SERVICES
Couples Therapy
Online in California • Illinois • Florida
Trauma-informed therapy for couples whose conflicts keep repeating—even when they deeply care.
You may have tried communication tools that work briefly, talking things through without lasting change, or therapy that focuses on skills without addressing why emotions escalate so quickly.
At Root Psychotherapy, couples therapy is designed to address what’s underneath the conflict, not just how it shows up on the surface, so change can last.
Our Approach to Couples Therapy
Couples therapy here starts by looking beneath the surface of conflict. When arguments escalate or communication breaks down, it’s often not because either of you isn’t trying or doesn’t care—it’s because your nervous systems are are shifting into threat and protection rather than safety and connection.
For that reason, couples work includes individual trauma-focused support before or alongside couples sessions. This support helps reduce reactivity, soften defenses, and make it easier to stay present with one another during difficult moments.
Because this kind of relational work takes time to unfold, couples therapy here is also structured in longer or more intentionally paced sessions, rather than short appointments that end just as things are opening up.
The result is couples therapy that feels more supportive, effective, and sustainable.
Why individual trauma work and extended sessions enhance couples therapy →
How Couples Therapy is Structured Here
-
Couples therapy begins with us getting a shared understanding of what’s happening in your relationship and what you’re hoping will change.
In this phase, we work together to:
clarify your goals and what feels most important right now
• identify the repeating cycles or stuck patterns you find yourselves in
• understand how stress, past experiences, and nervous-system responses show up between you
• establish safety, expectations, and a clear plan for the work
This step helps both partners feel oriented, supported, and aligned before further work begins.
-
Once we understand the patterns you’re caught in, we focus on the individual nervous-system responses that keep those patterns locked in place.
This support may happen in one of two ways:
Together, using a structured, group EMDR approach, when both partners can stay engaged in the same session
Individually, when personal history or activation is better supported one-on-one
The approach is chosen collaboratively, based on what feels safest and most supportive for your relationship — not as a prerequisite, but as a way to make couples work more effective and sustainable.
The goal isn’t to assign blame. It’s to reduce reactivity so relationship work can actually land.
-
As individual reactivity softens, couples therapy moves into sessions focused on the relationship itself.
These sessions support:
greater emotional safety and trust
clearer communication during stress or conflict
more effective repair after ruptures
sustainable, long-term relational change
Because the groundwork has been laid, sessions are less likely to feel overwhelming or stuck — and more likely to support real connection and lasting shifts.
Our Couples Therapy Format
Extended Couples Therapy Sessions
Alternative to traditional 50-minute weekly sessions
How this format works
You meet in longer, biweekly sessions, allowing enough time to slow down patterns, regulate reactivity, and work with what’s happening between you—without being rushed.
Sessions focus on relational dynamics over time, rather than trying to resolve conflict in short, high-pressure windows.
This format may be a good fit it:
You want deeper couples work with more space between sessions to integrate and practice
Your relationship patterns need time and continuity, not quick fixes
You’ve found that weekly 50-minute sessions feel rushed, escalated, or repetitive
Session Schedule
One 90-minute couples session every other week; or
Two 50-minute couples sessions scheduled days apart, every other week
Who This Approach May Be a Good Fit For
This model is especially helpful for couples who:
feel stuck in repeating arguments or emotional distance
escalate quickly or shut down during conflict
have trauma histories impacting the relationship
have tried traditional couples therapy without lasting change
It’s also supportive for couples who want to work at the root, not just learn better communication strategies.
Therapeutic Frameworks Used in Couples Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Therapy
-
Couples therapy at Root Psychotherapy is billed at the equivalent of $250 per 50-minute session.
Because our work is offered in an extended sessions, biweekly format there are two scheduling options:
90-minute session: $450
Alternative structure: two 50-minute sessions in the same week ($250 per session)
Both options provide the same therapeutic “dose.” We’ll choose the structure that best fits your schedule and capacity.
-
Relationship conflict is often driven by individual stress and trauma responses, not a lack of love or effort. If those responses aren’t addressed, couples therapy can easily get stuck in reactivity or shutdown.
By addressing individual nervous-system patterns first — either together or separately — couples sessions become safer, calmer, and more effective. This allows the relationship work to actually stick, rather than repeating the same cycles.
-
Yes. Couples therapy always includes direct work on the relationship.
We begin with joint assessment, pattern identification, and contracting so both partners understand what’s happening between them. Individual trauma work is then used to support the relationship — not replace couples therapy. Once reactivity softens, the focus returns fully to the couple.
-
That depends on what will best support safety and progress.
Some couples are able to do trauma-informed work together in the same session (for example, using structured approaches like G-TEP). Other situations call for individual sessions to address personal history or activation that’s difficult to work with in front of a partner.
This decision is made collaboratively and revisited as the work unfolds.
Next Steps
Ready to explore whether this approach is right for your relationship? Couples begin with a consultation to assess fit, safety, and readiness, and to determine the best structure for couples therapy.
To see how couples therapy fits within the broader EMDR care model, visit the Services Overview page.