COUPLES INTENSIVE · CEDAR PARK & NORTH AUSTIN
When You’re Ready to Do the Work, Don’t Wait
Couples Intensives with Kristen Pierce, LMFT-S, give you a longer, protected block of time to find the pattern you keep getting stuck in, understand what's happening underneath it, and practice a different way of responding to each other. You leave with a clear plan for what comes next.
Choose a Half-Day, 1-Day, 2-Day, or 3-Day format, depending on what your relationship needs and how much time you're ready to give it.
WHY AN INTENSIVE
Too often, the session ends just as the real work begins
Weekly couples therapy helps many couples, but it has a built-in limit. The first part of the hour goes to catching up on the week. Then the conversation finally reaches something real, like the hurt under the argument or the fear behind the shutdown, and it's time to stop. Often you drive home with the conversation unresolved. By the next week, a new crisis has taken its place, and the deeper pattern gets pushed aside again.
An intensive removes that limit. When a couple is motivated and has momentum, a longer, protected block of time lets you keep going instead of starting over. There's room to slow down, follow a conflict all the way through, and repair it in the room instead of just describing it afterward.
Intensive couples work allows the therapist and couple to work with setbacks and relational dynamics live, as they happen, rather than meeting them between weekly sessions. Clients feel safe enough to say things they may hold back in one-hour or 90-minute sessions, because there is finally enough time to work through them.
"Momentum matters. When you're both ready, the work shouldn't have to stop at seventy-five minutes."
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Momentum, not restarts. You build on what just happened instead of re-explaining it next week.
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Time to go beneath the surface. Hours, not minutes, to understand what's really driving the conflict.
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Practice, not just insight. You try a new way of interacting while Kristen is right there to guide it.
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A clear plan to take home. You leave with a written plan, not a vague sense that something shifted.
THE WORK INSIDE AN INTENSIVE
Identify the pattern. Understand it. Practice something new
Every intensive, whatever its length, follows a similar clinical arc. The longer formats give each stage more room and give you more time to practice.
01 Identify the recurring pattern
Most couples aren't having a hundred different fights. They're having the same one in different outfits. Together, we map the cycle: what sets it off, how each of you responds, and how those responses keep the loop going.
02 Understand what's happening beneath it
Under the pattern are the things that are harder to say: longing, fear, old hurts, family-of-origin echoes, and the ways each of you learned to protect yourself. For some couples, this includes past trauma, and when it does, we slow down and move at a pace that keeps both of you steady. With enough time, these can come to the surface safely and be understood rather than argued over.
03 Practice a different interaction
Insight alone rarely changes a relationship. In the room, you'll try a new way of reaching for each other at a pace that feels safe, repairing, and staying connected when the old cycle starts. Then you'll practice again, with support, until it starts to feel possible.
04 Leave with a clear plan
You leave with a written relationship plan that names the pattern, the new moves you practiced, and specific next steps for the weeks ahead. Your follow-up sessions help make sure the changes last.
INTENSIVE OPTIONS
Four formats, one clinical approach
Every intensive includes pre-intensive assessments, Kristen's personal preparation, a written relationship plan, and follow-up care. The difference is how much protected time you have together.
Half-Day Intensive
Full-Day Intensive
2-Day Intensive
3-Day Intensive
A concise, targeted session built to address urgent hurdles and create immediate traction. Perfect for busy couples or those traveling to see our specialists.
Commit to extensive emotional repair and breakthrough insights. This immersive day-long block allows for deep processing that months of weekly therapy cannot provide.
On day one, you uncover the pattern and what's driving it. On day two, you return to repair, practice, and build your plan while the momentum is strong.
Our premier deep-dive experience for navigating profound trauma or life-altering change. A transformative multi-day path toward sustainable renewal and intimacy.
TRAUMA & INTENSIVES
When the past shows up between you
Betrayal, childhood hurt, loss, and frightening experiences can affect how partners react to each other long after they happen. What looks like a communication problem is often each person's nervous system trying to stay safe.
