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Your experience with professional therapy can vary greatly depending the particular concerns you are experiencing. There are many different methods your therapist may use to help with the concerns you hope to address, but most clients use therapy to identify and work on goals and heal from past hurts, and many also practice the techniques they learn in therapy in the “real world” between sessions. Since therapy may involve discussing unpleasant experiences of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings such as sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. On the other hand, successful therapy can lead to more satisfaction in relationships, new possibilities for addressing specific problems, or reductions in feelings of distress.
Sessions 1-3
The first few sessions are the “assessment period”: a chance for you to tell your story and to make sure your therapist is a good fit for your needs. The therapist will be assessing your goals and your situation to figure out the best way of helping you and ensure a good fit for you. Our therapists have different specialties and it’s critical you’re working with an expert who is familiar with the issues you’re struggling with. Please do not expect a lot of suggestions or change to happen in the first couple of sessions – the therapist must gather enough information before beginning treatment to provide the most effective treatment.
Session 4 and after
By session 4, treatment begins. At this stage, you will see significant engagement from the therapist, a plan for moving forward, and you soon after you should start seeing progress. This stage of therapy can last anywhere from a few months to upwards of a year, depending on what your therapeutic goals are. Your therapist will be checking in with you regularly at this stage to make sure you are staying on track, but we recommend that you take an active role in your therapy as well by offering feedback to your therapist to make sure that you are working towards your goals.
When Treatment Goals Are Met
Once treatment goals have been met, you and your therapist will determine if there are other goals you’d like to meet, or if moving into maintenance and cutting back on the frequency of meeting would make sense at this point. Most clients are coming to therapy once or twice a month at this stage.
Completing Therapy
After you’ve been able to meet your goals and maintain your progress, therapy terminates. But you are always welcome to come back, and we hope you do. Most clients think of maintaining their mental health the way they maintain their teeth – regular care at home with a “check-up” every 6-12 months. If everything is good, we’ll send you on your way again. If we need to brush up on some skills, come in for a few sessions more. It won’t take nearly as long this time since you likely already know the skills and just need some aid in utilizing them.
When you call us or request an appointment through our website, your request goes to our highly skilled Client Ambassador team, who will process your request and match you to an available provider based on your general scheduling needs, your clinic location preference, the topic(s) you are looking to address in therapy, and any requests or specifications that you may be looking for in a therapist, such as gender, age, or background. You may be as specific as you would like with any requests, but please be aware that we cannot guarantee availability of a provider that will match all of your preferences. However, our Client Ambassador team will do their best to accommodate requests as closely as they can.
We are very selective in choosing the therapists who contract with us. They are all well trained and your success is their primary concern. Each therapist has a different personality and some have different specialties. Once you have begun meeting with your therapist ask yourself these three critical questions:
- Do I feel comfortable talking with my therapist?
- Do they seem genuine and caring?
- Do they seem competent to work with the issues I’m struggling with?
Usually within the first session you’ll be able to tell if you ‘click’. If you’re thinking your therapist isn’t a good fit, please call us at 612-787-2832 to try a different therapist. We strive to match you successfully from the beginning, but we know we don’t get it right every time. If we didn’t succeed the first time – please give us another chance to find you a better fit. Within 5 sessions you should be seeing progress. If you’re not seeing any progress, please talk to your therapist and/or call us at 612-787-2832.
All of our therapists are able to accept most plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield, HealthPartners, Cigna, Aetna, United Healthcare, Medica, and UMR. Some of our therapists are also able to accept Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. You will want to call your insurance and ask if you have outpatient mental health benefits to ensure you have the proper coverage. Be sure to ask if you have a deductible and what your copay or coinsurance is. We are also happy to check on your insurance for you. Just send your full name, phone number, date of birth, insurance provider, and policy ID to contact@mncouplescounseling.com. For more information, go to our Rates & Insurance page.
