Couples Intensives
What is a couples intensive?
A couples intensive is four hours of therapy in one day, in person at my office in Madison, built around a short list of topics we choose together beforehand.
Generally, an intensive includes two 2-hour sessions with a lunch break between, on a Saturday.
An intensive isn’t better or worse than weekly or biweekly therapy. It’s a different format that can work for couples who are from out of town or who find it more manageable to carve out a chunk of time to work on their relationship rather than commit to weekly or biweekly sessions.
How it works
Before the day, we meet twice (90 minutes each) to get to know each other, name what each of you wants from the day, and narrow it to a handful of topics.
On the day, the work is experiential. We take breaks as needed and always have a nice long lunch break to replenish ourselves.
A few weeks after the intensive, we meet once more to see how you’re integrating what you learned.
Who it's a good fit for
Couples who can feel strong emotion and find their way back to each other, who can each say in their own words why they're doing this, and who are willing to focus on a few things instead of everything. It works well for couples who live outside Madison and want concentrated work, and for couples already working with me who want to go deeper on one thing.
Who it's not for
An intensive isn't the right starting point if there is fear, violence, or coercion in the relationship, or if you're in an acute crisis such as a recent discovery of an affair. In those cases we'd begin with regular sessions and revisit it.
Fee and logistics
The intensive is $900. The preparation session and the follow-up session are billed at my regular rate of $225 each (90 minutes). If we're already working together, your regular sessions serve as preparation and follow-up.
Many couples make a weekend of it; Madison is a good place to stay, eat, and explore.
First step
The first step is a consultation call. We'll talk about what you're hoping for and whether an intensive or weekly sessions makes more sense for you right now.
There’s no cost or pressure and you can book it right now.