Intensive Couples Therapy
When weekly therapy doesn't feel like enough
Sometimes an hour a week simply isn't enough to make progress.
Perhaps you have reached a crisis point, are caught in the same painful patterns, or want to make meaningful progress without stretching the work over months. An intensive gives you the time and space to slow things down, explore what's happening beneath the surface, and begin creating lasting change together.
At VIVA Counselling & Psychotherapy, our Intensive Couples Therapy sessions provide extended, focused support for couples who want to work deeply on their relationship in a way that isn't possible within a standard therapy session.
Whether you're facing ongoing conflict, recovering after a betrayal, navigating the impact of ADHD or autism within your relationship, or simply feeling disconnected from one another, an intensive can help you gain clarity, understanding and practical ways forward.
What is an intensive?
An intensive is a longer therapy session, typically lasting several hours, allowing us to explore your relationship in much greater depth than a weekly appointment.
Rather than stopping just as the conversation begins to unfold, we have the time to:
Understand the patterns that keep you stuck
Slow down difficult conversations so both partners feel heard
Explore underlying emotions rather than staying caught in the argument itself
Develop practical strategies you can begin using straight away
Create a shared understanding of what is happening between you
Many couples find they make significant progress during an intensive because there is space to stay with important conversations rather than pressing pause after 50 or 60 minutes.
Who are intensives suitable for?
An intensive may be right if you:
Feel stuck in the same recurring arguments
Are experiencing a relationship crisis
Want to rebuild trust after a significant rupture
Are navigating the impact of ADHD, autism or other forms of neurodivergence within your relationship
Want to strengthen your relationship before difficulties become more entrenched
Have busy lives and would prefer focused therapy rather than weekly sessions
Intensives are suitable for couples at many different stages of their relationship and can be used as a standalone piece of work or alongside ongoing couples therapy.
Our approach
Our work is informed by the Gottman Method, alongside a person-centred, neurodivergent-affirming and LGBTQIA+ inclusive approach.
We recognise that every relationship is different. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all programme, we tailor each intensive to your relationship, your goals and the challenges you're facing together.
If ADHD or autism forms part of your relationship dynamic, we work with an understanding of how differences in communication, emotional regulation, executive functioning and sensory processing can influence conflict and connection.
What to expect
Before your intensive, we'll ask you to complete some questionnaires so your therapist can begin to understand your relationship and what you'd like to achieve.
During your intensive you can expect:
A structured, supportive environment where both partners have space to speak
Time to understand the patterns affecting your relationship
Opportunities to practise new ways of communicating
Practical strategies tailored to your relationship
Time to reflect, pause and regroup when needed
Our aim is not simply to resolve individual disagreements, but to help you understand the dynamics that sit beneath them so that lasting change becomes possible.
Is an intensive right for us?
If you're unsure whether an intensive or weekly couples therapy would be the better fit, we're happy to help you decide.
Together, we'll consider your circumstances, your goals and the kind of support that's most likely to help your relationship move forward.