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Marriage and Couples Counseling in Washington, DC
We have provided marriage and couples counseling in Washington, DC since 2007. Couples work is the main specialty of the practice, not a service we added on. Sessions are 50 minutes, $250 to $450, seven days a week including evenings until 9pm, at our Dupont Circle office, in Bethesda, or online.
Counseling that does more than referee
Most couples arrive having had the same argument for years. The content changes; the shape does not. One of you pushes for resolution, the other goes quiet, and both of you leave feeling unheard.
Our job is not to decide who is right. It is to slow the pattern down enough that you can both see it happening, and to give you something to do other than the thing you always do. That is learnable, and it usually starts to shift earlier than people expect.
How we work
Our counselors are trained in the main evidence-based couples models and match the approach to what is actually happening between you, rather than running every couple through the same programme.
Imago Relationship Therapy
A structured dialogue that interrupts the reflex to defend and makes each of you genuinely hear the other before responding. Dr. Mark Jacobsen is a certified Imago Relationship Therapist. More about Imago.
IFS and IFIO for couples
Keith Miller is a Certified Level III Internal Family Systems therapist with advanced IFIO training, the IFS approach to couples. It treats a defensive reaction as a part of you with a reason behind it, rather than a character flaw to be argued out of. Read more about IFS.
Gottman and Emotionally Focused
Practical work on the specific behaviours that predict whether a relationship lasts, alongside the attachment fears underneath them — the pursuing and the withdrawing most couples recognise instantly.
Relationship Enhancement
Goli Bellinger specialises in Relationship Enhancement, a model built on empathy, validation and structured dialogue. She is particularly skilled at stabilising a relationship in acute crisis.
How we approach the work
Three commitments shape how we run sessions, and they are worth knowing before you choose anyone:
- We lead the session. We create a structured format where it is safe for both of you to disarm hostility and take the risks needed to build a better way of relating. Couples counseling where the therapist sits back and watches you argue is not therapy.
- We work to repair the relationship wherever that is possible. We are members of the National Registry of Marriage Friendly Therapists. If separation turns out to be the honest answer, we will support that clearly, but we do not treat it as the default.
- We start with the straightforward. Goal-oriented methods first. If the simplest approach does not help, we go deeper into attachment history and the patterns underneath.
We are members of the National Registry of Marriage Friendly Therapists.
What we help couples with
Communication that has stalled
The same argument on repeat, or the silence that replaced it. Usually the reason couples first call.
Recovering from an affair
Whether the relationship continues or not, both of you need somewhere to put what happened.
Sex and intimacy
Mismatched desire, sex that has quietly stopped, or closeness that feels like obligation rather than choice.
Premarital counseling
Structured preparation before marriage, including guided assessments, so you have the difficult conversations now rather than in year three.
Deciding whether to stay
Discernment work where one of you is unsure. The goal is a clear decision, not an assumed outcome.
Parenting and family strain
New parenthood, blended families, and the way children reshape a relationship without anyone agreeing to it.
Black couples counseling
With counselors who understand the specific pressures involved rather than treating them as background detail.
Intercultural relationships
Goli Bellinger has considerable experience with immigrant and intercultural couples, where the difficulty is often translation rather than conflict.
Coming on your own
You do not need your partner in the room. A great deal of useful relationship work happens one to one.
How to choose a couples counselor in DC
There are a lot of practices in Washington and the websites all sound similar. Four questions separate them:
Is couples work their specialty or a sideline? Many therapists see couples occasionally. Couples therapy is a distinct discipline, and the training is different from individual work.
What model do they actually use? Imago, Gottman, EFT and IFIO are established approaches with evidence behind them. If a practice cannot name its method, that tells you something.
Will they lead the session? An unstructured hour where a couple repeats their argument in front of a witness helps nobody.
Can you get an appointment that suits you both? Two schedules have to align. Practices with weekday-only hours quietly rule out a lot of working couples, which is why we run evenings until 9pm and weekends.
Our counselors
You do not have to work out which counselor suits you. Call the referral coordinator on extension 0, describe what is happening and when you can both meet, and we will match you to the clinician best suited to it rather than whoever has a free slot.
Sessions run from our Dupont Circle office at 1320 19th Street NW, from our Bethesda office, or online. You can read about each of our counselors here.
Fees and insurance
Couples sessions are $250 to $450 for 50 minutes, depending on the counselor you see. Payment is taken by card before your first session. We offer a free phone consultation before you commit to anything.
We do not bill insurance directly. Our counselors are licensed, so our services qualify for reimbursement under most plans, and clients who submit their own out-of-network claims commonly recover 40–60% of what they pay. See our full policies and fees.
Frequently asked questions
Does marriage counseling actually work?
For most couples who start early enough, yes. The strongest predictor is not how bad things are but whether both partners engage with the work between sessions. Couples who wait until one person has already decided to leave have a harder time, which is why we would rather see you sooner than later.
Will the counselor take sides?
No. If one of you consistently feels ganged up on, the therapy is not working and we will say so. Our job is the pattern between you, not a verdict on either of you.
How many sessions will we need?
Focused work on a specific difficulty often runs a few months of weekly sessions. Longer-standing patterns take longer. We will tell you at the outset what looks realistic rather than leaving it open-ended.
Will insurance cover couples counseling?
Most insurers will not reimburse against “marriage counseling” as a description. The reimbursable procedure code is conjoint psychotherapy, code 90847. Use that wording when you ask your insurer what they cover.
Can we meet online?
Yes. You can meet in person at Dupont Circle or Bethesda, online by video, or by phone. Many couples alternate, and partners can join from different locations when schedules demand it.
What if only one of us wants to come?
That is common, and it is still workable. Individual therapy for relationship difficulty is genuinely useful, and one partner changing their side of a pattern often changes the pattern.
Getting started
Call or text
Reach us on 202-629-1949 and ask for the referral coordinator on extension 0. If you would rather write than speak, use the enquiry form.
Free phone consultation
Tell us what is happening and when you can both meet. There is no cost and no commitment at this stage.
Matched to a counselor
We match you to the counselor best suited to your situation, then book your first 50-minute session.