Intensive Couples Therapy in Tacoma and across Washington, Utah & Florida
Rekindle your connection, on a timeline tailored to you.
Because powerful breakthroughs don’t happen by chance.
Sometimes the first step to feeling better is simply being heard and understood.
Most problems in relationships happen because we don’t know how to talk to each other. It can be even harder when you feel worn down from seemingly constant conflict. I know firsthand how complicated and messy relationships can be, but trust me: there is hope.
The weight of past wounds can be lifted and knots untied. It’s never too late to start feeling better.
Underneath all of the hurt, there’s something that keeps you together. You’re here because you’re ready to rediscover and fight to renew that feeling. With intensive therapy, you can break free from the barriers holding your relationship back so you can find a new path toward one another.
How it works
Couples Intensives are a form of therapy designed to cultivate significant progress in a short amount of time.
Typically spanning over one or two days, we’ll engage in immersive and concentrated sessions that allow us to go deep and create meaningful change quickly.
Choosing to engage in couple intensive therapy is an act of prioritizing your relationship.
During the couples intensive itself, we'll focus on your and your partner’s current experiences and challenges, using a blend of therapeutic approaches including PACT and ISTDP. Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT) is a method that uses a psychobiologically informed, mindful approach to resolving conflict to help relationships grow. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is a dynamic and focused approach that emphasizes the exploration and resolution of unconscious emotional conflicts.
There will be a few brief sessions one-on-one, but most of the process will be with you, your partner, and myself. This is a space where we need to be 100% real with each other, so we won’t be shying away from feelings or reactions. I’ll encourage you both to bring whatever messes or struggles you have and be there to meet you with compassion, honesty, and focus.
Couples Intensives FAQ
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A couples therapy intensive is designed to create the space for you and your partner to connect. By dedicating an extended period of time just to working on your relationship, you and your partner are able to give it the proper love and attention to grow.
Instead of meeting once a week or every other week for an hour or two, we would meet for several hours to days in order to help you break through walls in your relationship and reconnect.
This increased focus on the health of your relationship gives you and your partner the opportunity to "clean house." Dedicated time and attention gives you both the opportunity to identify, examine and address old wounds and resentments, so that you can address them together and relieve the tension in your relationship.
Couples therapy intensives create the foundation for lasting change in weekly therapy by creating new, healthy habits which you can build upon and continue together in your daily life.
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For 1 or 2 day intensives, we'll start by meeting for an initial intake appointment (2 hours) to assess your relationship, determine if an intensive is right for your relationship and prepare for you for it. For half day intensives of 4 or fewer hours, there will be no intake appointment. In cases of past or current history of Intimate Partner Violence, I will ask you to complete some assessments and meet with me 1:1 for 1-2 hours before we meet for an intensive, if I recommend it after assessing your relationship.
Before we meet for the intensive, you will fill out some assessments so that I can have an understanding of you and your relationship before we get started. I will also recommend some reading material so that you can familiarize yourself with PACT concepts.
During the intensive, we will meet 1:1 and together. During our 1:1 work, we will use this as an opportunity for you to dive deeper into yourself and get to know your own inner workings. When we're meeting together, you will witness each other as we dive deeply into both of you, and then bring that knowledge back together to form your working understanding of how your inner conflicts create outer conflicts in your relationship. Armed with that knowledge, you will practice communicating with each other using your newfound knowledge and skills to untangle old knots and learn new ways of being with each other. At the end of each therapy block, I will ask you for feedback on how therapy is going and what could be improved as we continue to work together. I will integrate your feedback throughout the day and weekend, fitting the intensive to you as a tailor helps their client with the perfect fit.
As the therapy intensive comes to a close, I will summarize what I've seen you learn and practice, telling a cohesive story of how your problems have arisen and what the way out is. You will reflect individually and together on what you've learned about yourself and your relationship, and how you are going to implement your insights and skills into maintaining what you've created, to practice new ways of being together. I will help you find a weekly therapist if needed, or schedule a follow up intensive.
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Many couples struggle to gain traction in weekly therapy. In my experience of working with severely distressed relationships for over 5 years, high conflict couples or couples on the brink of divorce feel tortured in their weekly therapy. Therapy ends just at they're starting to get somewhere, and there is a backlog of issues they'd like to discuss with each other that they're not able to get around to. As a result, their resentments simmer underneath the surface, leading to threats of divorce, storming out of the room, hurtful words, and a rollercoaster of emotions.
