Intensive Couples Therapy in Tampa & Virtual | Transform Your Relationship in Days
EXPERT MARRIAGE COUNSELING & COUPLES THERAPY INTENSIVES
Are you ready to breakthrough relationship challenges and create lasting positive change? Intensive couples therapy condenses months of traditional weekly sessions into focused, breakthrough days of therapeutic work. Our unique Relational Wellness Roadmap approach helps couples create lasting positive change through evidence-based techniques and neuroscience-informed strategies. We offer couples therapy intensives in Tampa, Florida and virtually nationwide to help couples achieve months of progress in just days. With 15 years of experience and evidence-based techniques, Dr. Brittany Carswell guides couples through transformative intensive therapy sessions designed for busy professionals and relationships in crisis. Dr. Carswell has PsyPact which means she can offer intensives virtually to people in any psypact participating state.
WHY CHOOSE INTENSIVE COUPLES THERAPY
Traditional weekly therapy can take months to create meaningful change. Our intensive format helps couples:
- Transform relationship dynamics in days instead of months
- Break through destructive patterns and cycles
- Build lasting communication skills
- Heal from infidelity or betrayal
- Navigate major life transitions
- Reconnect after years of disconnection
- Make decisive progress on crucial relationship decisions
AN INTENSIVE MAY BE FOR YOU IF
- You have a complicated schedule where weekly therapy is difficult
- You are In the midst of a crisis such as high conflict, a recent traumatic loss, trauma or betrayal
- You have a big decision and don’t have months to figure it out
- You have neglected the relationship for many years and need to take the in depth time to really jump start reconnection.
- Are considering a divorce and want to dig in and see if they can salvage and work through issues (Assuming both are willing and neither leaning out fully yet).
WHEN IS AN INTENSIVE NOT A FIT
Intensives are a better fit if both people are coming in willing to work and engaged in the process. If there is a lot of ambivalence in one partner or one partner is possibly leaning out of the marriage and not sure if they want to do it or is doing it to appease the other but is not really engaged in the process then I recommend considering Discernment Counseling first. If you find sitting through a typical one hour session of therapy very taxing and exhausting then staying in a long form might be challenging. For cases like this we also can do an adapted version where it’s broken in 4 different 3 hour blocks done on different days- see more below. If there are other highly complex mental health or other issues that are not already in consistent treatment (untreated substance abuse or mental health issues in one or both partners).
FOR MORE IN DEPTH INFORMATION ON INTENSIVES CHECK OUT DR. CARSWELLS BLOG POST
Comprehensive Intensive Programs for Every Couple
Transform your relationship with our signature intensive programs that can be done in several formats
- 14-16 hours of focused therapeutic work
- Evidence-based relationship skills training
- Personalized conflict resolution strategies
- Neural-informed regulation techniques
- Lifetime access to online course materials
- Perfect for couples seeking profound change
Two-Day Complete Intensive Therapy Program
The first type of intensive is the traditional 2 day “Couples Therapy Intensive” which can be done without ongoing therapy after it ends. So we dig in and do it in two consecutive days. In some cases couples do a full intensive and also continue in some type of ongoing therapy afterwards as well but the intensive is designed to somewhat replace a few months of short term couples therapy.
The Four Half Days Couples Intensive
The full intensive can also be done in four 3-4 hour blocks across four different days spanning a week or two. So it is the same amount of time but instead of being done in two consecutive days it is spread apart a bit. This is a format often done for those who are doing the intensive virtually.
The One Day “Intensive Start” To Couples Therapy
The last type of intensive I call more of an “intensive start” to more regular couples therapy. This involves one day of intensive therapy that then shifts into every other week or monthly ongoing sessions with the same provider you did the intensive with. So this is more of a jumpstart approach so that if you then have intermittent sessions you can really dig in on those sessions and have gotten through the intake process and overview of skills so you can use the session time more effectively.
