Couples Intensives

Viewpoint offers an intensive Marathon version of our regular Gottman Method approach of counselling for couples, relationships, and marriages in high distress or simply in need of a relationship expert. These Marathon sessions allow us to accomplish multiple sessions over the course of a few days (rather than months). This unique and effective method of relationship therapy works well for those who:

• Live out of town

• Cannot travel to Calgary on a weekly basis

• Have struggles coordinating conflicting schedules

• Are seeking to fast track their relationship therapy progress

What you can expect from Marathon Couples Counselling:

• Promotion of respect and affection.

• Building relationship closeness.

• Sharing a deeper connection with each other’s inner world.

• Better management of conflict discussions.

• Experiencing breakthroughs to resolve conflict gridlock.

• Strengthening and maintaining the gains in your relationship.

What couples say about Marathon Couples Counselling:
Couples that have experienced intensive Marathon relationship therapy—and who have also attended typical relationship counselling sessions—stated they never would have made the breakthroughs they did without being able to work through their issues in one extended sitting. They felt that the extra time in session allowed them to build the comfort and trust they needed to share openly and productively. Couples also reported feeling a strong sense of trust and safety with their therapist. 

We are LGBTQ2+ friendly and welcome non-typical and neuro-divergent couples, relationships, and marriages

Marathon Couples Counselling FAQs

• How long is a Marathon session?

  A Marathon session consists of 6 therapeutic hours per day, for a period of 2-4 days depending on need. If you live out of town, you might want to consider staying locally.

• How do we know if it's right for us?

  Prior to coming in, you will have a 1-hour Discovery Session to ensure you are the right fit for a relationship intensive marathon session. In the Discovery Session, you will be asked several questions about the current state of your relationship, as well as what it is you hope to achieve during therapy. These goals will become our objective. We will also review your Informed Consent and complete your Intake process prior to meeting with you in person. The cost for this session is $200*.

  *If you move forward with Marathon Counselling, the Discovery Session will be rolled into the Intensive Package that you have chosen.

• Who would benefit?

  • Any couple who is experiencing marital or relationship distress who feel they would benefit from longer extended sessions.

  • Any couple who does not live in the vicinity of Calgary or wants to gain traction in their counselling progress at an increased rate.

  • Any couple who is struggling to find a workable time to engage in relationship therapy due to conflicting schedules.

  • Any couple in distress who feel the need for urgent help and will be unable to schedule regular sessions over time due to demands on their own schedules such as work or travel.

• Who would not benefit?

  • Couples who have already determined to leave or end their relationship.

  • Couples who cannot commit to the therapy process.

  • Couples with active domestic violence or active addiction within the relationship.

  Those couples described above are unlikely to derive significant benefit from this process and are therefore not good candidates for this type of therapy.

• What happens in therapy?

  We begin with identifying your goals and intentions of the therapy process right from the start. We help you both come to a compromise on “gridlocked” issues: many times, couples do not always have the same aspirations, hopes or goals, yet they need to come to some sort of resolution. We do our best to honour both individuals’ hopes and dreams. Our goal is to facilitate you in accessing new strengths, learning new skills, and gaining new insights, moving your relationship in the direction that you want it to go.

• How is it structured?

  On your first Intensive Marathon Day, you will first meet together with your therapist, and then each partner will have the opportunity for an individual session as well. After that, the therapist will meet with both/all partners and discuss the current state of your relationship, how it got there, and establish a plan for moving you toward your goals. Once we believe that we are all on the same page, the therapy begins in earnest.

• How do we book a Marathon session?

  You begin by booking two to four consecutive days of therapy with one of our participating Registered Psychologists. Marathon sessions can be booked almost any day of the week, depending of course, on scheduling availability. A 50% deposit is required to secure your dates.

  Please Note: If there has been a recent infidelity in the marriage, please let us know as we would require a 3-day booking.

• Payment & Cancellation Policy

  You will pay a 50% deposit at the time of booking and the balance at the start of your first session.

  Due to our scheduling commitments, there is a 3-week cancellation policy. Our therapists will have made themselves available for you and arranged their schedules for these sessions, so it is imperative that you keep your appointment and commit to this process. If you cancel 3 weeks prior to the start of your therapy, a full refund will be issued.

• What happens after therapy?

  Depending on how the Marathon sessions evolve, you may choose to return for follow-up sessions every few weeks or months (this can be done virtually if you live out of town).

Marathon Package Pricing

• One Day Current Client Therapy Intensive

  • 6 hours of intensive therapy/coaching with a highly skilled therapist with years of experience working with couples and relationships of many types, which includes:

    • 1 hour Discovery session prior to meeting in-person

    • Joint session to explore the beginnings of relationship, evolution, and challenges

    • Two individual sessions

    • Feedback and goal setting session

  • Gottman Institute online Relationship Check Up assessment for each person

  • Cost: $1650

• Two Day Package

  • 12 hours of intensive therapy/coaching with a highly skilled therapist with years of experience working with couples and relationships of many types, which includes:

    • 1 hour Discovery session prior to meeting in-person

    • Joint session to explore the beginnings of relationship, evolution, and challenges

    • Two individual sessions

    • Feedback and goal setting session

  • Gottman Institute online Relationship Check Up assessment for each person

  • A take home package of tools and supplementary support material

  • Cost: $3300

• Three Day Package

  • 18 hours of intensive therapy/coaching with a highly skilled therapist with years of experience working with couples and relationships of many types, which includes:

    • 1 hour Discovery session prior to meeting in-person

    • Joint session to explore the beginnings of relationship, evolution, and challenges

    • Two individual sessions

    • Feedback and goal setting session

  • Gottman Institute online Relationship Check Up assessment for each person

  • A take home package of tools and supplementary support material

  • Cost: $4950

• Four Day Package

  • 24 hours of intensive therapy/coaching with a highly skilled therapist with years of experience working with couples and relationships of many types, which includes:

    • 1 hour Discovery session prior to meeting in-person

    • Joint session to explore the beginnings of relationship, evolution, and challenges

    • Two individual sessions

    • Feedback and goal setting session

  • Gottman Institute online Relationship Check Up assessment for each person

  • A take home package of tools and supplementary support material

  • Note: this package can also be divided into two 2-day sessions instead of 4 consecutive days

  • Cost: $6600

Counsellors who can help