• Mental Health

Couples Therapy: Learning Tools to Strengthen a Romantic Relationship

Published: January 30, 2025
Updated: January 30, 2025
4 mins

Whether romantic relationships or platonic friendships, it’s not uncommon to experience conflict as people grow and change. Couples therapy is a type of psychotherapy (talk therapy) that has evolved along with the growth of therapy. 

It’s gone from being like a different version of individualized therapy to having concepts and methods especially made for couples therapy. 

Couples therapy helps to address a wide array of issues like dealing with conflict, improving communication, emotional concerns, and more.

How Does Couples Therapy Work?

Each couple's therapy experience is unique depending on cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, the goals, and the dynamics of the couple seeking counseling. 

While couples therapy may have initially been more tailored for married couples, it’s more often used in long-term relationships regardless of marital status today.

Before officially starting couples therapy, a therapist may ask a couple to complete an assessment individually and together to get a better idea of what the couple wants to work on, past experiences, and the best methods for them.

From there, a couples therapist will move forward into coming up with a treatment plan. This may begin with getting to know a couple better before giving them tools for better communication and relationship skills. A therapist will then help facilitate healthy conversation between partners.

How Does Couples Therapy Help?

During therapy, a couple is encouraged to speak about topics they may feel uncomfortable expressing alone with their partner. This may include parenting concerns, substance abuse, and intimacy issues that affect relationships.

If lack of intimacy is a concern, a therapist may incorporate emotional intimacy exercises into sessions. This is often done with cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness techniques like:

• Active listening exercises with a partner

• Using physical touch to improve intimacy with your partner through guided exercises

• Adding affirmative phrases and actions to conversations to help partners feel supported by each other

• Having open dialogue about difficult topics to increase closeness between spouses

The goal of these exercises is to improve emotional and physical intimacy for a couple. Many of these exercises start with active dialogue before couples engage in any physical exercises.

How Often Do You Go to Couples Therapy?

Couples therapy sessions are typically conducted weekly. However, not every couples therapy experience is the same. Some couples may meet with a therapist bi-weekly or monthly depending on their schedules.

How does couples therapy work virtually?

If getting to a therapist in person is hard because of a packed schedule or medical barriers, there are other options. Couples therapy can also be done in person or with a virtual healthcare provider. 

The only difference between virtual therapy and in-person therapy is the connection you may feel from seeing a therapist physically in person. However, they use the same techniques and practices virtually. 

Virtual therapy may also be a better option for those who have mobility issues or medical concerns that make it difficult to get to a therapist option regularly. However, there are some potential barriers to virtual therapy. Some people may feel less connected to a therapist through technology. 

What Kind of Therapists Provide Couples Therapy?

Couples therapists may be trained in several different types of therapy including cognitive behavioral, narrative, and mindfulness-based therapy. 

A therapist that specializes in these types of therapy for couples include the following healthcare providers:

• Clinical social workers

• Psychiatrists

• Psychologists

• Marriage and family therapists

Marriage and family therapists are trained in talk therapy and treating mental health concerns related to families and couples. Most marriage therapists have a master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy.

These types of therapists are great for couples who want to discuss parenting styles, issues with newly married couples, parenting, and other family concerns.

What are the Benefits of Couples Therapy?

Couples therapy can help you develop better communication skills and strategies for growing a relationship. For newly married or committed couples, therapy can be a great tool for learning how to confront difficult conversations when they come up.

Couples can use what they learn from therapy to address a wide range of issues including:

• Family relationships

• Emotional distress

• Parenting conflicts

• Adolescent drug abuse

• Sudden loss of a parent or loved one

• Depression in one or both partners

Are There Any Rules to Couples Therapy?

With any form of therapy, healthcare providers are required to keep your sessions confidential. This means they cannot share your sessions with anyone else without the consent of everyone involved. Some healthcare professionals may ask for your permission to record sessions for research purposes.

Both parties in a couple must agree to couples therapy before starting treatment. If your partner is not comfortable with doing couples therapy, you can still seek individualized therapy about your relationship with a marriage and family therapist.

What are the Different Types of Couples Therapy?

There are many different types of couples therapy approaches you can consider before choosing a therapist. 

• Emotion-focused couples therapy: This type of therapy focuses on strengthening the emotional bond between people.

• Gottman method: The Gottman method prioritizes research-based exercises to improve intimacy, respect, and affection in a relationship. This method may also help with conflict resolution.

• Narrative couples therapy: This method focuses on unpacking the different perspectives a couple may have on their story or the dynamic of their relationship.

• Imago relationship therapy: This type of therapy is about seeing how childhood trauma and past experiences may inform behavior in a romantic relationship and conflict resolution.

Within each of these forms of therapy, a therapist can help you handle bids in a relationship. According to the Gottman method, a bid is when your partner asks questions or looks for certain opportunities for connection and attention.

How Much Does Couples Therapy Cost?

The price of couples therapy varies based on the provider and whether or not you have health insurance. If you have insurance, be sure to check with your provider for in-network couples therapists.

If you don’t have health insurance, a healthcare provider can meet you where you are financially based on your income. Many therapists also offer free consultations before committing to regular sessions. Many online options can also provide affordable options for mental health support.

Where Can I Learn More About Caring for my Mental Health?

Many local organizations may offer mental health support through free counseling for families and couples. If receiving help in person is not an option, LifeMD can help you learn more about your mental health and online options for care.

LifeMD works with insurance plans that cover mental health services for at least 95% of patients. Still, there are tips and alternate options for care for those without health insurance.

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