A Different Way to Begin Couples Therapy
Accelerated Couples Therapy Assessment (ACTA)
Beginning couples therapy typically involves spending several sessions getting acquainted, exploring your relationship history, and understanding the patterns that bring you into therapy.
The Accelerated Couples Therapy Assessment offers another way to begin. Rather than spreading the initial assessment process over several weeks, we’ll devote a full day to understanding your relationship, exploring your individual experiences, and identifying what may be helpful as you move forward.
Understanding Your Relationship Takes Time. How We Use That Time Can Vary.
When couples begin therapy, there’s a great deal to understand. What brings you here? What happens between you when things become difficult? How have your individual experiences shaped the ways you respond to one another?
In traditional couples therapy, we typically explore these questions over several appointments. The ACTA allows us to approach this process differently. By setting aside a full day, we have an opportunity to explore your relationship more comprehensively, without the interruptions that naturally occur when sessions are scheduled a week or more apart.
This doesn’t mean we’ll resolve your relationship difficulties in a day. Rather, we’ll develop a clearer understanding of what’s happening between you and consider how best to move forward.
What Happens During the ACTA?
The ACTA includes joint and individual meetings, with breaks throughout the day. We’ll begin together, exploring your relationship history, the concerns that bring you to therapy, and the patterns that emerge when you experience disconnection or distress.
I’ll also meet individually with each partner. These conversations provide an opportunity to better understand your personal histories, experiences, and perspectives within the context of your relationship.
We’ll conclude the day together, reflecting on what we’ve learned and discussing recommendations for moving forward.
A Typical Assessment Day
10:00 am–12:00pm: Couples session
12:00–12:45pm: Lunch / break
12:45–2:00pm: Individual session with one partner
2:00–2:15pm: Break
2:15–3:30pm: Individual session with the other partner
3:30–3:45pm: Break
3:45–4:15pm: Couples wrap-up and recommendations
Developing a Clearer Understanding of Your Relationship
We will explore:
Your relationship history: How your relationship developed, the experiences that have shaped it, and the challenges that bring you to therapy.
Patterns of interaction: What happens between you when conflict, distance, or disconnection arise.
Emotions and attachment needs: The feelings, fears, and longings that may be difficult to recognize or express, particularly during moments of distress.
Individual experiences: How your personal histories and experiences influence the ways you engage with one another.
Strengths and resources: What has helped sustain your relationship and where opportunities for connection may exist.
What comes next
By the end of the assessment, my goal is for us to have a more comprehensive understanding of your relationship, including the patterns that contribute to distress and the experiences that may help explain them.
We’ll also discuss recommendations for moving forward. Depending on your circumstances, these might include ongoing couples therapy, individual therapy, additional assessment, or other resources.
The ACTA is a standalone assessment, not a complete course of couples therapy. Its purpose is to provide a thoughtful foundation for deciding what comes next.
Fees and Scheduling
The Accelerated Couples Therapy Assessment is a one-day, in-person service offered at my Minneapolis office on selected Fridays.
The total fee is $2,000, which includes the joint assessment, individual meetings with each partner, and our concluding discussion and recommendations.
A $1,000 nonrefundable reservation deposit is required to confirm your assessment date. The remaining $1,000 is due seven days before your scheduled assessment.*
The ACTA is a private-pay service. I do not participate in insurance networks or bill insurance directly.
*Additional information about cancellation and rescheduling policies will be provided in the ACTA Service Agreement before you reserve your assessment date.
How to get started
Before scheduling an ACTA, I meet with prospective couples for a complimentary 30-minute video consultation. This gives us an opportunity to get acquainted, discuss what brings you to therapy, and talk about what you’re hoping to accomplish. It also helps me determine whether the accelerated format is an appropriate way for us to begin working together.
If the accelerated format appears appropriate and you decide you would like to move forward, your date is confirmed once both partners have signed the ACTA Service Agreement and the reservation deposit has been received.
Interested in an Accelerated Couples Therapy Assessment?
If you’re interested in learning more about the ACTA, please complete the form below. I’ll be in touch to arrange a complimentary 30-minute video consultation with you and your partner. This will give us an opportunity to get acquainted, discuss what brings you to couples counseling, and explore how the ACTA might meet your needs.