Couples Therapy Intensives on Bainbridge Island

Shannon Maricielo, LMFTA

In-person couples therapy intensives are offered at my Bainbridge Island office

When Weekly Therapy Feels Too Slow

Some couples need more than one session a week.

When tension is high, trust has been broken, or communication has deteriorated to the point where conversations derail quickly, traditional weekly therapy can feel fragmented.

Breakthroughs get interrupted. Conflict resumes between sessions. Momentum is lost.

A couples therapy intensive offers a consolidated process with uninterrupted time to slow the pattern down, understand what is happening beneath it, and begin shifting it in real time.

These intensives are designed for couples navigating deep disconnection, high conflict or repair after infidelity who want focused, structured work without delay.

THE PROCESS

What a Couples Therapy Intensive Includes

Couples therapy intensives are designed to provide focused, structured work over a short period of time while still allowing space for reflection and integration.

The intensive process includes several phases:

I. Preparation Sessions

Before the intensive day, we meet for three 80-minute sessions scheduled close together. These sessions allow us to understand your relationship history, identify key patterns, and prepare for deeper work during the intensive.

II. Relationship Assessment

You will complete a personalized relationship assessment. This includes a detailed report highlighting your strengths as a couple as well as the patterns that may be creating difficulty.

III. Intensive Therapy Day

The intensive itself is a 7-hour session focused entirely on your relationship. The day includes a 60-minute break and additional pauses as needed to support reflection and productive conversation.

IV. Integration and Follow-Up

After the intensive day, we meet for four weekly 80-minute sessions to help integrate the work, practice new skills, and stabilize changes in the relationship.

You will also receive guided exercises and materials to support continued reflection between sessions.

V. Ongoing Support (Optional)

After the intensive process is complete, some couples choose to continue with ongoing therapy, while others conclude the work once they feel they have reached the progress they were seeking.

The goal of this structure is to create enough focused time to identify patterns quickly, interrupt them effectively, and move toward meaningful, lasting change.

In-Person Couples Therapy Intensives on Bainbridge Island

Why Choose an Intensive Process Instead of Weekly Therapy?

Intensives offer:

Depth

Extended time allows us to move beyond surface conflict and into the underlying emotional patterns driving it.

Stabilization During Crisis

When infidelity has been discovered or conflict is escalating, couples often need immediate containment and direction.

Efficiency

We do not lose momentum between sessions. Progress builds hour by hour rather than week by week.

A Reset

Intensives can interrupt long-standing cycles and provide a structured restart.

For some couples, an intensive is exactly what is needed by consolidating a 12-week therapeutic process into six weeks. For others, it serves as a jumpstart before transitioning into longer-term work that can only be accomplished through ongoing sessions.

Two Types of Therapy Intensives

Intensives for Disconnection and Conflict

Disconnection and conflict can build slowly over years. Couples may feel emotionally distant, guarded, or resigned. An intensive allows time to:

Identify long-standing patterns that erode closeness and trust
Repair unresolved injuries
Practice new forms of communication in real time
Rebuild emotional responsiveness

This format is appropriate for couples seeking a deeper bond or needing to repair old wounds to feel connected and trusting of one another again.

It is not appropriate for couples actively deciding whether to remain together. Those situations are better served through discernment counseling.

Intensives for Repair After Infidelity or Betrayal

Infidelity, or other betrayals, can destabilize a relationship quickly. An intensive allows us to:

Contain high reactivity
Structure disclosure appropriately
Clarify what accountability and repair require
Stabilize the relationship before further damage occurs

For infidelity repair intensives, the following are required:

Full disclosure prior to or during the process
No ongoing contact with the affair partner
A clear desire from both partners to attempt repair

Without these foundations, intensive work is not clinically appropriate.

What You Can Expect to Leave With

Couples often leave an intensive with:

Greater emotional stabilization
Clearer understanding of their relational patterns
Specific strategies for interrupting destructive cycles
A structured roadmap for continued growth
Renewed clarity about how they want to move forward

We aren’t looking for perfection. But you can gain direction, stabilization, and measurable progress.

Get Started

Who Intensives Are Best Suited For

Intensives are appropriate for couples who:

Are highly motivated to repair or reconnect
Are willing to engage honestly and take responsibility
Want focused, efficient progress
Value privacy and depth
Are prepared to invest in their relationship

Intensives are not appropriate when there is active domestic violence, ongoing substance instability, an undisclosed affair, or when one partner is unwilling to participate meaningfully in the work.

I work with couples of many identities and relationship structures, including LGBTQIA+ couples and those in nontraditional or open relationships. All couples are treated with respect and an affirming, nonjudgmental approach.

FAQs About Couples Therapy Intensives

You’ll start with three 80-minute sessions that occur prior to the intensive day, typically within the same week.
You’ll complete a personalized assessment and receive a detailed report that focuses on your strengths and challenges as a couple.
This is followed by a single 7-hour intensive session (with a 60-minute break).
The intensive completes with four weekly 80-minute sessions.
- The investment for a couples therapy intensive is $4375.
- Half (50%) is paid as a deposit to schedule all 8 sessions.
- The other half (50%) is due on the 7-hour session day.
Intensives are not typically covered by insurance.
All intensives are held in person at my Bainbridge Island office. Telehealth is not available.
345 Knechtel Way NE Suite 111
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Mixed readiness is totally normal. As long as both partners are willing, we can do the intensive.
I’ll provide you with these details later, but I mostly just want you to arrive rested and ready to focus, willing to reflect on your goals, and can plan for a quiet evening afterward.
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Next Steps

If you are navigating disconnection, high conflict or repairing after infidelity and feel urgency around creating change, a couples therapy intensive may provide the structure and depth you need.

To begin, schedule an intake session to determine whether this format is the right fit.