We are one of the few practices that offers private intensive couples therapy on the weekends.
We use the Gottman Method, which is a science-backed approach, that starts with a thorough assessment and then offers personalized skills and strategies according to your specific needs.
Marriage intensives in Bryn Mawr help couples make meaningful progress in just 2 days. If you’re feeling stuck, caught in recurring conflict, or facing a relationship crisis, an intensive provides the focused time and expert guidance that often accomplishes what can take months of weekly couples therapy.
Couples usually choose intensive couples therapy for one or more of the following reasons:
Marriage intensives at Main Line Counseling Partners start with a comprehensive relationship assessment which pinpoints the couples specific strengths and challenges. You will receive a personalized report outlining the changes you can make to help you heal and grow. There is time to listen closely to each other and learn and practice new communication skills to have more productive conversations.
In this 2 Day intensive couples therapy session you will discover:
Dr. Michael Silverstein, Teresa Thompson and Christina Bair are highly trained Gottman therapists with current availability for marriage intensives at our office in Bryn Mawr.
This model is ideal for people who are ready to transform their relationship with two back-to-back sessions. Intensive couples therapy allows you to put aside your distractions and prioritize your relationship.
The first step is to research different models for marriage intensives to decide what is best for you and your partner.
We use the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy because it is based on four decades of research and uses practical strategies focused on respectful expression of emotion, productive problem-solving and repairing past hurts.
Our office is located in Bryn Mawr, PA, which is twenty minutes outside of Philadelphia. Even if you don’t live nearby, consider reserving a room at an AirBNB, and make a vacation out of the trip to Pennsylvania while you also reach your relationship goals.
Intensive couples counseling includes a thorough assessment and practical skill-building strategies. It is personalized according to your specific needs and the results of your assessment. Sessions can be tailored to your needs and availability.
Your therapist will email you a comprehensive online assessment to complete privately before the first day of you couples counseling intensive.
This is an opportunity to do some self-reflection regarding the strengths and challenges of your relationship while also sharing data with your couples counselor so they can tailor your session according to your specific needs.
The first day of the intensive Gottman Method couples therapy consists of a complete relationship assessment. The three of you will meet together for the first 90 minutes, and then meet individually to deeply understand each of your perspectives. Then, you’ll come back together to receive the results of your assessment and develop a treatment plan.
You and your therapist will take a deep dive into your history, your concerns, and most importantly your strengths.
By the end of the first day of your intensive couples therapy, you’ll already have a roadmap of what areas of your relationship are functioning well, and what areas need work.
On the second day of your intensive, you will address the issues that you came in to work on.
Your therapist will coach you through a process of respectful conversations about healing and change. Each partner will be mindful of the words they use in talking to each other and both will be expected to listen deeply to the other (even when they disagree).
At the end of the second day, couples decide what to do next. Many schedule a follow up intensive, others transition to traditional couples therapy, and others may decide they got what they needed and return if problems recur.
It’s a very common story; a couple works hard to agree to start couples counseling, researches to find the right therapist, and then anxiously anticipates the date and time of the first session. They then arrive 10 minutes early, fill out paperwork and finally find themselves sitting face-to-face with the counselor.
The next 50 minutes fly by incredibly quickly. Confidentiality is discussed, general logistical questions answered and then the discussion moves to the reason the couple has come in for therapy.
Usually, there will be time for each person to discuss their perception of the problem, but there is not enough time for the therapist to complete a comprehensive assessment or to be able to start giving advice or homework.
For this reason, at Main Line Counseling Partners all our initial couples therapy intakes are 80 minutes long, but some couples want even more intense marriage counseling.
After the first session, it can be very frustrating for couples to have to wait another week to pick up where they left off and sometimes problems can worsen during this time period.
At Main Line Counseling Partners, we provide intensive couples therapy sessions (also called Marathon Couples Therapy) as a way to avoid the frustration of starting and stopping that frequently accompanies traditional couples counseling.
Schedule a call with our intake coordinator to make an appointment for your intensive couples therapy session HERE.
In one full day, a couple can complete the entire assessment process (including conjoint and individual sessions), have a clear understanding of their relationship through the lens of the Gottman Method, and go home with concrete tools to practice before the next session. We tailor our intensives to the specific needs of each couple, ranging from one, two, or sometimes three days in a row.
Ready to talk to someone about this? Call our intake coordinator, Jessica Kryzer at 610-642-3359 X1 and ask for a free 15-minute consult with Dr. Michael Silverstein or Teresa Thompson.
Depending on the particular needs of your situation, subsequent intensive marriage therapy sessions can be scheduled, or you can transition to traditional weekly or bi-weekly counseling using the Gottman Method.
Isn’t a Full Day of Intensive Couples Therapy Draining and Exhausting?
It is true that any kind of therapy is hard work since it involves changing habits that have been developing for a long time.
If you are concerned about fatigue, you might want to consider a one-day intense marriage session instead of multiple days. The first day is primarily giving your therapist information about yourself and your relationship.
You will have a 45-minute break when your partner is meeting individually, and you will also have a lunch break scheduled into the day. That being said, some people prefer traditional 60 -90 minute couples therapy over intensives.
Feel free to contact us to discuss your specific needs or concerns.
Main Line Counseling Partners is a team of highly trained clinicians providing relief from depression, anxiety, addiction, OCD and relationship problems.
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