Is a weekend intensive therapy right for us?
Updated: Jul 23, 2023
Marathon Couples Therapy is an intensive, short-term, focused model of therapy. The goal is transforming your marriage in 2-3 days. The purpose is to restore crisis, or to solve specific problems in the relationship. Marathon therapy is for busy couples that don’t feel they can commit to a weekly session for 6 months or more. Most couples take 4-10 months in therapy to move through what is keeping them stuck.
Marathon sessions are helpful because things are processed and resolved quickly. The assessment is taken care of in one day, rather than over a month’s time. When there is deep pain and hurt it can be difficult to wait another week for an appointment. Many couples feel that marathon therapy helped them resolve long standing concerns.
Marathon therapy can help when things are feeling hopeless. John and Julie Gottman found in their research that all relationships have perpetual problems. Many couples get into a power struggle, and stay stuck there, we call that a gridlock problem. With Gottman method there is hope, with interventions to resolve these long-standing conflicts, and coming to resolution you can both live with, without one person giving up important parts of themselves.
It can be used to help couples make major life decisions including, having kids, moving, taking a new job.
Marathon sessions can be used to address affairs, trauma, and substance abuse, if the person is in recovery now and the history is impacting the relationship.
Full 3 day session or short 2 day session?
The full three day session which is 13
hours is for people that are recovering from an affair, have major life decisions, or long standing perpetual problems.
Short 2 day session which is 8 hours, are for couples that want a check in, premarital counseling, or have a minor concern to address.
Who should not have marathon therapy?
Any couple with specific types domestic violence should not go to couples therapy, it can put the victim in more danger. It is part of the assessment to screen for this and it if it is found therapy would stop, for safety reasons.
Currently using drugs or drinking in excess, usually the addiction needs to be addressed before the couples relationship can be addressed.
Couples that feel it is more helpful to meet weekly, who can commit to longer term sessions. Who may need more time to process after sessions and do not have a specific concerns to address.
