Couples Intensives

 

Months of therapy work, in one focused day.

An intensive gives you and your partner uninterrupted time to slow down,

get underneath the fight you keep having, and practice a

new way of being with each other.

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Half-day (3 hours) or full-day (6 hours), in person, with Annette Barnett, LMFT

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Is an Intensive Right for You?

You love each other, but you keep ending up in the same place. An intensive may help if:

• The same fight keeps repeating, whatever the topic

• Weekly therapy feels stalled

• You're repairing after a betrayal or rupture

• You've drifted into distance, with less warmth, touch, or desire

• A big transition is coming, such as a baby, a move, retirement, or blending families

• Your schedules make weekly sessions hard

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Why an Intensive Works

In a weekly hour, much of the time goes to catching up and calming down. Just as you reach what really matters, the session ends. An intensive gives us time to settle, go deep, and practice something new while it's still alive in the room. You leave having felt a different kind of conversation, not just talked about one.

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How the Day Unfolds

1. Before we meet: Intake questionnaires and a consultation call, so we can focus on what matters most to you both.

2. Arrive and settle: We start with the body, learning to notice when you're calm enough for a hard conversation and what to do when you're not.

3. Map your cycle: We trace the pattern you get caught in, so the cycle becomes the problem, not each other.

4. Go underneath: We slow down to the fears, longings, and old survival strategies driving the cycle.

5. Reach and repair: Facing each other, you practice asking for what you need and receiving it, with my guidance in the moment.

6. Integrate and plan: We name what shifted and choose the practices you'll take home.

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My Approach

My work is attachment-based, trauma-informed, and grounded in the body. I draw on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), PACT-informed work, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), NARM-informed work, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and polyvagal and somatic practices, choosing what fits the two of you.

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What You'll Leave With:

  Half-Day Intensive (3 hours)

• A clear map of the cycle you get caught in, so you can both recognize it early

• PURR TEA, a quick check before hard conversations: Pause. Is this a good Time? Are we Resourced? Are we Regulated?

• Words for what each of you truly needs underneath the conflict

• Core sharing and listening skills: speaking about your feelings and needs without blame, plus reflective listening, empathy, and validation, so you both feel truly heard

• One or more guided repair conversations, so you've experienced a new way of talking, not just heard about it

• A short list of practices to take home

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  Full-Day Intensive (6 hours)

• Everything in the half-day, plus:

• A deeper understanding of the fears, longings, and protective patterns driving your cycle

• Extended practice with sharing and listening skills, including during harder, more charged topics

• FOAN, a way to repair without blame: Feelings, Observation, Accountability, Need, practiced more than once

• Hands-on practice calming each other's nervous systems, through voice, presence, and touch if you both choose

• Time to work through more than one issue or stuck point

• A personalized plan for what comes next

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Options and Investment

Half-Day Intensive: 3 hours, $900
A focused session on one core pattern or stuck point, with one short break.

Full-Day Intensive: 6 hours, $1,800
The full arc, with two short breaks and a lunch break, and time to practice repair more than once.

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​Each intensive includes pre-intensive questionnaires, a consultation call and a home practice plan.

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Private pay only

 

A superbill is available on request for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

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Safety Comes First

Intensives work best when both partners choose to be there. They aren't the right fit if one partner is afraid of the other, if there is violence or coercion, if an affair is ongoing, or if an untreated addiction or crisis needs attention first. We'll talk this through on your consultation call, and if an intensive isn't the right next step, I'll help you find what is.

 

Common Questions

Isn't a whole day overwhelming?
We pace it carefully, with breaks and calming practices throughout. Many couples find the longer format feels safer than an hour.

What if one of us shuts down or gets flooded?
That's expected, and useful. We slow down and learn from it, and it's often the most important moment of the day.

We already see a couples therapist. Can we still do this?
Yes. An intensive can complement ongoing therapy, and with your permission I'm happy to coordinate with your therapist.

Is touch part of the work?
Only if you both want it, and only with written consent.

Where does it take place?
In a private, comfortable setting in Los Altos, San Jose or Santa Cruz

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About Annette

I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Couples are the heart of my practice, and I also work with individuals and with families navigating relationship challenges, including parents and adult children. I combine attachment science, trauma-informed care, and body-based work because lasting change happens when people feel safe enough to reach for each other again.

Annette Barnett, LMFT #162649

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Ready to Begin?

Start with a consultation call. We'll talk about what's happening, whether an intensive is a good fit, and which option makes sense.

408-357-9187  annette@heartandbraincouplestherapy.com

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Intensives are not crisis services. If you're in danger or in crisis, call or text 988, or dial 911.