What is Couples Therapy?

Practice the skills to help you grow together

Therapy focused on the space between you and your partner

Unlike individual therapy, couples therapy creates a safe and supportive environment for both partners in a relationship to explore their emotions and build a stronger bond. Therapy briefly focuses on each of you individually but is primarily all about your relationship with your partner and how you make each other feel. Our experienced therapists navigate the unique complexities of your relationship and guide you towards healthier relationship dynamics.

Couples therapy is designed to help you and your partner improve your relationship by reducing conflict and building a connection

Short-term goals: practice reducing tension and conflict

In couples therapy, we focus on short-term goals to establish boundaries and create safety in the relationship that may have gotten lost. We work together to improve communication skills and resolve conflicts more effectively. This process will give you essential skills that can be applied right away to help reduce tension and conflict, especially since you are practicing with a therapist in a safe environment.

Short-term goals in couples therapy are to practice skills that reduce tension and resolve conflicts immediately

Long-term goals: true intimacy, vulnerability, deeper connection

Your long-term growth is our priority. In couples therapy, we help you rebuild true intimacy and vulnerability with your partner. We help you build trust, foster deeper emotional connection and understand each other’s triggers. Treatment in the long-term allows you and your partner to let down your defenses more frequently which turns arguments into discussions and fights into disagreements. We provide guidance and support as you practice all the skills live in therapy sessions to help you reach your full potential as a couple.

Long-term goals in couples therapy are to create true intimacy through vulnerability which fosters a deeper connection

Couples therapy: Tailored to your unique, specific needs based on your identity

Couples therapy for diverse or biracial couples provides skills like communication, accommodation and intimacy

Diverse/Biracial Couples

  • You are probably navigating your own relationship with your culture while trying to accommodate your partner’s culture. A therapist helps you explore each other’s culture openly, set boundaries where they are needed and bring with you the essential parts of your cultures you want to welcome into your relationship

Couples therapy for parents maintains intimacy, creates a balance that is sustainable and establishes important boundaries

Parents

  • You probably have a new definition for feeling tired and stressed but are also looking to maintain a connection with your partner despite both of you having a greater priority now. A therapist helps you manage the stress, set boundaries with your community and maintain the intimacy that was always there before the child or children became the center of your lives

Couples therapy for South Asians reconciles values between the two of you and redefines expectations for yourselves

South Asian

  • You are probably navigating the life issues described above but also pressure from your community about what your marriage needs to look like. A therapist helps you reconcile the differences in values/upbringing between the two of you and redefine expectations for yourselves as a couple around your own beliefs and live according to your core values without common emotions like guilt and self-judgment

Couples therapy for Asians processes the internalized pressure, sets boundaries with each other but also with your community

Asian

  • You are probably navigating the life issues described above but also differences in expectations and values. A therapist helps you process the feelings that perpetuate the internalized pressure, set boundaries with each other but also with your community outside your relationship

Couples therapy: An effective service that provides solutions for various life issues

  • Couples therapy helps resolve marital premarital issues by exploring shared values, understand triggers and maintain intimacy

    Premarital/Marital

    Couples therapy is often a necessary step when dealing with premarital and marital problems so you can learn each other’s values, understand the cause of each others’ triggers and maintain intimacy even when stress feels like it is at its highest

  • Couples therapy helps you process infidelity including difficulties with rebuilding trust, guilt, shame and grief

    Infidelity

    Couples therapy creates a safe space where a therapist progresses at a pace that feels comfortable for both of you while you process all the complex feelings that come with infidelity: difficulties with rebuilding trust, guilt, shame and grief

  • Couples therapy helps your parenting by helping you heal first which allows you to provide care for your child and partner

    Parenting

    Couples therapy is essential for establishing effective parenting strategies; we confront triggers in a safe, contained environment to help you heal, which gives you the freedom you need to provide the best care for your child

  • Couples therapy helps you and your partner communicate with vulnerability and openness about your cultural differences

    Cultural Differences

    Couples therapy creates an open space where you and your partner can be genuinely vulnerable while bringing up all the ways your cultural differences are either improving your relationship or making you feel stuck

  • Couples therapy resolves family conflicts/issues by setting boundaries, communicating openly and establishing shared expectations

    Family Issues

    Couples therapy becomes crucial to help deal with family issues because each of you can communicate your triggers, practice setting boundaries and establish shared expectations about family involvement in your life as a couple

Couples therapy: Several treatment methods to choose from based on your needs and our training/experience

  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy creates a stronger connection increasing your intimacy, respect and affection with one another

    Gottman Method Couples Therapy

    Your therapist helps you create a stronger connection between you and your partner using exercises intended to remove barriers and increase your intimacy, respect and affection with one another

