What Is Couples Therapy?
- Keith York LMFT
- Jan 25
- 3 min read
A Simple Guide to How It Helps Partners Reconnect with Gottman‑Informed, Relational Life Therapy in Orinda, CA
By Keith York, LMFT — Couples Therapist in Orinda, CA
When You’re Asking, “What Is Couples Therapy?”
You may have reached that moment where something in your relationship feels off — you’re not fighting constantly, yet connection feels thin.
One of you takes space, the other reaches across the gap. You both wonder if this is just a rough patch or a real turning point.
Couples therapy is where you stop guessing and start understanding what’s really happening between you.
The Basic Idea
Couples therapy (also called couples counseling or marriage therapy) is a structured, guided process that helps partners understand and change the patterns keeping them apart.
In each session, a trained therapist focuses not only on what you argue about, but how you talk, listen, defend, and repair.
It’s less about “who’s right” and more about how you relate when things get hard.
What You Actually Do in Sessions
Talk About What Hurts and What Matters
We begin by naming current struggles — communication breakdowns, distance, betrayal, or gridlock around parenting, money, or intimacy.
See the Pattern Together
Using principles from the Gottman Method and Relational Life Therapy (RLT), we map the recurring cycle: pursue ↔ withdraw, criticize ↔ defend, collapse ↔ control.
Once you both can see the cycle, it loses its power.
In my couples therapy Orinda practice, I help partners see the patterns that keep them stuck.
Learn New Skills in Real Time
You practice in the room: speaking gently, staying present, listening for underlying emotions. Rather than waiting weeks to feel change, you begin new behaviors immediately.
Rebuild Connection and Trust
We focus on repair attempts — the small gestures that signal “we’re still us.” Over time, those moments grow into safety and closeness again.
👉🏼 Have questions or ready to get started now?
To explore how the entire process unfolds—from assessment to rebuilding trust—see The Complete Guide to Couples Therapy.
If you’d like to know exactly what happens in that first appointment, including how patterns are identified and addressed, read What to Expect on Your First Day of Couples Therapy.
The Science Behind It
For more than four decades, research by the Gottman Institute and other relationship scholars has identified behaviors that predict whether a couple grows closer or drifts apart.
Interventions that reduce criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling greatly increase long‑term relationship satisfaction.
Meanwhile, RLT emphasizes accountability and equality — helping partners step out of “one‑up / one‑down” roles and meet as emotional peers.
In other words: It’s part insight, part practice, and completely doable.
When to Start
Many couples wait until pain outweighs hope, but the best time to begin is as soon as you notice disconnection you can’t resolve on your own.
Typical reasons people seek therapy include:
Communication that turns tense or cold
Emotional distance or loss of intimacy
The aftermath of betrayal or breach of trust
Parenting or blended‑family stress
Repeating the same fights without resolution
Therapy works best when both partners are willing — even if anxious, skeptical, or unsure.
Not sure if you and your partner are ready to start? This guide can help you decide → Is Couples Therapy Right for Me?
What It’s Not
Not a courtroom to prove who’s right
Not a lecture series on being nicer
Not endless sessions without direction
It’s a place where science, skill, and empathy meet — where both partners learn exactly how to create change that lasts.
Many of the struggles couples face in therapy relate to underlying attachment patterns. Learn more in Understanding Attachment Styles in Relationships.
The Next Step
You don’t need to have it all figured out before reaching out.
A free 15‑minute consultation can help you decide whether to start together or individually, and what approach will serve you best.
👉 Schedule your consultation or connect to learn more about how therapy may help you rebuild trust, intimacy, and genuine partnership.
Recommended Reading
About the Therapist
Keith York, LMFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Orinda, California, serving Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, and the greater East Bay.
Keith specializes in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and Relational Life Therapy (RLT)—approaches rooted in empathy, accountability, and practical skill‑building.
Click here to find out more about Keith:
Comments