Marathon Therapy with

Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman

Marathon Couples Therapy is a specific type of therapy that is short-term and intensive, involving 4 consecutive days of intensive therapy, 5 total hours with your therapist per day. The structure of each therapy day will vary depending on your needs. Your therapist will begin the first day of the Marathon by completing a full relationship assessment with you, about 3 hours in length. This assessment is an irreplaceable tool for providing both you and your therapist essential insight into your strengths as well as areas of greatest need, allowing them to completely tailor the intensive therapy to your specific needs and goals.

It is important that you also understand the risks involved. Despite the “nuts and bolts” approach of this method, the Marathon Couples Therapy format may move you more quickly and intensely into the areas of difficulty to be addressed. Therefore, you and /or your partner may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger, loneliness, and helplessness. Your therapy may also involve recalling unpleasant aspects of your history together and/or individually.

Difficulties between the two of you may become temporarily amplified. Additionally, difficulties with people important to you may also occur, family secrets may be disclosed, and despite our best efforts, therapy may not work out well. Thus, we can make no guarantees about how the therapy process will be for the two of you specifically or what the outcome will be for your relationship. In addition, Marathon Couples Therapy, as with couples’ therapy in general, has limitations and may be unadvisable in the following situations.

Should you have any questions regarding the following issues, please contact us for clarification about whether the Marathon Therapy method is suitable for your situation. These issues are:

  • If there is active alcohol and/or drug addiction on the part of either or both partners, from either partner’s perspective
  • If there is serious violence in your relationship, threats by one or both partners that serious violence might occur, or fear of such serious violence on the part of one or both partners
  • If either partner currently has an untreated major mental illness (schizophrenia, recurrent psychotic depression, or bipolar/manic-depressive illness.) This does not include past, successfully treated psychotic episodes (e.g. post-partum depression with psychosis).
  • If there is an undisclosed, current affair that you are not willing to disclose (such secrets predict marital therapy failure)
  • If either partner is currently experiencing suicidal or homicidal thoughts, or has a history of serious harm inflicted on him/herself or another person

Upon completion of the therapy, we may recommend that Marathon Couples Therapy be followed by couples’ and/or individual therapy conducted in your home locale. In some cases, coordination between your home locale therapist and us may be advisable. In this case, your therapist will have you both sign a Release of Information form to allow for this exchange, if further treatment is needed.

~ Marathon Therapy ~

20 hours of therapy

Cost per couple:

$20,000

Schedule Marathon Therapy:

Dr. Julie Gottman
Contact: Kathryn Schwartz
Phone: (206) 381-8456
kathryn@gottman.com

Marathon Cancellation Policy:  Deposits are non-refundable. Your appointment times are reserved for you alone. If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment for any reason, appointments must be canceled one week in advance in order to avoid being charged for the final 50% of the fee.
Follow-up Appointment Cancellation Policy:  To avoid being charged for a scheduled follow-up appointment, please give us at least 48 hours’ advance notice of your need to cancel or reschedule.