The Hybrid Online Intensive
This is a different approach which is for couples who are in less of a crisis state and want to learn the relational wellness approach in a more flexible self tailored way. In this case you go through the skill building by doing the online Relational Wellness Roadmap course and you meet with Dr. Carswell for one hour per month to integrate and apply the skills you are learning through the course. This is a more cost-effective and time saving approach for the right couples. It spans 3 months an takes 30 minutes to an hour per week of watching the course videos and material and one hour per month of therapy session.
A PLAN FOR MAINTAINING YOUR GROWTH IS PART OF THE PROCESS
A bonus you will get after your 2 day intensive is access to Dr. Carswell’s online course for Relational Wellness Roadmap. She has put all of these skills into an online E-course that includes all of that material as well as videos. This is designed to not only give you education and skills through multiple modalities and ways of taking in information but most importantly for maintenance so you have something you can come back to over time to remind you of what you have learned.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INTENSIVES
Will the work happen in person or online?
You can do your intensive in person, virtually or a hybrid of both. This depends on your location and what works best for your needs and both are effective formats.
Is it likely that this will change things that deeply?
That depends on many factors and what each partner wants in regards to relational health. What I can say is that if you are both motivated and practice the skills and dive in deep, you and your partner have a great chance at gaining relational health. It can help you to dig deeper on what is possible and get realistic about the work that is needed even after the intensive to maintain any breakthroughs and progress. Because of the depth of intensives and how brains and neural pathways change they tend to be much more effective at creating deeper change. We will make a maintenance plan to set you up for success.
Our relationship isn’t in trouble, we just want to grow. Will an Intensive still be helpful?
While many couples do come when their relationship is in a troubled or crisis state, intensives can be useful at any point in our relationship. Intensives are also a great place to help people who are wanting more depth and intimacy. No matter the state of your relationship, this type of work is likely to help.
How much does it cost?
See pricing section above. Two day full intensive is $5000 but there are several other formats as well that offer different price points. To start there is a $500 deposit required at the time of reserving your spot. See pricing page for complete details on this
Once I do an Intensive, do we need ongoing therapy after that?
Usually we set up at least one follow up session in a month or two that is just for consolidation. Beyond that this is really assessed and decided on an case by case basis and is not required and often not needed. There are many circumstances where people don’t feel they need any ongoing therapy after the intensive and get what they needed from it. Some couples do want to keep some kind of ongoing monthly check ins for a period of time while practicing just as a way to maintain and build on growth. Regardless of what you choose an intensive at bare minimum jump starts the process so that the sessions you have after if you do continue tend to be much more productive and allow you to practice, maintain and dig into other issues in a way that can be more productive.
If we do want ongoing therapy after the intensive can we continue seeing Dr. Carswell?
Yes there is typically the option to continue with ongoing therapy with me or to do drop in maintenance check-ins. This is subject to schedule availability and assuming that we can make our availability align. If ongoing therapy after the intensive is recommended and for some reason Dr. Carswell cannot accommodate your for ongoing therapy she has other couples therapists she can recommend.
Is there anything I can do to prepare for the Intensive?
While you don’t have to there are absolutely many things you can do to prepare. The content and skills that Dr. Carswell guides you in during the intensive are available in PDF download readings and materials that she will send you prior to the intensive. There are very brief summaries of each skill, medium summaries and longer form versions of everything that will be covered. If you want to review prior it can enhance your experience. Even deeper prior review you can start her online course which has all those materials as well as pre-recorded videos that review all of the concepts. This will leave less time needed to review these in the intensive and even more time for application of the skills. Many people do not do any of this prior though so it is not required and really depends on your learning style and the time you have available prior to the intensive.
What is the cancellation policy?
If you cancel two months or more prior to your Intensive, you can receive a full refund of your deposit minus a $100 admin fee. If you need to cancel closer to your Intensive date, you will not receive a refund of your deposit, but you can look at the calendar and choose a different Intensive Therapy date. If you are paying as you go, a credit card must be kept on file three weeks prior to your Intensive. If you are paying via check, please make sure to send the check at least three weeks prior to your Intensive.
If you feel you have questions that you’d like answered that are not covered here, Please contact Dr. Carswell at drcarswell@wellnesspsychservices.com to schedule a 15 minute phone call with you to discuss and answer whatever she can.