We’re pretty different here at the Relationship Therapy Center, in that most therapy clinics provide no or minimal training for their therapists, and even less so in a speciality like couples counseling. However, because our top value is effectiveness, no one is hired to work as a therapist at RTC without training for 3 years as an Couples Therapy Fellow (CTF). We know from experience that providing exceptional couples therapy is incredibly difficult, so our Fellows undergo extensive training in order to become competent. When a Fellow has achieved the learning objectives in all 6 of our training modules and has met the RTC standard of practice, they become a Certified CTF. And while they will continue throughout their Fellowship to receive clinical supervision and regular training, you can be confident that they are far more well-trained than the average couples therapist – and fully qualified to work with you.
A Certified CTF has had extensive training in:
- Assessments: Gottman Assessments & Feedback Informed Treatment
- Interventions & Techniques from the Gottman, Pragmatic-Experiential, Dan Wile, and EFT couples therapy modalities
- Conceptualizing Couples: Negative Infinity Loop, Gottman’s Sound Relationship House, Cyclical dynamics
- Common Couples Issues: Communication and Attachment, Infidelity, Discernment, Emotional and Sexual Intimacy, and Managing Conflict
- Ethics & Cultural Competency
- Conceptualizing Individuals: Treating Mental Health Issues, Couples Therapy For One
If you have further questions about our Couples Therapy Fellowship, please don’t hesitate to contact our clinic owner Theresa Benoit at mncouplescounseling@gmail.com.
All therapists in the state of Minnesota need to complete a certain number of “supervised” therapy hours in order to be eligible to apply for independent licensure. This means that your therapist will meet with their supervisor (typically a more established, fully licensed therapist) outside of your sessions to discuss your progress and make sure you are getting the best care possible. Your therapist’s supervisor will not be in sessions with you, nor will your sessions be recorded in any way without your explicit permission. Additionally, your therapist’s supervisor is bound to the same ethical standards of confidentiality as your therapist, so anything discussed between your therapist and their supervisor will remain confidential.
There are many benefits to working with a therapist who is under supervision, including increased accountability for your therapist to use evidence-based interventions and uphold ethical standards. Supervised therapists also have the opportunity to hear another perspective on your case, which can lead to more creative and effective outcomes for clients. Finally, numerous studies have shown that therapists under clinical supervision have equivalent outcomes as therapists who have been licensed for extended periods of time. Please be assured that all of the therapists at the Relationship Therapy Center are well-trained and qualified to provide excellent therapy. We also utilize Feedback-Informed Treatment to provide an additional layer of accountability for your treatment.
If you have further questions about supervision, please don’t hesitate to contact our clinic owner and clinical supervisor Theresa Benoit at mncouplescounseling@gmail.com.
Come in for Couples Therapy for One! This format is designed for individual clients whose partners are resistant or hesitant about doing couples therapy. Couples Therapy for One teaches specific skills and tools to one partner that, when used, can often substantially improve the relationship and sometimes even inspires the other partner to reconsider couples counseling. Research shows that if you change the way you interact with your partner, often your partner will make changes as well. We can even get you established with a couples counselor if your partner changes their mind and decides to join you!
Reach out to get set up for Couples Therapy for One here.
Most insurance plans will cover 53-60 minute sessions for both individual and couples therapy. Ideally, couples therapy is 90-110 minutes a session, but it will depend on your therapist, your schedule, and the limitations of your insurance (if you are using insurance).
Telehealth is a convenient, easy way for you to safely get the mental healthcare you need. It is ideal for clients who have schedules or medical circumstances that make it difficult to come to in-office appointments, who are located in geographical areas with less reliable access to quality mental healthcare providers, or who don’t want to spend their time commuting to an office. It also allows you to maintain continuity of care by not needing to cancel an appointment due to bad weather, physical illness, lack of childcare, or other situations that might make it difficult for you to make it to an in-office appointment. Studies have shown that Telehealth therapy delivers the same effective care as in-office visits.
We use a secure, HIPAA-compliant version of the Google Meets platform for holding your sessions via video. You do not need a Google account to access this platform. Your therapist will send you their unique Telehealth link prior to your session.
