Couples Therapy

Maybe you’ve noticed a dysfunctional cycle in your marriage or relationship. Maybe you’re constantly fighting, yelling, screaming, calling names, or talking to each other in ways that create shame, guilt, depression, and distance in your relationship. Maybe you’ve stopped talking or are having other communication issues. Perhaps you’re having trouble agreeing on ways to parent your kids, spend your money, having disagreements about sex and intimacy, or just generally feeling lost and disconnected in your relationship. If any of these apply to you, you’ve come to the right place.

I am clinical psychologist with specialized training in a research-based model of therapy called Emotionally Focused Therapy (“EFT”) for Couples. EFT is a specialized, research-proven approach to couple therapy that focuses on enhancing emotional connection, reducing conflictual relationship cycles that lead to relationship “injuries,” and strengthening the bond between partners.

In couples therapy, we will directly work on:

  • Improving communication — we will work on communicating without resorting to some of the negative ways couples are used to speaking to one another during cycles of negative conflict (e.g., cursing, yelling, using derogatory ways of speaking to on another, etc). You’ll quickly notice things improve as we work to improve your communication with one another and learn new communication skills.

  • Reducing conflict — We will work together to help you reduce the reactive, conflict-ridden cycles that create many of the issues that bring couples to therapy.

  • Healing emotional wounds (e.g., betrayals, affairs) — Many relationship issues stems from unresolved emotional pain or “hurts.” Whether these “hurts” refer to past actions, arguments, words said during heated moments, or affairs, we can address these in a way that resolves the trauma(s) and strengthens your relationship. EFT helps couples address these wounds, create space to better understand them (and prevent them from happening again), and respond to each other in a way where both partners feels heard and supported.

  • Strengthening emotional bonds — by addressing some of the deeper needs and fears in your relationship, we will work together to help you develop a deeper sense of trust and security with one another.

What does couples therapy look like with me?

  1. We’ll schedule a brief phone call to discuss what’s going in your relationship, and we’ll determine together whether working together is best for you.

  2. One benefit of working with a psychologist is that I have special training in psychological testing. We will do a bit of testing to determine the current state of your marriage, identify relevant issues for treatment, and create a “roadmap.” This helps ensure you receive a tailored treatment plan to help heal your relationship.

  3. We’ll meet for intake sessions. We will meet together (your partner, you, and I), followed by two “one-on-one” appointments. This will give each partner the opportunity to share their experience of what is going in the relationship. Afterwards, the three of us will meet again to create a treatment plan.

  4. The work begins. After we are in agreement with how therapy can best address your relationship issues, we will start to work on improving communication and getting your relationship “unstuck.”

Session structure and fees

We first conduct a few intake sessions, where I will sit down with each of you (and together) and hear your perspectives about what you think is going on in the relationship, and what you’d like to work on. We then create a game plan for treatment, followed by the actual couples therapy sessions, which last 75 minutes. We can do these sessions in person at my office in South Minneapolis or virtually (I am a member of the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT), which means I can deliver services to clients in 40 different states).

Currently, my rates are (effective 10/1/2023):

  • Couples therapy intake session: $250

  • 75-minute couples sessions: $225

Insurance

At this time, I do not accept insurance payments for couples therapy sessions. Unfortunately, most insurance companies either flat-out refuse to pay for couples therapy, or they severely limit the number of sessions for which they will cover. I am happy to provide a “superbill,” which serves as a record of the services I have provided and the payment I have received. This helps you get part (or sometimes all) of this fee reimbursed by using their out-of-network benefits. If this is confusing to you, I am happy to check on these benefits on your behalf.

Please note payment is due at time of service.

Contact me.

drjonlewis@protonmail.com
(612) 405-6469

4 E 43rd Street, Suite 203
Minneapolis, MN, 55409