the Price of Couples Therapy

We received a 50-minute session of couples' therapy for $100 per session. The therapist would spend a little extra time if the sessions/discussions were particularly heated, and if she did not have a client scheduled right after our session. The therapist led the discussion and moderated discussion between my spouse and me, and often would try to leave us with "homework", such as suggested reading, writing down thoughts/feelings, and techniques for communication.

The couples' therapy was decent, albeit somewhat limited in the tools the therapist had. Most of her insight boiled down to "you felt hurt" and "you need to be more vulnerable". At certain points it seemed she took sides, even though she claimed impartiality. By the end of the therapy with this therapist, she definitely seemed to view one spouse's problems as more valid than the other's, which made it hard for progress to occur for both spouses.

I recommend scheduling a preliminary meeting with the therapist to check that their style might jive with yours, and that you don't have any huge issues with the therapist themselves at first glance. Try to get a feel for their philosophy and their end goal, and their 'success' rate in couples' therapy, as well as what they consider 'success'. Make sure that you get a copy of their late/cancellation policy as well for future reference.