Literally speaking, it’s twelve hours of therapy split over two consecutive Fridays – hence the statement that it’s three months’ worth of sessions in two days. But it’s so much more than that. Working in this way creates momentum that simply isn’t possible with open-ended therapy.

Intensive couples therapy is immersive, a significant investment in time and money – and in my experience, that immersion means big changes can happen faster. Our time together is limited, and that keeps us on track. While open-ended weekly therapy is the right option for many couples, the structure of the intensive therapy process means that we bypass the stop-start cycle of shorter sessions. It’s a dynamic and focused process that is efficient and can be truly ground-breaking.

You might be on the brink of divorce or are confronting the shock of infidelity and wondering how to move forward. Perhaps the mere thought of your partner makes you instantly furious. Maybe you want to dust off your sex life, or simply remember how to have fun together. I have a Master’s in Integrative Psychotherapy & Counselling, I’m fully-qualified and registered, and I can help you start to rebuild.

Many couples are desperate to have relationship therapy but can’t find a time for regular, weekly sessions that doesn’t clash with their busy, unpredictable schedules. Life gets in the way.

Every couple I work with receives a tailored programme, unique to your situation and targeted to address your specific challenges and hopes. The carefully-formulated structure of an intensive offers couples a chance to work deeply, while still managing to get back home for childcare or other commitments in the evenings.

More importantly, it means you don’t have to wait months to see results – if your marriage or long-term relationship is in crisis, particularly if there are children who are being affected, there’s no time to waste.  

The intensive might not be the end of your couples therapy – you might decide to transition into more regular sessions afterwards. You can read more about open-ended couples sessions here.. Alternatively, some couples who’ve previously been through the intensive process choose to do a single day in the years following, as a relationship MOT, to keep focused on their goals and make sure that the things that really matter aren’t being forgotten.

Haha, yes. But, after years of working weekly with clients, I realised that an alternative model might be a better choice for some couples. Intensive couples therapy is a radical option, a powerful journey that can be truly transformational.

It might sound like I’m saying that intensives are better than open-ended weekly therapy. Honestly, it depends on the couple!  But the short answer is that if open-ended therapy is not an option for you both – if you can’t find time, or want to get things moving ASAP – then yes, an intensive is better!

I still love working in an open-ended way with both couples and individuals – having no fixed end to the sessions gives us space to meander, and often we end up finding things we never expected. When we allow time for a deep connection to form, the work can be truly beautiful. If you think you might be more suited to that type of process, please click here to read more about open-ended work.

However, since I’ve been offering therapy to couples, I’ve noticed that it’s often hard to find a regular timeslot that both partners can manage every week for several months or more. Intensives are another way of offering support – not better or worse than open-ended therapy, just different – and more practical for some couples.

First, we’ll have a free 20-minute private consultation over Zoom. You can tell me a bit about yourselves, and I’ll answer any questions you have. This will give me a valuable sense of you as a couple and I’ll be able to start tailoring the programme for you straight away. If we feel there’s a good fit between the three of us, and we all believe a couples intensive is the right path forward, then we’ll book in for two consecutive Fridays.

After our call, I’ll email you both a pre-questionnaire to be completed in your own time. This is a really important part of the intensive, and will allow us to hit the ground running on Day One.

The two intensive days will take place at my therapy room in Honor Oak Park, starting at 9:30am, and ending at 5pm, with short pauses mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and a 90-minute break at lunch.

Working together on a Friday gives you the weekend to reset – obviously this might be challenging if you have children around, but hopefully with some advance planning, you’ll be able to clear the decks a bit and take some time to digest what’s just happened.

Having a week between the intensive days allows you to start practicing what we’ve explored on Day One right away, and gives you the security that we’ll be able to talk again together just a few days later – you’ll not be on your own for long.

On the second Friday, we’ll discuss how things have been, and finesse our plan for the weeks and months ahead. We’ll meet once more for an hour-long debrief, either in person or online, about a month later.

As you can see on my couples therapy page, there are many reasons to seek support for your relationship. The catalysts that I see most commonly are:

•   Poor communication
•   Anxious vs avoidant attachment styles
•   Fear that the spark has gone
•   Chronic conflict / arguments
•   Rebuilding after infidelity
•   Differing / misplaced sex drives
•   Struggles with conception
•   Conflict around parenting & childcare
•   When one partner is unwell
•   Late-diagnosed neurodivergence
•   Working out whether to separate

The best couples for intensives are committed. Practically, this means that you both commit to the whole process (completing the questionnaire, attending the two full days, and the follow-up session). But it also means that you have roughly the same goals for the process. We all need to be pulling in the same direction – whether that’s wanting to stay together, or wanting to gently find a way to separate. If one partner really wants to make it work and the other definitely doesn’t, then an intensive isn’t the best place to work through that, and I’d recommend scheduling regular sessions over a longer timeframe. 

Please note: I’m not able to offer intensives to any couples where either partner is currently engaged in an ongoing affair or has active, ongoing addictions. I also can’t work with couples where there is a history of physical abuse or violence between the two of you.

My peaceful therapy room is in a quiet, residential part of South-East London, only a 12-minute train ride from London Bridge station – you can find out more here. If travelling to Honor Oak is impossible for you both, however, I can offer to bring the intensive closer to you, at a suitable location in the UK or abroad. It should not take place in your home, but I will be able to source a therapeutic space where we will work together for two consecutive days. This option incurs additional costs for my travel, accommodation and the therapy space hire.

I would not recommend doing couples intensives online – if we absolutely can’t meet in person, then it would be better to schedule a series of 90-120 minute Zoom sessions. I am happy to build a bespoke programme that works for you both. We can discuss this when we first speak.

The couples intensive therapy package is £2950, which includes two full days working together, as well as a 60-minute follow-up session. Any accommodation, travel expenses or meals that you incur during the intensive are your responsibility.

You’ll need to pay 50% when you book, and the balance is due a week before the first intensive. I don’t offer any sort of payment plan or smaller instalments option. The deposit is non-refundable, but if you do need to reschedule the date of the intensive, I’m happy to do so once only, with at least two weeks’ notice.

For couples who have already attended the two-day intensive programme, and who wish to attend a one-day MOT, my fee is £1500. 

Yes. Yes it is. But it is a fair price for the time, energy, clarity and experience I commit to giving you both. I offer bespoke couples intensives because they are an extraordinary way to achieve meaningful and lasting change.

Even if you feel completely gridlocked and have done so for years, during our time together, we will quickly get to the heart of the matter and, with my focused support and care, you can start to rebuild what’s been lost or – if you’d prefer to say goodbye to the past – begin creating a whole new relationship from the ground up.

The first step is to book in for a free 20-minute consultation Zoom call with me – either by clicking this link or using the buttons at the top & bottom of the page. You’ll be taken to my Calendly page, where you can see my up-to-date availability and book in instantly.

Please note, it’s very important that you are both on this call. If you decide to proceed with an intensive, the first time we actually meet in person will be at the start of Day One, by which point you’ll already have committed to the whole process. So this intro call is our chance to see if there’s a good fit, and make sure that the couples intensive is truly the best choice for you both.

If we get on well when we speak, then at the end of that call, we’ll grab our diaries and book in for two consecutive Fridays, as soon as we all can manage – so please do have your calendars to hand.

I very much look forward to meeting you both.