What is couples therapy and how does it work?

Couples therapy is a form of talk therapy where both partners work with a licensed therapist to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and deepen emotional and physical intimacy. It involves guided conversations, therapeutic exercises, and personalized strategies.

Can online couples therapy be as effective as in-person sessions?

Yes, many couples find online therapy convenient and effective. Private practice therapists often offer structured sessions that can be just as impactful as traditional in-person therapy.

What should we look for in a couples therapist?

Look for a licensed therapist with experience and training in couples counseling. Check their bio page for training and experience or ask them on an initial call. It’s important to find someone whose approach matches your needs. Checking reviews, credentials, and researching therapy methods can help you choose the right fit.

What is the difference between couples therapy and couples counseling?

The terms are often used interchangeably, but couples therapy may involve deeper psychological work, often led by a licensed therapist, while couples counseling might be used by non-licensed professionals and focus on current relationship issues and communication skills.

COUPLES INTENSIVES IN LOS ANGELES

Tailored couples intensives for professional couples.

Book Now

Couples Intensives in West Los Angeles

Are you a professional couple, a remote-flexible professional couple, or busy parents with different schedules looking for months of couples work, focused into one private day in West LA?

Weekly therapy works, but it can be hard to sustain. Schedules shift, sessions get cancelled, and just as you reach the meat of the conflict, the hour is over. A couples intensive gives your relationship what it rarely gets: unhurried, uninterrupted time with an experienced guide, in a private setting, designed entirely around the two of you.

Couples often wait until too late to seek intervention. That's why here at Lovewell, we seek to educate first and make sure our couples understand the benefits of preventative counseling, clear goals, and fitting the therapy into the relationship as a natural and healthy part of a balanced life. Whatever stage your relationship is in, we can support you.

Customized to Your Relationship

No two intensives are alike. Each one is built around your goals, which may include communication and conflict, intimacy and desire, rebuilding trust after infidelity, premarital preparation, navigating chronic illness together, or finding clarity about your future.

Your Guide

I’m Lauren Korshak, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT 84371) and somatic psychotherapist with a Master’s in Somatic Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. I’ve been licensed since 2015 and am the author of The Mindful Relationship.

Before and alongside my clinical work, I spent years as a matchmaker and dating coach, which gave me an intimate view of how people choose each other, why they get stuck, and what it takes to open up again. I’m trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, the Gottman Method, Prepare-Enrich premarital counseling, and Mindful Self-Compassion, and I’m a certified Safe and Sound Protocol provider.

I blend evidence-based techniques, coaching, and therapeutic interventions to identify patterns and problems, teach new skills, and guide couples towards their goals and greater relationship health.

My approach is warm and direct. Insight matters, but lasting change happens when your bodies learn that connection is safe. That’s where we’ll work.

Book a Free Consult

Who is this For

You may be a fit for an intensive if:

You have demanding careers and weekly sessions keep falling through.
You keep having the same fight, and talking about it hasn’t changed it.
You’re at a threshold: an engagement, a move, a new baby, a health diagnosis, a betrayal, or a decision about whether to stay together.
You’ve done couples therapy before and want something that reaches deeper than talk.
You value privacy, focus, and getting real traction quickly.

How it works

Consultation. A free call to talk through what’s happening and whether an intensive is the right fit for you.
Preparation. Each partner meets with me individually, and you both complete a research-based relationship assessment. By the time we sit down together, I understand your history, your patterns, and what each of you hopes for.
The intensive. We map the cycle that keeps you stuck, work with your nervous systems so hard conversations can actually land, move through the conversations you’ve been avoiding, and practice repair in real time. Breaks are built in throughout.
Integration. You leave with a written summary of what we uncovered and the practices that will carry it forward, plus two follow-up sessions in the weeks after, in person or online.

Formats

Half-Day Intensive: 4 hours
Full-Day Intensive: 6 hours, with breaks
Two-Day Intensive: for couples facing a major rupture or decision

Every intensive includes the consultation, individual preparation sessions, the relationship assessment, a written summary, and two follow-up sessions.

Convenient & Private

Intensives take place in person at our Mar Vista office in West Los Angeles, close to Venice, Santa Monica, Culver City, Playa Vista, and Brentwood. Weekday and select weekend dates available. Follow-up sessions can be in person or online anywhere in California, so the work continues around your schedule. Couples traveling to Los Angeles are welcome.

Is an Intensive Right For Us?

Intensives are powerful, and they aren’t the right starting point for everyone. If there’s ongoing physical danger or coercion in the relationship, an affair that is still active, or an untreated addiction, we’ll talk honestly about what kind of support would serve you best first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is one day really enough?

An intensive often accomplishes what would take months of weekly sessions, because there’s time to go deep without stopping. Some couples continue with ongoing sessions afterward. Others find the intensive and follow-ups are what they needed.

Q2: What if one partner is hesitant to do Couples Therapy?

A: That’s common. The consultation and individual sessions give each partner space to share their reservations privately before we begin.

Q3: Do we need to be in crisis to do a couples intensive?

A: No. Many couples come to strengthen a good relationship, prepare for marriage, or navigate a transition before it becomes a crisis.

Q4: Is a couples intensive covered by insurance?

A: Intensives are private pay, with payment due before the intensive. A superbill is available on request, and reimbursement depends on your plan.

← Back to All Services