When could you begin couples therapy in DC?

The grid is the answer, day by day. It covers the next two weeks, so wherever a number appears, a first appointment for therapy in Washington, DC within one to two weeks is possible at that time of day. Some days show none, and evening times fill first.

If nothing is listed in the window, the scheduler shows the closest times beyond it and can hold a place for you. The scheduling questions take about ten minutes, and you don’t need a referral.

Only when the grid shows a count for today’s date, and today’s numbers are the ones that change fastest. We don’t promise same-day appointments.

We show what the schedule says, as of the time at the top of the page, and the scheduler confirms the exact time of your first session.

Couples sessions are $275 to $350 for 50 minutes, paid at the time of the session. Your therapist’s specific fee is confirmed when you schedule, and it varies with experience and training.

We’re an out-of-network practice. That works like this:

• You pay per session, and our team files your insurance claim electronically after every one.
• Most clients with out-of-network benefits get 50 to 80 percent back in reimbursement once their deductible is met, so the therapy cost out of pocket is usually well under the sticker price.
• Verify what is covered for outpatient mental health care, which some plans call behavioral health, before you begin. HMO plans, TRICARE, Medicare and Medicaid typically don’t cover out-of-network therapy.

If the numbers feel confusing, our team will explain them before your first appointment; just ask.

The clinicians at Therapy Group of DC who work with couples: a team with years of specialized experience and training in emotionally focused therapy and the Gottman Method, brought to every session, with the psychotherapy field’s research behind both.

Each profile in the directory describes a therapist’s background, expertise and style, so you can get a sense of who might be the right therapist before you book. We’ll confirm a therapist’s credential type on request.

Most often:

• Communication that keeps breaking down, and conflicts that repeat
• Trust broken by infidelity or an affair; resentment; distance
• Sex and intimacy
• The strain of parenting and parenthood (children at home or not), and family dynamics
• Grief and loss, trauma one of you carries, stress or ADHD that lands on both of you, questions of identity
• A life transition that pulled you apart, or mixed feelings about the future, including whether to stay together or move toward separation or divorce

Some issues are current challenges and some the unique challenges of a long shared history. Some couples arrive at the end of their rope, others wondering whether the problems are even big enough to bring, and the weight of the hard conversation left unsaid at home is the same either way.

Also premarital counseling, LGBTQ+ affirming care, and many couples who simply feel stuck, disconnected, or intensely stressed and want new ways to connect.

Yes. The counts combine in-person sessions at our Dupont Circle office with telehealth appointments by secure, private video, and the questions that follow sort out which fits you and where you’ll be, whether home in DC, Maryland (MD) or Virginia.

Clients come from neighborhoods across the city and the wider area; the office location is easy to reach, and video is the same process from anywhere you can talk in private.

You can. Name them in the questions that follow, along with any preferences, and we’ll start there when the fit and the schedule allow.

We still weigh the whole team, because the clinical fit and the therapeutic relationship, a warm, collaborative, respectful and non-judgmental approach in a safe, confidential space, matter more than the nearest opening. The match is the point, and the right fit is the best way to make the work effective.

Most people feel heard and comfortable within a session or two. If you don’t, say so, and we’ll help you find a better match rather than keeping you where it isn’t working.

A 50-minute session with both of you, focused on your relationship history and what’s going on now, so your therapist gets to know both partners and how past experiences shape the present before any work on communication or conflict begins.

Expect a guided conversation, not a test, and nothing to add to a form beyond the basics. Your therapist listens for the patterns, offers compassion and empathy to each of you, and helps you talk about emotions and behaviors, express what you feel, and respond with understanding instead of silence.

Most couples therapy sessions include both partners; your therapist may occasionally meet with each of you individually, and therapy options such as individual therapy alongside the couples work are discussed if they would help. Married or not, in a partnership of any kind, at any stage, the same first step. It is a slow, important process, not a quick fix, and it starts with establishing trust.

Emotionally focused therapy is our primary approach, with Gottman Method training alongside it: two research-based ways to recognize the emotional patterns driving conflict, address unhelpful patterns and unproductive patterns, manage conflict constructively, and rebuild intimacy, connection and friendship.

Couples gain insights and practical tools, learn skills they keep, explore the pressure points, strengthen the foundation, and make meaningful shifts: positive changes in relationship satisfaction, enhancing intimacy, a stronger sense of confidence in the relationship, and a path forward with clarity, relief, hope, and room for joy, growth and well-being.

The support is tailored, impactful work, and it is powerful to reconnect with the person at the heart of your life after years of feeling that getting unstuck is out of reach.

This page is for planning a first appointment, not for a mental health crisis. If you need immediate help, or you or someone with you is in danger right now, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or go to the nearest emergency room. Your safety comes first, and the schedule can wait.