For a successful Telehealth therapy session, we recommend selecting a place where you can ensure maximum privacy, and using a private, secure internet connection. Ideally, you will use a computer or mobile device with a camera and a microphone. We recommend joining your session a few minutes early to account for any technical issues, and having your phone nearby so that your therapist can communicate with you in case of technical difficulties during your session.
Please note that therapists at the Relationship Therapy Center are only able to provide Telehealth therapy services to Minnesota residents. If you have any questions about Telehealth therapy, please contact our Client Ambassador at 612-787-2832 or contact@mncouplescounseling.com.
For individual therapy, the most typical answer to this question is 1 hour per week. For couples therapy, the answer is usually 1-2 hours per week (a combination of meeting together and separately) in the first couple months, and then reduced significantly as progress is made. We want to make a difference, and we know that we need you to be invested in order to change patterns in your relationship. Sometimes schedules or insurance limit options, which then will also impact results. For couples with very minor problems, or couples with very severe problems a less or more intense format will be recommended.
As for how long it will take, this is one of our most common questions and probably the hardest to answer. For relatively minor relationship difficulties, our couples average around 12-20 weekly sessions (or around 3-5 months) to meet their initial treatment goals, before decreasing their session frequency. However, research shows that most couples come into therapy 6 ½ years after the onset of severe conflict, or in response to a relationship crisis such as an affair. If that’s the case for you, then therapy will likely be a much longer process, upwards of 6 months or more.
Your long term success is critical to us, and while we will not rush the therapeutic process, we are passionate about making sure that your sessions are productive and focused on meeting your treatment goals. We are very proud to share that since the year 2015, over 75% of our clients achieved their goals, compared to a national average of around 70%. To learn more about our results, go to: Our Success Rates.
Maybe. It depends on how old they are and how they might behave in the waiting room. If you have an infant that can sleep while you’re talking to your therapist, or kids that are old enough to read or play on an electronic device very quietly in the waiting room, feel free to bring them along. If your kids require a lot of attention, finding childcare will be a better option. Please be aware that most of our waiting rooms are unattended, so your child will likely be unsupervised for the duration of your session. If you think your child may need therapy as well, you could consider having them see a Child Therapist as you attend your own session. Ask a Client Ambassador about this option at 612-787-2832.
Yes! Please bring in your insurance card if you wish to use insurance, and a driver’s license or other photo ID. Please also make sure you have completed the intake forms via the client portal link that was emailed to you along with your confirmation email. If you never received the client portal invitation, please contact the Client Ambassador at 612-787-2832 or contact@mncouplescounseling.com to request it.
Make sure you are asking about billing codes 90837 and 90847, since these are the most common codes that we use during a course of couples therapy. Often these benefits are listed as “family therapy” or “conjoint therapy” by your insurance plan. Some insurance plans do not offer family therapy benefits. Most insurance companies also require a mental health diagnosis in order to be able to bill your sessions to your insurance. You can discuss any concerns that you have about this with your therapist.
Questions about your coverage at our clinic that your insurance isn’t able to answer? Call us at 612-787-2832 and select option 3 to speak to our billing team.
We have more therapists specializing in couples therapy and it subspecialties than any other clinic in Minnesota. Many people don’t realize that couples therapy is a speciality by itself within the marriage and family therapy field, and we are fortunate to have therapists with extensive training in different facets of this niche, including sex therapy, affair recovery, discernment counseling, Couples Therapy For One, premarital counseling, and so many more. This gives you the greatest chance of finding a therapist who is perfectly suited to your needs!
Additionally, unlike any other clinic in Minnesota, we actively use the latest cutting edge methods to track your progress. We can say with confidence that our therapy works. Check out our results on our Success Rates page.
Our Intensive Program is designed for couples who want or need more immediate and comprehensive support than traditional couples counseling can provide. These programs are completed in 3-4 hour blocks of time with a therapist, which facilitates quicker progress than we see with weekly therapy. Our Intensive Program is not currently covered by insurance. However, the service is reimbursed through most health savings accounts. Please see our Intensive Couples Counseling page for more details.