  • Couples therapy in Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) accesses your partner's more vulnerable emotions which causes less conflict

    Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

    Your therapist helps you lower your defenses and focus on the underlying reasons behind recurring conflicts by practicing skills that allow you access your partner’s more vulnerable emotions

  • Couples therapy in Bowen Family Therapy interprets your relationship dynamic in the context of your family history

    Bowen Family Therapy

    Your therapist helps you interpret the themes that emerge in your relationship in the context of your family history and change the way those patterns continue to influence the way you interact today

  • Couples therapy in Solution-Focused Therapy establishes goals, resolves conflicts and practices communication skills

    Solution-Focused Therapy

    Your therapist helps you establish goals, resolve conflicts and practice communication skills designed to provide each of you with tools to cope during conflict

Couples therapy: Made efficient, convenient and effective with Align

  • Highly trained

    A highly trained therapist will be more effective in handling your conflicts in-session, identifying patterns and making the correct treatment recommendations. Having the proper tools and techniques to work with couples is vital to helping clients make the most of their time together in couples therapy

  • Diversity

    A therapist who appreciates your cultural similarities and differences is more likely to ask the essential questions that help them understand the impact of your culture on your relationship. For Align, culture is more than just ethnicity; we also consider age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, financial situation and any other aspects that affect you as a couple

  • Relatability

    Many clients come to couples therapy reluctantly because they are not used to having someone present during their arguments or conflicts with each other. A relatable therapist provides you with the comfort and security you need to access your vulnerable emotions and be transparent in therapy

  • Online

    Online couples therapy affords clients the ultimate flexibility by removing as many barriers as possible. You and your partner can either be together in the same room or in two separate places and still access a private, secure session by using your phone or computer

  • Availability

    Couples therapy needs to be scheduled around three different availabilities, so it helps significantly when therapists offer days/times that are convenient for you. Therapists with flexible availability, often at times when both of you are not working, become important when you have a busy lifestyle

  • Flexibility

    When real-life situations come up, we usually need therapy the most. Therapists with flexibility in the costs of therapy and scheduling ensure your sessions are accessible and consistent even if finances become an issue

The importance of finding the right fit: Couples therapy is all about feeling comfortable and that starts with choosing the right therapist

The research is clear: the alliance between therapist and client (characterized by trust, mutual respect, shared understanding, and collaboration) remains the best predictor of positive outcomes in therapy. In couples therapy specifically, this connection is the foundation for your trust. The right therapist allows you to feel comfortable expressing the thoughts, emotions and vulnerabilities that actively change the patterns in your relationship. Clients come with their own experiences, beliefs, values, and preferences. A good fit between therapist and couple ensures the therapeutic approach aligns with the couple’s unique goals and objectives.

Describe the problem that brings you both to therapy and try asking them:

  • What is your initial assessment of our problem?

  • Have you ever worked with a couple like us before?

  • What treatment method would you recommend?

  • How would that help us solve our problem?

  • What do you emphasize in couples therapy that is unique?

Experience transformative online therapy with our team of highly trained, flexible, and relatable therapists

Take the first step towards personal growth by scheduling a consultation with our experienced, relatable and flexible therapists

If you still don’t know who would be the right fit and would like our help, contact us directly and we can help you find the best fit by asking just a couple of questions about your needs and goals.

  • A therapist who is not only passionate about helping others, but approachable and relatable. Individual therapy is about you

    Stephanie Gonzalez

    Couples therapy with me is passionate, approachable and relatable

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  • A therapist who is understanding, empowering, and non-judgmental. Individual therapy is supportive and non-blaming

    Judy Tam

    Couples therapy with me is supportive, empowering and non-blaming

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  • A therapist who is supportive, reflective and focused on solutions. Individual therapy is casual and approachable

    Nazzi Vazira-Bhullar

    Couples therapy with me is supportive, reflective and focused on solutions

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  • A therapist that helps you reflect, be comfortable and focus on solutions. Individual therapy emphasizes progress

    Jasmeet Bhullar

    Couples therapy with me is reflective, comfortable and focused on solutions

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  • A therapist who is committed to reflection, empowerment, and non-blaming. Individual therapy with her is an open space

    Julia Melvin

    Couples therapy with me is reflective, empowering and non-blaming

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  • A therapist who is direct, compassionate, and uses humor to create a structured and effective therapeutic environment

    Fidel Quintanilla

    Couples therapy with me is direct, structured and includes humor

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  • A therapist who is direct, compassionate, and uses humor to create a comfortable and effective therapeutic environment

    Molly Binenfeld

    Couples therapy with me is direct, compassionate and includes humor

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