In Crisis? Intensive Services Can Help.
Need to solve lots of problems before things get worse? Contemplating separation or divorce? When a crisis hits, or things have gotten out of control, once-a-week support is not enough.
15 Hours
4-8 Weeks
Relationship Repair
Is this familiar?
“We can’t keep doing this anymore.”
“Now this is affecting our kids.”
“Stay together or separate?”
A crisis is a time of chaos and an opportunity to change and grow. You need skilled guidance to repair your relationship and provide new tools and wisdom to move forward successfully.
I can help.
Why not give your relationship time and needed support?
Intensives are an opportunity to step away from work, family, and life, to REALLY focus on your relationship and create a plan to heal the crisis. Together, we figure out why you are struggling, calm heated emotions, and start solving problems. Together we create a rooted-in-reality plan to move forward with new insights and new tools. Extended sessions allow time to get to the bottom of big problems and a supportive space to start rebuilding trust.
New Tools + Live Training =
Better Results
Intensives are not therapy. Therapy is designed to treat a medical diagnosis like depression or anxiety. In an Intensive we will explore the history of your behaviors through a historical and psychological lens, as opposed to diagnosing one partner or another. Relationship problems belong to both members of a couple. Relationship solutions come from both members of the couple.
If you are reading this page, surely you are aware that your behavior patterns are not currently serving your goals of having a healthy relationship. Here, you will discover new ways of handling conflict to reduce emotional reactivity. Here, you will create new, wiser, calmer behavior patterns to get you back in alignment with your better relationship goals.
Some find Gretchen after having a first less than satisfying experience with couple therapy. In this place, you will learn research and tools that you can apply between sessions. You will get up-to-date research on psychobiology attachment theory handouts, tips, and tools to train you to think and act in new ways and hone your focus on relationship health.
Why NOT speed up your results?
When a crisis hits home, you want to repair your relationship as quickly as possible. Intensives provide needed, extended time to heal the hurt and really repair your relationship in order to revive it. Together, we will pinpoint how your relationship will need to change in order to survive and thrive.
Intensives provide space and support to practice concrete skills and learn tools to communicate and rebuild with more calm and wisdom. Gretchen will help you tackle hard topics without blowups and create a solid plan to move forward.
Gretchen has been providing couple therapy for close to two decades. Over time, she experimented with longer and longer sessions, noting that couples reported more change and more satisfaction over weekly or biweekly sessions, especially in times of crisis. Book a consultation to see how she can help you turn your relationship around.
30-60 days • 15 hours • $4500
Your experience begins from the time of the first consultation. While all intensives draw from similar theories and frameworks, the frequency and tools you will learn are tailored to your unique needs. Let's repair and revive your relationship so you can calm the chaos.
Book Intensive ConsultationWhat to expect in an intensive
From start to finish, you will learn theories and skills both individually and practice them as a couple. You can start visualizing what your intensive will look like following our phases of care listed below.
STEP 1
Initial FREE consultation
We want to make sure that you are a good fit for a couples intensive.
STEP 2
Comprehensive Plan
Together we will chart a course toward a better future. Intake questionnaires will jumpstart your thinking and give Gretchen information to speed up our start.
STEP 3
Individual 60mins initial meetings
Typically done virtually, Get coaching on tools you can use individually, right fro the start, to improve your relationship.
STEP 4
10-hour Couples Intensives
Intensives are 3-4 hours and up to 6 hours per day. Practice new patterns and skills to repair and revive your relationship and heal the crisis.
STEP 5
2x 90mins post-intensive follow-up sessions
Continue skill building, go deeper in your understanding and practice of new ways of being as a couple.
Let's repair and rebuild your relationship. Call today.
“We need help to figure out how to fix our relationship or say goodbye with kindness and calm. We want to stop arguing and end the blame game, but we can’t seem to do that on our own. We need help.”
Relationships are hard, not easy. There is no shame in getting help. Let’s work together on your important goals with zero judgment.
FAQs
Intensives are offered both in person in Newport Beach as well as online. Additionally, you can combine both as a hybrid program.
The Intensive is priced at $5000 total with a non-refundable deposit of $750 that is required to hold your spot. The deposit will be applied to your total program fees.
In short, I don’t know. There are of course no guarantees with any program. However, intensives give time to focus on the relationship without the distraction of daily life, repair broken trust, and get momentum toward better relationship results. Couples in crisis appreciate having the time to dig into a big issue or learn tools that needed to be learned long ago and are now urgently needed.
Some couples use the intensive program to help answer the question of, “should we stay together or not?”. For couples that decide to separate they have used the space to explore how to separate with wisdom and calm, especially when there are children involved.
Most couples report communication problems and yelling. However if you have a history of domestic violence or are currently experiencing domestic violence you may need individual therapy before doing an intensive. Doing an intensive requires basic emotional regulation skills and you may need to acquire or practice these skills before starting. This is a good topic for us to discuss during the consultation. Book an intensive consultation HERE.
I am happy to coordinate care with your therapist to pick up where you are with your person and then transition back once we are done. How great that you have a therapist that you love and is helpful.
For couples truly in crisis once a week is frequently not enough to reduce the chaos outbursts and yelling or to prevent a separation. This is a great topic to review during a free consultation. Click HERE to set one up.
Couples come in with lots of different problems including the recent discovery of an affair sexual differences neurodivergence (e.g., ASD and ADHD) addiction personality disorders and conflict over in-laws or the kids. Most of our clients report having significant communication challenges.
The intensive is $5000 total and a $750 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of scheduling to hold your spot. This deposit will be used toward the balance of fees due. The remainder of your intensive is due two weeks before the start of the intensive individual sessions. Payment can be made via the client portal.
Please note that intensives are reserved by you for you. In the case of a cancelation if we can fill your spot there will be no charge. However if we are unable to fill this time slot here is the cancellation policy.
14-7 days before the intensive: 50% refund
7 days before intensive start date: no refund
Schedule a consultation with Gretchen using this LINK HERE. We will discuss if you are a good fit and if so talk logistics and scheduling. If there is a waitlist we can discuss when spots are available.
Yes. Coaching is also available for individuals. Set up a consultation. Let’s talk.
The time frame is to ensure progress toward goals. Extensions can be requested on a case-by-case basis.
In short maybe.
Some couples opt for ongoing coaching post-intensive.
Gretchen is licensed in California and Texas. If you live outside these two states no. For California or Texas residents Gretchen may or may not have therapy availability. Regardless, if you need linkage to therapy after the intensive Gretchen will assist with referrals.
Intensives are typically held on Fridays or weekend days(Sat-Sunday).
Yes, reading the book In Each Other’s Care by Dr Stan Tatkin with give you lots of information about secure functioning relationships and psychobiology. Gretchen also recommends Dr Richard Schwarz’ book No Bad Parts as well as Terry Real’s book US.
Still have questions?
Let's connect. Send us an email or book a consultation to see if an intensive can help you meet your important goals.
About Gretchen
Gretchen Weisenburger Carrillo, LMFT is the founder of the OC Couples Center.
This is a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with Gretchen to help you meet your goals as quickly as possible. A gifted, seasoned, and caring clinician and teacher, Gretchen is passionate about helping couples build habits and skills to have happy, healthy, real-life relationships. Her goal in this offering is simple- to help individuals and couples successfully repair relationships and heal after a crisis. Book your consultation today.
Gretchen is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the Universidad de las Americas (Mexico City).
