Couples intensives · Hermosa Beach · Online in California

Intensive Couples Therapy in Los Angeles

Some couples can't wait months for weekly sessions to add up. There's a date on the calendar, a betrayal that needs to be faced, or a fight that keeps ending right where it started. An intensive gives the two of you a half day, a full day or two days of focused work with Lisa Chen, LMFT, or Jessica Slavin, AMFT.

Book a free 20-minute consult See formats and fees

Private intensives, just the two of you and your therapist: Lisa Chen, LMFT, at $650 an hour or Jessica Slavin, AMFT, at $400 an hour. Reply within one business day.

A couple walking arm in arm on a California beach at sunset
  • Gottman and IFIOSkills for the pattern, depth for what drives it
  • Two intensive therapistsLisa Chen, LMFT, and Jessica Slavin, AMFT
  • Private, not a groupNo workshops or other couples in the room
  • Published feesHalf day, full day and two days

Intensive couples therapy compresses months of weekly couples work into a half day (4 hours), a full day (6 hours) or two days (12 hours). At Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy in Hermosa Beach, founder Lisa Chen, LMFT, and Jessica Slavin, AMFT, lead private intensives using the Gottman Method with IFS and Intimacy from the Inside Out. Intensives are $650 an hour with Lisa Chen, LMFT, in person or online, and $400 an hour with Jessica Slavin, AMFT, online in California.

What’s bringing you to an intensive?

Pick the one that sounds closest. We'll suggest a format to start the conversation.

A wedding, a move, a new job, a baby on the way. When there's a deadline, weekly sessions can feel too slow. A full-day or two-day intensive gives you real time to work through the hard topics before the date arrives.

Often a good fit: a full-day or two-day intensive

Facing an affair? Openness matters more than most couples expect. Five years after couple therapy, 43% of couples whose affair came out had divorced, compared with 80% when it stayed secret. See the infidelity research.

Formats and fees

Couples intensives are $650 an hour with Lisa Chen, LMFT, or $400 an hour online with Jessica Slavin, AMFT.

$2,600

$1,600 with Jessica Slavin, online

Half day, 4 hours. A focused reset on one pattern or decision.

$3,900

$2,400 with Jessica Slavin, online

Full day, 6 hours. Room for the hard conversation and the repair.

$7,800

$4,800 with Jessica Slavin, online

Two days, 12 hours. For affairs, big decisions and long-standing patterns.

$650

an hour, for any length of intensive, with Lisa Chen, LMFT, or $400 an hour online with Jessica Slavin, AMFT.

Every intensive starts with a free 20-minute consultation, so we can decide together whether an intensive fits or weekly couples therapy would serve you better. We're out of network. Superbills are provided through the client portal, and many employers' PPO plans reimburse a portion.

How an intensive works

An intensive is more structured than a weekly session, not less. We prepare before the day so none of your time goes to background.

Both partners need to agree to come, and we see you together from the first meeting. We don't meet with one partner alone as part of couples work. If one of you isn't ready yet, the other can start individual therapy with us in the meantime.

  1. 1

    A free 20-minute call

    Tell us what's going on and what you've tried. We'll talk through whether an intensive fits and which format makes sense.

  2. 2

    Assessment, together

    A 90-minute session with both of you, plus a detailed online relationship assessment you each complete at home.

  3. 3

    The intensive

    We start with what the assessment showed, then work on the pattern and the hurt underneath it, with real breaks built into the day.

  4. 4

    After the intensive

    You leave with a plan. Many couples add a follow-up session or continue with weekly couples therapy to keep the changes going.

Weekly therapy, a retreat, or an intensive

Couples searching for help often see all three. Here's how they differ.

Weekly therapy or a retreatA private intensive with us
Who's in the roomWeekly: the two of you. Retreats: often a group of couples and a workshop leaderJust the two of you and Lisa Chen, LMFT, or Jessica Slavin, AMFT
Time50 minutes a week, or a weekend away4, 6 or 12 hours, in Hermosa Beach or online
The methodVaries widelyGottman for the pattern between you, IFS and IFIO for what drives each of you
What it's built aroundA general curriculum, or whatever came up that weekYour own assessment results and goals
AfterwardOften no follow-upA plan, and the option to continue weekly with the same practice

Who leads your intensive

Couples intensives are led by our founder, Lisa Chen, LMFT, or by Jessica Slavin, AMFT, who works online. Your free consult call is a chance to ask questions before you book.