An intensive can be an especially good setting for this work. There's time to approach painful memories gradually and settle before you leave, instead of hitting them just as the hour ends. In multi-day formats, you come back the next day to work through what came up. One partner can heal while the other witnesses their healing in real time, which often builds a deep understanding between partners.
The work stays focused on your relationship and doesn't replace individual trauma treatment. With your permission, Kristen can coordinate with an individual therapist. The 2-Day and 3-Day formats are usually recommended for trauma-related work.
HOW IT WORKS
From first call to follow-up
A clear, predictable process. You'll know exactly what happens at every stage — and whether an intensive is genuinely the right fit before you commit.
Intensives are scheduled in limited blocks each month to protect preparation time, so availability is intentionally narrow.
Complimentary consultation call
Begin by truly understanding the heart of our organization. Explore our program pages to learn about the challenges we address, and the tangible difference we strive to make in the world every day.
Scheduling & assessments
Once your date is reserved, both partners complete the pre-intensive assessments and intake paperwork online.
Preparation before you arrive
Kristen reviews everything and designs a session plan built around your specific dynamic and goals.
Your three-hour intensive
In-person, uninterrupted, with a scheduled break. Deep systemic work on the pattern underneath the arguments.
Plan delivery & follow-up
You receive your written relationship plan, then meet again one to two weeks later for a 50-minute follow-up.
WHO IT'S FOR
Built for couples who are ready to move
Intensives are best for partners who are motivated, willing to be honest, and ready to use a longer block of time well.
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Stuck in the same fight and want to understand the cycle rather than relitigate it.
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Facing a decision about commitment, marriage, or separation and needing clarity.
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Rebuilding after a rupture such as a breach of trust, and needing structured repair.
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Short on calendar space — demanding careers, travel, young children, or long commutes.
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Preparing for a transition like marriage, blending families, or a major relocation.
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Restarting therapy after previous couples work stalled out.
WHEN IT'S NOT THE RIGHT FIT
Honest screening comes first
Longer formats can move couples into difficult material quickly. That's part of why they work, and it's why we screen carefully. If a different level of care would serve you better, we'll say so and help you find it.
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Active intimate partner violence or safety concerns
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Untreated substance dependence requiring stabilization first
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Acute crisis needing a higher level of care
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One partner attending under pressure rather than by choice
THE INVESTMENT
Clear, flat fees for every format
Each intensive is a complete package of care, not an hourly booking. Every format includes pre-intensive assessments for both partners, Kristen's personal review and session design, and a written relationship plan. There are no hourly add-ons.
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Half-Day Intensive: $900. 3 hours of clinical time, plus one 50-minute follow-up session.
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1-Day Intensive: $1,950. 6 hours of clinical time, plus one 50-minute follow-up session.
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2-Day Intensive: $3,750. About 12 hours over two consecutive days, an individual pre-intensive call with each partner, and two follow-up sessions.
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3-Day Intensive: $5,400. About 15–18 hours over three consecutive days, an individual pre-intensive call with each partner, and three follow-up sessions spaced over about three months.
A 50% non-refundable deposit reserves your date. Intensives are a private-pay specialty service, and a superbill is available on request for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
This isn't weekly therapy stretched into a longer session. It's a specialty service led by a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Supervisor with 20 years of experience in couples and systemic work. Preparation and plan writing are included, and you know the full cost before you book.
YOUR CLINICIAN
Kristen Pierce, LMFT-S
LMFT-Supervisor · 20 Years Clinical Experience · Couples & Systemic Specialist · Founder, The Therapy Collective
Kristen is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Supervisor with 20 years of clinical experience and a specialty in couples and systemic therapy. Her work focuses on the relationship itself: the patterns, cycles, and family-of-origin dynamics that keep two people repeating the same painful loop, even when both are trying.
As a supervisor, Kristen also trains other clinicians. That shapes how she works: structured, direct, and focused on giving couples something they can actually use.
Every intensive is provided personally by Kristen. Intensives are not assigned to associate clinicians.