Weekly therapy can be like holding a carrot on a stick right in front of the couple, perpetually and always out of reach. It often feels worse to be in weekly therapy than none at all, because couples feel they should be making progress more quickly, but feel stuck right where they started. And it is true—without a big shift, especially for high conflict couples and distressed couples, weekly couples therapy can lack the oomph it needs. Some couples don’t get to that shift for months in therapy, and some never do.
That’s where couples intensives come in. They offered distressed couples a chance to save their relationship from certain ending and motivated couples a chance to experience the relief they know is possible, with the right help and enough time to unstick their relationship.
I can handle your fights and I’ll teach you how to handle them, too.
While the process is often intense and challenging, the results are profound. Many couples experience emotional breakthroughs and a renewed sense of connection by the end of the marriage intensive. Whether you're seeking to resolve conflicts, deepen intimacy, or simply gain a better understanding of yourselves and each other, these intensives offer a powerful opportunity for growth and healing.
The schedule
Here’s a brief overview of what a 1 or 2 day couples intensive looks like:
Day 1 (7 therapy hours)
9:00am - 11:00am
Couple session to set the stage and understand specific concerns and goals.
11:00am - 12:30pm
An individual session for one partner to explore personal experiences and perspectives.
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch break to recharge and reflect.
1:30pm - 3:00pm
Second individual session focused on self-awareness and emotional exploration.
3:00pm - 5:00pm
Joint couple session to address dynamics, shared accountability, and challenges.
Day 2 (6 therapy hours)
9:00am - 12:00Pm
Extended couple session to understand and work through issues together.
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Lunch break to rest and regroup.
1:30pm - 4:30pm
Final couple session to gather insights and create strategies for moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Couples intensives benefit people who want rapid change and are willing to put in the effort. This isn’t a place where you or your partner “get fixed,” or for those who are making any sort of concrete plans to end their relationship (i.e. dividing assets, divorce attorney, etc.). Intensives are about putting your relationship first, requiring accountability from both partners, a belief in your ability to change together, and a willingness to dive in with both feet. Schedule an intake appointment with me here to get started and make sure an intensive is right for you.
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Yes, relationships with a history of DV or IPV may be fit for an intensive and are welcome in this process. If there are current or recent episodes, it may require additional screening and cost for screening upfront. I’m always willing to connect and answer further questions, so feel free to schedule an intake appointment here.
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Intensives can be as short as 3-4 hours and as long as 1 or 2 days. I also offer mini-intensives that are 4 hours long. This can look like the 1st session in the morning, followed by lunch, and the 2nd session or an entire 4-hour session with a bathroom break. My schedule is flexible and I’m willing to make things work with whatever your timeline or interest is.
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No. Couples intensives are held in person in my office over the weekend and online for residents of Washington, Utah and Florida. My office is located at 4041 Ruston Way, Suite 202, Tacoma, WA 98407.
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The majority of your intensive is likely to be out of pocket, if not all of it. Please see my FAQ’s page for a more detailed explanation.
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Intake Appointment for 1 & 2 Day Intensives (2 hours): $500
1 Day Intensive (7 therapy hours): $1,750
2 Day Intensive (13 therapy hours): $3,500
Mini Intensive (4 therapy hours): $1,250
Choosing to invest in an intensive isn't just about the money — it's about showing up for your relationship in a big way. Trust me, the payoff is worth much more than dollars and cents. You'll come out of it with a deeper connection, clearer communication, and a renewed sense of partnership that can carry you through whatever life throws your way.
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Yes. Before getting started, we'll have a 2 hour intake appointment to ensure we're the right fit and to prepare you for the intensive by discussing any specific concerns you have, as well as developing goals for the intensive. Cases with more severe distress, including DV/IPV, may require an additional assessment. Before the intensive, I am happy to consult with current medical or mental health providers, including current couple therapists, individual therapists, psychiatrists, etc. Schedule an intake appointment here.
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If you would like to continue working with me on a weekly or biweekly basis, I am happy to do so if I have availability on my calendar. If I do not have space to see you, I will offer referrals for a therapist in your area and can give them a recap of what you’ve worked on once you establish a relationship with a weekly therapist.
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Yes! I am happy to coordinate with your weekly therapist before and after your intensive about what you’re currently working on and a follow-up on what you both accomplished during your intensive.
