Couples Counseling
Invest in yourself and your partner with private week-to-week sessions or couples counseling retreats designed to provide you with valuable insights into the negative spiral that is taking your relationship down.
In-Person & Online Couples Counseling at Wellness Counseling Center
Wellness Counseling Center is committed to providing our clients with the gold standard in couples counseling in Charlotte, NC.
Whether you come to us for marriage counseling to ignite the old spark or need some direction with premarital counseling, we can provide you with the right guidance. You can be sure that our team will invite you to focus on what’s important — getting unstuck, reconnecting with each other and, most importantly, living a happy, healthy life.
We make it easy for our clients by providing numerous ways to take advantage of our customized services. You can choose to meet with your therapist in our office or attend virtual couples counseling. We prefer in-person and find it to be more effective. However, we’re flexible and always willing to work with busy schedules.
For an accelerated approach, a 1-day or weekend-long intensive couples counseling retreat empowers you and your partner to take time away from your overwhelming day-to-day lives and focus on rekindling the spark in your relationship.
Emotionally Focused Couples Counseling
Uniquely different, our services are based on best practices of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a science-based method with over 20 years of empirical research.
These well-researched studies consistently show that 70% to 75% of couples move from distress to recovery — and approximately 90% show significant improvements — typically within 8 to 20 sessions. We find that 16 EFT couples counseling sessions are optimal for most clients, although some complete their goals in less.
What to Expect in Couples Counseling at Wellness
Let’s explore what happens when you step through our door. Your first four meetings make up our Assessment and Discovery phase:
- One (1) 90-Minute Initial Consultation
- Two (2) Individual Therapy Sessions — one each for you and your partner
- One (1) 80-Minute Couples Therapy Session
90-Minute Initial Consultation
This first consultation moves quickly, and we begin by aligning with you as we review and assess your relationship. By seeing you as a couple and asking a lot of questions, we learn as much as we possibly can about how your relationship works.
- We ask you to tell us about your issues, goals, and objectives.
- We take a full family history because you and your partner are different in so many ways.
- We want to know what you learned in your family about relationships, comfort, and connection.
Then, we begin tracking the patterns and interactions happening between you and your partner:
- What does tension look like between you?
- How do disagreements start?
- How do these disagreements become unpleasant?
- Do you tend to argue and fight? Or do you say nothing and walk away?
- Do you persist and try to resolve the problem?
- Do you withdraw and wait for things to calm down?
Our professionals take time to parachute into your relationship, catch a glimpse of the negative cycle, and begin tracking it with you. Identifying your negative patterns of interaction is the first step in better understanding each other and creating change in your relationship.
By the time you leave, you’ll have an assignment and a sense of what counseling for couples feels like and what you need to do next.
50-Minute Individual Therapy Sessions
In the two individual 50-minute sessions, we want to see you and your partner alone. This gives your therapist an opportunity to know each of you better. Perspective matters. Culture and context matter. That is why we take time to hear each point of view.
People in distressed relationships almost always need to get a few things off their chest, and sometimes, it’s easier to express yourself without your partner in the room. We want you to feel free to explore your concerns, as well as your hopes and dreams about the future.
In these sessions, we’re looking for attachment themes. That means we gather more information specifically about you, your earlier relationships, and how your family functioned when you were growing up.
80-Minute Couples Therapy Session
By your follow-up 80-minute session, your therapist has a clearer understanding of where each person comes from, the model you grew up with, and the current state of your relationship.
At this point, we provide feedback on how you and your partner grew apart and what is required to repair your relationship. We work collaboratively and help you determine the next step.
These 80-minute sessions are the centerpiece of our work with couples and families. The work is collaborative, and the task is to access emotions and behaviors that have your relationship stuck in a downward spiral. We help you and your partner identify and talk about them — in a new way. Bit by bit, you begin to see things differently and change starts to happen.
Some couples find this Assessment and Discovery work satisfying and sufficient. We’ve found 16 sessions to be optimal for most couples, although some complete their goals earlier, and we support that choice. Most couples want to continue their work and turn their relationship around.
80-Minute Extended Individual Session
While undergoing marriage and couples counseling, you may want extended alone time to discuss a special concern. We consider this an opportunity for exploration and growth and a privilege to support you.
To keep things even and in alignment, your partner should plan for some alone time too.
Feel Safe, Happy, and Connected Once Again
At Wellness Counseling Center, we understand your desire to feel close to your partner again. You want to be supported in your relationship, to feel loved and respected.
That safe, secure feeling slipped away, and you want it back. You want your relationship to work, and it doesn’t even have to be perfect. Our couples therapists understand that you just want your relationship to be a comfortable place where you can be happy and:
- Connect with your partner
- Be respected and heard
- Be hopeful about the future
You want to feel relaxed around your partner, the way you felt when you were dating — talking, laughing, and enjoying each other in an easy, carefree way.
You had it before. You can get it back. The relationship you want is within reach.
We provide the gold standard in couples counseling services because we know it’s not just about staying together or staying married. It’s about your whole life … because when your relationship works, everything else seems to work too.
When you feel connected to your partner, it feels like you can do anything. Disconnection, on the other hand, leaves you depleted, distracted, and exhausted. Emotional disconnect creates internal chaos and drains your energy. But when you’re connected, life seems to flow more easily, even when things are stressful or less than perfect.
FAQ
Your Couples Counseling Questions Answered
Yes, relationship therapy for couples can be highly effective in improving communication, resolving conflicts, and strengthening relationships when both partners are committed to the process.
At Wellness, the cost of couples counseling varies from $125 to $425 per session, depending on the therapist you choose.
You don’t have to be married to experience the benefits of couples counseling. Those dating or seeking couples counseling before marriage can enjoy improved communication and conflict resolution, as well as build a stronger foundation for their relationship.
