Yes, Marriage Healing Center is currently accepting new clients for couples therapy at both our Gainesville and Alexandria offices, as well as online throughout Virginia. If you've been searching for a therapist who can help your relationship—and wondering whether practices near you have availability—this is what you need to know about starting therapy with us.
The hardest step in couples therapy isn't the first session. It's deciding to reach out in the first place. Many couples spend months or even years considering therapy before they actually make the call, often because they're unsure where to start, whether a practice is accepting new clients, or what the process will look like. This guide answers those questions so you can move from wondering to actually getting the support your relationship needs.
Why Do Couples Wait So Long to Start Therapy?
According to The Gottman Institute, couples wait an average of six years before seeking couples counseling—six years of unresolved conflict, emotional distance, and missed opportunities to repair patterns before they become entrenched. That's a long time to carry resentment, navigate disconnection alone, or hope things will improve on their own.
Common reasons couples delay include:
- Uncertainty about where to go. Not knowing which therapist or practice is the right fit, or whether anyone nearby is even accepting new clients, creates a barrier that feels easier to avoid than to navigate.
- Cost concerns. Therapy is an investment, and couples worry whether they can afford it or whether insurance will cover it.
- The belief that problems aren't "bad enough" yet. Many couples assume therapy is only for relationships in crisis, not realizing that early intervention—when you first notice recurring conflict or growing distance—is far more effective than waiting until contempt and withdrawal have taken hold.
- Stigma or shame. Seeking help can feel like admitting failure, even though the opposite is true: reaching out is an act of commitment.
- One partner hesitant or resistant. When one person wants therapy and the other isn't sure, couples get stuck in limbo, waiting for the "right time" that never arrives.
If any of these barriers sound familiar, you're not alone—and none of them means your relationship doesn't deserve support. They're common, understandable hesitations. What matters now is moving past them.
Is Marriage Healing Center Accepting New Clients Right Now?
Yes. Our practice is currently accepting new couples for therapy. We have openings at both our Gainesville office (7051 Heathcote Village Way, Suite 265) and our Alexandria location, and we offer online e-therapy for couples anywhere in Virginia who prefer the convenience and privacy of virtual sessions.
Our team includes experienced therapists trained in evidence-based approaches like the Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Imago Relationship Therapy, and Prepare/Enrich for premarital counseling. Whether you're navigating communication challenges, rebuilding trust after infidelity, considering whether to stay together or separate, or preparing for marriage, we have clinicians who specialize in helping couples at every stage.
What Should You Expect When You First Reach Out?
Starting therapy begins with a simple step: reaching out to schedule a consultation. Here's what the process looks like at Marriage Healing Center.
How Do You Schedule Your First Appointment?
You can request an appointment through our online counseling request form or call our office at (571) 222-5180. When you submit a request, our team will contact you to schedule your first session and answer any initial questions you have about the process, fees, or what to expect.
If you're unsure whether couples therapy is right for your situation, or if you have questions about which therapist might be the best fit for your relationship, our intake coordinator can help guide you. You don't need to have everything figured out before you reach out—just the willingness to explore whether therapy could help.
What Happens During the First Session?
Your first session is an intake appointment where your therapist gets to know you as a couple. You'll talk about what brought you to therapy, what you're hoping to work on, and what your relationship has been like recently. This is also when your therapist will explain how therapy works, discuss confidentiality and consent, and answer any questions you have about the process.
Many couples worry about what to say or whether they'll be "doing it right." There's no wrong way to start. Your therapist's job is to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where both of you can share honestly about what's happening in your relationship. You won't be expected to have all the answers—therapy is where you figure them out together.
How Long Does Couples Therapy Take?
The length of therapy depends on what you're working on and what your goals are. Some couples come for a few months to address a specific issue—communication patterns, a recent conflict, preparing for marriage. Others continue longer-term to rebuild trust after infidelity, navigate ongoing challenges, or deepen their connection in sustained ways.
At Marriage Healing Center, we also offer intensive couples therapy—condensed four- to six-hour sessions designed for couples facing high distress, complex issues, or those who need focused support but can't commit to weekly sessions. Intensives allow you to make significant progress in a single day, rather than spreading the work across months.
Your therapist will work with you to create a plan that fits your relationship's needs and your schedule. Therapy isn't a one-size-fits-all process—it's tailored to where you are and where you want to go.
What If One Partner Isn't Sure About Therapy?
It's common for one partner to want therapy while the other is hesitant, skeptical, or flat-out resistant. If that's your situation, you're not alone—and it doesn't mean therapy can't help.
Discernment counseling is specifically designed for couples where one person is leaning out of the relationship and the other is leaning in. It's a short-term process (typically one to five sessions) that helps both partners gain clarity about whether to work on the relationship, move toward separation, or take more time to decide. Discernment counseling doesn't push you toward any particular outcome—it creates space for an honest, supported conversation about what each of you wants and whether you're both willing to invest in repair.
