Couples Intensive Therapy: When Weekly Sessions Don't Feel Like Enough
Couples Intensive Therapy: When Weekly Sessions Don’t Feel LIKe Enough (And What Might Actually Work Instead)
A clinically grounded alternative for couples stuck in crisis, disconnection, or high-conflict cycles
Why Some Couples Need More Than Weekly Therapy
Most couples don’t seek intensive therapy because they want to rush the process.
They seek it because they feel like they don’t have enough time for weekly couples therapy. Perhaps, they have busy schedules which haven’t allowed them to consistently commit to weekly therapy or maybe their issues feel so heavy and challenging that they need some sort of relief sooner rather than later.
When patterns of conflict, shutdown, betrayal, or emotional injury have hardened over years, 50 minutes a week often isn’t enough to:
slow the cycle
uncover what’s actually driving the conflict
practice new ways of relating while the therapist is present
This is where couples intensive therapy can be transformational for couples.
What Is Couples Intensive Therapy?
Couples intensive therapy is a short-term, high-depth therapeutic experience which is delivered over multiple, back to back sessions (usually 2-3) for 6 hours each day. These sessions help couples:
interrupt entrenched relational cycles
understand the emotional logic underneath conflict
repair attachment injuries
regain clarity about whether and how to move forward
Unlike a retreat or workshop, an intensive is real therapy, not coaching or skills-only education.
How Couples Intensive Therapy Is Different From “Doing More Sessions”
An effective intensive isn’t just longer sessions stacked together. At A Better Life Therapy, intensives are designed to:
complete a full assessment so the therapist isn’t diving into an issue they don’t fully understand
work within a structure while providing flexibility for your specific challenges
address issues related to communication that aren’t often discussed, for example how to manage it when you feel too physically overwhelmed to navigate a discussion effectively.
help couples process past hurts that they haven’t been able to get past
practice new ways of communicating and relating in the here and now.
What Actually Happens During a Couples Intensive?
While every intensive is customized, most follow this format:
Pre-assessment
Before you meet with the therapist, you will complete to a full assessment. This assessment helps the therapist to have an understanding of what brings you in before you even start. It will also help your therapist plan ahead of time for how to best support you during the sessions.Joint Assessment Interviews
On the first day, the therapist, guided by your pre-assessment, will ask both of you a number of questions to better understand the issue. In weekly therapy, this process can take weeks, however during an intensive the therapist is able to collect a great deal of knowledge about your and your relationship during this session.Individual Interviews
After the therapist spends time with you as a couple, they will meet with you both individually. This gives the therapist an opportunity to better understand your perspective, your own history, and to dive into any topics that are important in regards to understanding the relationship.Feedback
At the end of the first day or the beginning of the second day, the therapist will provide you with feedback on your relationship. This feedback will provide you information on your strengths and challenges and how the therapist believes you can address them.Repair, Skill Building, and Intervention
After you’re provided feedback, the work shifts toward helping you to repair past hurts, build new skills for healthier relating, and the therapist will continually intervene as the day goes on to help you notice where you’re struggling and how to do it more effectively.
Who Is a Good Fit for Couples Intensive Therapy?
Couples intensives work best for couples who:
feel stuck or escalated despite trying weekly therapy
are dealing with infidelity, betrayal, or trust ruptures
feel emotionally disconnected or chronically misunderstood
want focused time without months of delay
Why Intensives Can Accelerate Healing
When couples have enough time to explore their perspectives fully, stay with their emotions (without worrying they will be rushed out the door), and have a therapist that has done a deep assessment, change becomes possible in ways that might have felt very difficult before. There is also power in the containment of the intensive. While weekly sessions might feel overwhelming because you know you will open up a wound and quickly have to “sew” it closed before you leave 50 minutes later, in an intensive you have time to really explore what is going on knowing that you won’t be rushed out the door. There is a clear structure which helps people to feel safe enough to let their guard down.
What Makes A Better Life Therapy’s Couples Intensives Different
At A Better Life Therapy, couples intensives are high-quality, clinically grounded, and ethically delivered. Our founder, Elizabeth Earnshaw, is a nationally recognized author and trainer in Intensive Couples Therapy. She is the author of The Clinician’s Guide to Intensive Couples Therapy and provides continuing education trainings to thousands of clinicians each year, teaching best practices for offering intensive couples work responsibly and effectively.
Because of this foundation, the in-house clinical team at A Better Life Therapy is continuously trained in current, evidence-based approaches to Intensive Couples Therapy. Our clinicians are not simply offering longer sessions, they are practicing within a structured, well-supervised model that prioritizes emotional safety, structure, and long-term relational health.
In order to offer intensives, our therapists must:
have thousands of hours of experience working with couples and individuals
hold a license in a mental health profession
complete advanced couples therapy training
complete Intensive Couples Therapy training
Is Couples Intensive Therapy Right for You?
If you’re feeling:
exhausted by the same arguments
afraid you’re running out of time
unsure whether weekly therapy is enough
A couples intensive may offer the clarity and momentum you’ve been missing.
Learn more about Couples Intensive Therapy at A Better Life Therapy
Intensive Couples Therapy at A Better Life Therapy
We offer intensive couples therapy at many of our offices across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
We currently offer intensive couples therapy at the following locations:
Easton, Pennsylvania (The Lehigh Valley)
Galloway, New Jersey (Near The Jersey Shore)
Each office is located in an area with close proximity to accommodations. Many couples choose to pick an office further from their home so they can have a '“weekend” together without the distractions of day to day life.