Seattle, WA Couples Counseling
Anchor Light Couples and Family Therapy helps soon-to-be married, already married partners, and couples in Seattle, WA, take little steps to maintain and improve their relationship, communication, and connection. Our marriage counselors and couples therapists use proven assessment techniques and intervention strategies based on the Gottman Method to help you learn how to navigate conflict, improve communication, strengthen friendship, deepen intimacy, build trust, and share your life’s purpose and dreams with your partner.
Our couples therapists and marriage counselors offer private in-person sessions at our Uptown / Lower Queen Anne office. Your initial consultation is free. Schedule it today to learn more.
Licensed Couples Counselors in Seattle, WA
Our experienced therapists, couples counselors, and marriage counselors can provide Seattle couples and individuals with the skills to overcome challenges and connection issues with your partner so you can build a lasting and healthy relationship.
Schedule a free consultation with a certified mental health professional in Seattle.
Intern Therapists
Learn about discounted therapy options offered by our Graduate Intern Therapists
Anchor Light Couples Therapy Program
Find out what to expect when you engage in therapy with the therapists at Anchor Light Couples and Family Therapy
Issues We Work On
Couples seeking relationship therapy in Seattle, WA, are experiencing any of the following in their relationship:
- Broken trust
- Frequent arguments
- Communication breakdown
- Something just feels “off”
- Trouble or fear of communicating needs
- One or both of you shuts down during a conflict
- You have gone through something devastating together
- Feeling stuck in bad habits and patterns
- Lack of emotional connection
- Physical intimacy, sex, or passion is gone
- Mismatched Attachment Styles
- Miscommunication of love languages
- Gaslighting
Who Is Couples Counseling For?
Couples counseling is for any couple! You do not need to be married to go to couples therapy. Any type of relationship or partnership can benefit from couples counseling. It doesn’t matter if you’re married and looking for marriage counseling, living together, single, gay, bi-sexual, polyamorous or straight.
Couples often head to relationship therapy when they aren’t sure how to improve and repair their relationship or things are “bad enough” that they’re thinking of ending things. But counseling services also work for partners who want to “tune up” their relationship and remain on a healthy path – before a major relationship breakdown.
We also provide relationship therapy for couples coping with postpartum depression. If you and your partner need support post-baby, couples counseling can be a great place to communicate and relate with your partner.
What Is Couples Counseling?
Seeking therapy services or couples counseling can feel intimidating at first. Couples therapy differs from individual therapy in that your therapist treats you and your partner as a couple. Relationship therapy services focus on the best interest of the couple, not the interest of one or the partners. However, couples therapy can include individual therapy so your therapist can get to know you and learn your history and perspective as an individual as it pertains to your relationship.
Why Should You Consider Couples Therapy?
High-conflict couples may need to work toward getting to the root cause of their problems and learn strategies for effective conflict resolution. Other couples may need assistance working towards a specific goal or getting through a major life transition, such as the birth of a child or the loss of a job.
Some couples desire a deeper connection with one another or the opportunity to address intimacy issues. Every couple’s goals are different. You and your therapist will work together to reach your relationship goals. And your goals may change and evolve during therapy as you gain more insight and understanding into yourself and your relationship.
Ultimately, couples therapy can help you and your partner:
- Gain clarity about your feelings toward the relationship
- Address and resolve ongoing conflict
- Learn how to turn toward your partner in times of stress
- Cultivate a deep respect and understanding between you and your partner
- Facilitate effective discussions about finances, family planning, and other sensitive topics
Counseling Can Improve Your Relationship
Sometimes, the goal of couple’s therapy is to end the relationship on a good note or learn to work together as co-parents outside of a romantic relationship. Couples sessions can also help you gain clarity, reveal that your relationship is not sustainable, and help you let go of the relationship in a healthy way. No matter what your goals are, couples counseling will help you to learn new skills to help improve your relationship.
LGBTQ+ Couples Counseling
The therapists at Anchor Light Couples and Family Therapy support the Sex Positive community in Seattle, WA. We are Poly and Kink friendly, LGBTQ+ friendly. We offer an inclusive and safe space for those who may have felt judged or misunderstood in other therapeutic relationships. Learn more about Seattle LGBTQ+ Couples Counseling.
Premarital Counseling
The greatest misconception about couples therapy is that it’s only for those who are in a relationship crisis or are currently struggling. Many people discover that working with a premarital counselor early in their relationship is the key to better understanding their partner and partnership. Therapy is a safe place to explore and discuss difficult and emotional issues and topics. Your therapist will help you learn how you relate to each other as a couple, to understand each other’s reactions and behavior, and to come together in a loving, rational, and respectful way.
Sex Therapy
Every couple has unique needs when it comes to sex, and it’s important to have open, honest conversations with your partner about it. At the same time, some have difficulty discussing the topic. Religion, family upbringing, and past sexual trauma can create communication issues that make it challenging to develop a long-lasting and satisfying physical relationship.
Sex therapy provides a safe and confidential space to move past physical and emotional challenges and have a more satisfying relationship with their partner, experience more sexual pleasure, and learn how to take care of their sexual relationship
Couples Counseling Articles
Why the Gottman Method?
Anchor Light Therapy therapists are versed in the Gottman Method of couples counseling in Seattle, WA. Through this approach, we apply proven assessment techniques and intervention strategies to support you in learning how to navigate conflict, improve communication, strengthen friendship, deepen intimacy, build trust, and share your life’s purpose and dreams with your partner.
Within the Gottman Method, the goals for marriage counseling include increased intimacy, affection, and respect, and a defused quality to any contentious verbal communication. Once we remove the barrier of contentious communication, you will experience a heightened sense of empathy and understanding of your partner, leading to more harmonious interactions.
There are many aspects and nuances of the work, but for couples who are successful, it opens up aspects of caring and commitment that may have previously been a barrier.
Is Couples or Marriage Counseling Enough, or Will I Need Individual Therapy?
Couples therapy is about working on issues together. Sometimes, one partner has individual mental health issues that cannot be addressed in couples therapy, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and other disorders. If this is the case, we recommend continuing couples therapy or marriage counseling so you can use the practical tools, techniques, and learnings from individual therapy to improve your relationship.
Is It Important to Work With a Licensed Mental Health Counselor?
Yes, being licensed means that all our therapists have multiple years of training and university education in mental health, a critical foundation for all professional counseling. Anchor Light’s therapists are also skilled in the Gottman method, an evidence-based counseling intervention that teaches couples how to improve their friendship, manage and resolve conflict, and effectively communicate. The Gottman method teaches couples strategies for improving their relationships that are well-researched and proven to be highly effective.
How much does a couples therapist cost?
Therapy creates a space for you to experience healing and progress in a way that can change your life. It’s also an investment of time and finances. When you’re ready to commit to healing and transformation, here is what you can expect.
First session
$230
All subsequent sessions
$190 (50 minutes)
Weekend Therapy Available
We offer therapy sessions on weekends in person with our Seattle counselors at our Lower Queen Anne office and virtually through Zoom.
Insurance
We do not participate in any insurance panels. Anchor Light Couples and Family Therapy is considered an out-of-network provider.
As a courtesy to any client who wishes to utilize their insurance benefits, We are happy to verify your out-of-network plan benefits to tell you what portion may be covered by your health insurance provider.