Why Couple Intensive Therapy?

One of the reasons couples get stuck in perpetual conflict is simply a lack of education and training. We are more than willing to train for marathons, or seek education to further our careers, or go to a financial adviser to guide us in our investments.  But we go into marriage or any long term partnership with virtually no training or tools to have available when the inevitable conflict comes.

Once a couple enters perpetual conflict, therapy can help:

• Reawaken your passion for each other,
• Equip you with conflict management skills,
• Gain insight into your partner’s internal world,
• Feel understood by your partners,
• Enhance your friendship and love.

Sometimes, rather than weekly therapy for a busy couple, a dedicated, structured, intensive program, based on sound relationship therapeutic modalities, is key to improve your relationship and get unstuck.

Is this Intensive right for you?

This intensive is based on couple therapy model from The Gottman Institute, a Seattle-based, internationally-renowned organization dedicated to building strong relationships and repairing troubled ones. Other modalities used will include sex therapy interventions and other therapeutic modalities to make your relationship work, all based on comprehensive assessments highlighting your strengths and needs.

Most of the interventions used include conflict management skills, communication and compromise, and learning how to process and manage challenges. That is the framework. The context of what we dialogue about will be around the main issue you are coming in with: whether it is sex and intimacy, working through past trauma, building a strong foundation for a new relationship, and anything else that comes up through initial assessment.  The goal is to ensure you feel skillful to work through challenges together, to increase insight into your partner’s internal world, and feel understood by your partner. 

Who can benefit from the program?

• Those choosing to commit.
• Couples who live together or about to move in together.
• Pre-engaged & Premarital.
• Everyone from young lovers to seniors.
• Those who wish to enhance a good relationship.
• Those needing better conflict management tools.
• Couples willing to work hard on their relationship.

The clinician is LGTBQ+/Poly/Kink competent.

This intensive offer is inappropriate for couples who are experiencing:

• Severe relationship distress.
• Emotional abuse.
• Domestic violence.
• Active addictions (alcohol, drug, sexual, gambling, etc.).
• Serious mental health problems in one or both partners.

What will you gain from this program?

While the results of the intensive vary from couple to couple, in this intensive program you will have the opportunity to:

• Build proven tools to help in your relationship.
• Improve your friendship, fondness, and admiration for each other.
• Enhance romance and intimacy.
• Learn to manage conflict constructively.
• Understand and work on perpetual and solvable problems (and know the difference!).
• Create shared meaning for a lifetime together.
• Maintain emotional gains in your relationship.

How it works and what to expect

The intensive takes place over two Sundays, a few weeks apart, in person, in the clinic office in Easthampton, MA. Each Sunday would include a total of 5 clinical hours, broken up to include short breaks and lunch (it works out to be roughly 9am-3:30pm).

Before the first Sunday the clinician will send each partner a few assessment forms to fill out individually and send back to about a week before the first Sunday.

First Sunday will include: joint initial intake session, two shorter individual sessions, and treatment planning session that includes building comprehensive understanding of your needs and strengths. The day will culminate with a session that includes a specific Gottman Method intervention for conflict management and/or communication skills, and review of homework/exercises for the weeks until we meet next.

Second Sunday will start with a check-in session for how the work went during our time apart, sharing any significant insights and concerns. This day will include about four 60-90 minutes sessions with specific interventions that meet your assessed needs and concerns that arise. 

A third Sunday would be recommended based on need, as well as yearly tune ups!

Benefits of participating in the program:

• Find encouragement to work on your relationship.
• Many couples find that the program is less threatening than seeking couples’ therapy and is a better fit for a busy schedule. While the program may not be a substitute for ongoing therapy, it can soften the entry into working on your relationship and provide much needed skills to build a strong foundation before pursuing therapy.
• Being part of the program may eliminate some of the uncertainty and hesitation some couples have about working on their relationship on their own. The intensive will provide you with clear goals, expectations and a time frame to work on your relationship.
• The intensive format encourages both partners to work on their relationship rather than one partner alone reading a book or going through the motions without the other partner’s participation.
• This program is a great opportunity for pre-marital or new couples to learn skills that can enrich their relationship through a lifetime together.

Registration:

Contact Clinician

Please email Shanna Fishel shanna@yougotchoices.com to schedule brief and free consult phone call to assess fit.

Payment:

Unfortunately, insurance does not cover intensive work and this offer is private pay only.

Cost is $180 an hour, for a total of 10 clinical hours at $1,800.

Current offer for 2024 is at a 50% discount rate: totaling $900 instead of $1,800.

Payable by card in two payments of $450 at the end of each Sunday. Additional 5% ($45) discount is offered if you pay in cash. FSA/HSA cards accepted as well.

Once the discounted offer ends, sliding scale and full payment will be offered.

Congratulate yourself for taking time to begin or continue your journey of deep and loving partnership. 

If you have any questions about the intensive, please contact Shanna at Shanna@yougotchoices.com