A couples intensive is a one or two day therapeutic experience designed around you, your relationship and what you need to work on. It offers dedicated time and space to focus on a particular issue, difficult conversation or area of your relationship that needs attention.

Held over one or two days, usually at a weekend, the intensive is structured around focused therapeutic work, reflection and breaks. I'll guide you through the conversations that matter, helping you explore difficult feelings, pause when needed and return to the conversation in a way that supports understanding and connection.

An intensive isn't just about working through a particular issue. It's also an opportunity to learn a different way of having difficult conversations together. You'll begin to recognise when things become overwhelming, take space when needed and find your way back to one another. The aim is to help you approach challenging moments with greater awareness, emotional regulation and understanding, both during the intensive and as you continue to communicate and navigate difficulties together.

The day is designed to feel relaxed and spacious, giving you time to talk, think and reflect without having to rush the work.

We start with some time to settle in and look at what you both want from the day. From there, we'll move between focused therapeutic conversations, reflection and breaks, allowing the work to unfold at a pace that feels right for you.

There will be time away from the room too; to pause, take a walk, have a coffee, reflect together or have some space on your own. Where helpful, I'll introduce ideas, exercises or psychoeducation that help you understand what's happening between you and give you something practical to work with.

The exact shape of the day will depend on you. I'll guide the process and adjust the pace and focus as we go.

You may already have a sense that weekly therapy isn't quite right for you. Perhaps there's something pressing that you want to address, you need dedicated time away from everyday life, or you'd simply rather give yourselves the space to work through something in one go rather than spread it over several weeks.

But you don't have to know.

That's what the initial consultation is for. We'll talk about what's happening in your relationship, what you both want from the work, and what might give you the best chance of making progress.

An intensive may be the right starting point, or a personalised programme, a workshop, or a combination of different approaches may suit you better. I'll help you work that out.

Once we've agreed that an intensive is the right approach for you, you'll each receive an individual questionnaire to complete in your own time. This gives me a deeper understanding of your experiences, what's important to each of you and what you'd like to work on.

I'll bring your responses together to identify the key areas to focus on and prepare a plan for your intensive. We'll have a brief check in beforehand to talk through the plan and answer any questions you may have.

Some of the things we talk about may be difficult. That's often why couples choose an intensive, there are conversations that feel too important, too complicated or too difficult to have at home.

But the aim isn't to talk about difficult things all day, or simply to get through as many issues as possible.

Part of the work is learning how to have difficult conversations without becoming overwhelmed or falling back into the same familiar patterns.

I'll help you notice when things are becoming too much, when you might need to slow down, take a break or have some time to reflect. We may pause, regulate, explore something more deeply or approach the conversation differently before coming back to it.

The aim is not just to talk about the difficult things. It's to learn how to stay in the conversation while they're difficult.

You'll have the opportunity to practise noticing what happens between you, finding ways to regulate, and coming back to each other rather than being pulled back into the same pattern.

You don't need to be in crisis to invest in your relationship. An intensive can offer dedicated time and space to explore something important, whether you're preparing for marriage, starting a family, navigating a life transition or simply wanting to reconnect.

The time is shaped around what matters to you, giving you the opportunity to have important conversations, explore patterns or think about what you want for your relationship moving forward.

Sometimes. It depends on what you need.

An intensive isn't simply a condensed version of weekly therapy. Sometimes I may recommend an intensive because I feel that what you're bringing needs more time, space and containment than a weekly hour can offer. There may be something you've been unable to talk about, an issue that needs room to breathe, or a conversation that needs careful guidance.

Weekly therapy offers something different, time between sessions to reflect, practise and see what happens in everyday life.

Your consultation session is where we'll work out together which approach is likely to be most helpful for you.

All intensives take place in person at my office in Leamington Spa. I don't offer online intensives.

Intensives are held at weekends. A one-day intensive takes place on either a Saturday or Sunday, while a two-day intensive runs across both Saturday and Sunday.

If you're travelling from further afield, I can also provide recommendations for nearby accommodation to help you plan your stay.

One-day intensive — £600

Two-day intensive — £1,100

Each intensive is prepared around your relationship and what you need from the work. Before your intensive, you'll each complete an individual questionnaire, which I'll review in advance to help me understand your experiences, identify key themes and plan a therapeutic experience tailored to you both.

The price includes this preparation, the therapeutic sessions and the time built into the day for reflection and breaks. For a two-day intensive, the preparation and therapeutic planning extend across both days.

We'll discuss your circumstances during the initial consultation so we can decide together which format is most appropriate for your relationship.