear some of our conversations, so making arrangements for your kids so that you can be here as a couple is by far the best strategy.

Obviously, there are no guarantees, but I firmly believe that the approach I use for relationship therapy, the Crucible ® approach, is significantly different to the approach most marriage therapists use. The work is challenging and ultimately encourages and requires personal growth to improve the relationship. I find that most couples that consider their relationship issues from this perspective see a side of themselves and their relational dynamic that they may have missed in previous episodes of treatment.

Yes. It is not unusual for one, or both partners to be considering separation or divorce when their relationship is not working for them, particularly if they have been discontented for an extended period of time. Sometimes the initial work is for both partners to evaluate the potential of their relationship, and what they would each need in order to move forward before they can commit to working on the relationship.

Each 3-hour couples intensive session is $695

2-hour follow-up session are $430

1-hour maintenance sessions are $215  

I am not in-network, or contracted, with any health insurance plans. You may get some money back from your insurance using out-of-network benefits and I can supply you with superbills on request for you to submit to your insurance. To be honest, insurance generally does not accommodate sessions longer than 1-hour, so they are unlikely to give you back the full amount of what you pay out. I recommend that clients assume they will be paying the full amount out of pocket and anything they get back from insurance will be a bonus.

If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) you should be able to use that to pay for this work, although it might be worth confirming that your account covers marriage counseling.

Due to the longer session durations involved with intensive couples therapy, I require at least 2 business days (48 hours) notice of cancellation of, or changes to, scheduled 1-hour sessions and 5 business days (1 calendar week’s) notice for sessions that are scheduled for longer than 1-hour.

Cancellations, or changes, made to scheduled sessions in less than those notice periods will incur a cancellation charge equal to the full fee for the scheduled session at the prevailing rate.

Multi-day intensives (a series of multiple 3-hour sessions) require 2 weeks’ notice in advance of the first session in the series, of any change or cancellation, to avoid being liable for the cost of the whole series.

Automated reminder emails, if you opt to receive them, are sent out for your convenience.  Please do not rely on these emails as your sole method for remembering our scheduled sessions, as they may not be delivered to in accordance with the above notice periods.

Refunds for previously paid deposits will incur a 5% administration charge.