Lisa Chen, LMFT, founder of Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy

Lisa Chen, LMFT

Founder · LMFT #140374

Gottman Level 2 and IFS Level 2 trained, IFIO Experienced level and on the IFIO training staff. A former Wall Street and corporate finance professional.

Hermosa Beach · Online

Jessica Slavin, AMFT, couples therapist at Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy

Jessica Slavin, AMFT

Associate · Supervised by Bob Northcutt, LMFT

Uses the Gottman Method and EMDR to help couples rebuild trust and closeness. Intensives at $400 an hour.

Online · California

“A stressed-out partner is typically relieved and happy when you ask what’s wrong.”
Lisa Chen, LMFT, on telling stress apart from an affair, in Lifetime · More press

Where intensives happen

The waiting room at the Lisa Chen & Associates Hermosa Beach office

Hermosa Beach

2615 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 326, a few minutes from the beach. Parking on site and an elevator. Couples come from across Los Angeles and Orange County.

Couples therapy in Hermosa Beach
A couple on a couch at home, sitting close and looking at a laptop together

Online, anywhere in California

The same intensive by secure video, for couples who can't travel or who live outside Los Angeles.

Online therapy in California

More for couples

Couples therapyWeekly sessions with eight couples therapists and published fees. IFS couples therapy (IFIO)How Intimacy from the Inside Out works with couples. Premarital counselingFor couples who want to start their marriage on solid ground. Couples therapy in Los AngelesOur Pasadena office and online sessions across LA.

Couples intensive questions

How much does a couples intensive cost?

At Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy, intensives are $650 an hour with Lisa Chen, LMFT ($2,600 for a half day, $3,900 for a full day, $7,800 for two days) or $400 an hour online with Jessica Slavin, AMFT ($1,600, $2,400 and $4,800). The first 20-minute consultation is free.

How is intensive couples therapy different from weekly couples therapy?

Weekly couples therapy meets for 50 minutes at a time, and progress builds over months. An intensive compresses that work into 4, 6 or 12 hours, so you can stay with a hard conversation until it resolves. Many couples use an intensive to get unstuck, then continue weekly to keep the changes going.

Is a couples intensive the same as a couples therapy retreat?

No. Many couples retreats are group workshops with several couples and a set curriculum. Our intensives are private: just the two of you and your therapist, built around your own assessment results. They take place at our Hermosa Beach office or online, so there's no travel unless you want it.

Who leads couples intensives at your practice?

Couples intensives are led by founder Lisa Chen, LMFT, who is Gottman Level 2 and IFS Level 2 trained and on the training staff for Intimacy from the Inside Out, or by Jessica Slavin, AMFT, who works online with the Gottman Method. Your free 20-minute consult call is a chance to ask questions and see whether an intensive fits what you're working on.

Do you offer couples intensives in Los Angeles or online?

Yes. In-person intensives are held at our Hermosa Beach office at 2615 Pacific Coast Highway, and couples come from across Los Angeles and Orange County. We also offer intensives by secure video to couples anywhere in California, with the same structure, assessment and follow-up options.

Is a couples intensive right for us?

An intensive often fits couples facing a deadline, recovering from an affair, deciding whether to stay, or stuck in a pattern weekly therapy hasn't moved. Both partners need to want to come. If there is violence in the relationship or someone feels unsafe at home, we'll talk through other options first.

Does insurance cover a couples intensive?

We're out of network, so we don't bill insurance directly. We provide superbills through the client portal, and many employers' PPO plans reimburse a portion of couples therapy. Call your plan before booking to ask about out-of-network mental health benefits and whether extended sessions are covered.

Can we fly in for a couples intensive?

Yes. Couples travel in from outside Los Angeles for in-person intensives at our Hermosa Beach office at 2615 Pacific Coast Highway, and the half-day, full-day and 2-day formats are built to put the work into one concentrated block so a trip is worth it. Tell us your travel dates on the free 20-minute consult and we'll plan the sessions around them. If travel isn't practical, we also offer intensives by secure video to couples anywhere in California.