If your partner is hesitant but willing to try one session, that's enough to start. Many reluctant partners find that the first session isn't what they expected—it's not about blame or being told they're wrong. It's about understanding each other better and finding ways to communicate that actually work.
What Does Couples Therapy Cost, and Do You Take Insurance?
Marriage Healing Center operates on an out-of-pocket basis. Standard couples therapy sessions are $175 for 60 minutes. We do not bill insurance directly, but we can provide a superbill—a detailed receipt you can submit to your insurance company for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
It's worth noting that many insurance companies do not reimburse for couples or marriage therapy, as they typically cover individual mental health diagnoses rather than relational work. If you're unsure whether your plan offers out-of-network benefits for couples therapy, contact your insurance provider before your first session to ask about reimbursement policies.
For couples seeking more concentrated support, intensive therapy sessions are $800 for a four-hour session and $1,200 for a six-hour session, both of which include a lunch break and materials.
Cost is one of the most commonly cited barriers to seeking couples therapy. If fees are a concern, it's still worth reaching out—our intake team can discuss your options and help you determine what's feasible. Waiting another year because of cost concerns means another year without the tools and support that could change your relationship's trajectory.
Why Does Starting Early Make a Difference?
Therapy works best when couples seek help early—not as a last resort, but as a proactive investment in their relationship. By the time many couples walk into a therapist's office, destructive communication patterns have become habits, goodwill has eroded, and repair feels harder than it would have been months or years earlier.
Research consistently shows that couples who seek help within the first one to two years of noticing problems have better outcomes than those who wait five or more years. Early intervention means:
- Patterns haven't calcified into permanent habits yet
- Both partners still have motivation and goodwill to draw from
- The emotional bank account hasn't been completely depleted
- Repair attempts are more likely to succeed because contempt and withdrawal haven't taken over
If you've been noticing quiet signs that your marriage needs attention—recurring conflicts, emotional distance, or a sense that something isn't quite right—now is the time to reach out. You don't need to wait until things are in crisis. In fact, the earlier you start, the more effective therapy will be.
What If You're Not in Gainesville or Alexandria?
If you live in Northern Virginia—Haymarket, Manassas, Bristow, Centreville, Fairfax, Arlington, Springfield, or surrounding areas—both our Gainesville and Alexandria offices are accessible options for in-person couples therapy.
If you're elsewhere in Virginia, or if you prefer the convenience and privacy of virtual sessions, we offer HIPAA-compliant online e-therapy for Virginia residents statewide. Online therapy provides the same evidence-based support as in-person sessions, with the flexibility to attend from your own home. Many couples find that virtual sessions reduce the logistical barriers—childcare, commute time, scheduling conflicts—that can make weekly in-person therapy difficult to sustain.
What Makes Marriage Healing Center Different?
Marriage Healing Center was founded in 2018 by Dr. Beverley Boothe, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, an Imago Couples Therapist with a focus on healing the heart, mind, and spirit of couples who are hurting. Our team of approximately ten therapists brings diverse training, languages, and specialties, all grounded in evidence-based, holistic approaches to couples work.
Many of our clinicians are trained in the Gottman Method—a research-backed approach to couples therapy with decades of studies supporting its effectiveness. We also offer Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Imago Relationship Therapy, and Prepare/Enrich premarital assessments. Several therapists are fluent in languages beyond English, including Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada, allowing us to serve couples from diverse cultural backgrounds.
For couples who want faith integrated into their therapy, we offer Christian marriage counseling when requested. For couples who prefer a secular approach, that's equally welcome. Our priority is meeting you where you are and providing the support that fits your values and your relationship.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
If you've been wondering whether therapy could help your relationship, whether we're accepting new clients, or what starting the process would actually look like, the answer is simple: yes, we're here, we have availability, and the first step is easier than you think.
Reaching out doesn't commit you to months of therapy or guarantee any particular outcome. It's one conversation—a consultation where you can ask questions, meet a therapist, and decide whether this feels like the right fit. If it does, you move forward. If it doesn't, at least you've taken the step of exploring your options rather than staying stuck in uncertainty.
The six-year wait that most couples endure before seeking help isn't inevitable. You can choose to start now, before another year passes, before the patterns get harder to change, and before the distance between you grows wider. Your relationship deserves the same care and investment you give to your health, your career, and your home.
Dr. Beverley Boothe, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, and the team at Marriage Healing Center provide couples therapy, intensive therapy, affair recovery, discernment counseling, and premarital counseling in Gainesville and Alexandria, Virginia, as well as online e-therapy for couples throughout Virginia. Our therapists are trained in the Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, and other evidence-based approaches to help couples rebuild connection, improve communication, and create the relationship they want. We are currently accepting new clients. Schedule a consultation to begin your journey toward a healthier, more connected relationship—you don't have to do this alone.
References
The Gottman Institute. (n.d.). When is it a good time to seek counseling? https://www.gottman.com/blog/when-is-it-a-good-time-to-seek-counseling/