How Much Does Couples Therapy Cost in Colorado?

If you've started looking for couples therapy in Colorado, you may have noticed that therapy fees can vary quite a bit.

You might be wondering:

How much does couples therapy actually cost?

Does insurance cover couples counseling?

Why are couples therapy sessions sometimes more expensive than individual therapy?

Should we choose a shorter session or a longer one?

And perhaps the biggest question:

How do we know whether couples therapy is worth the investment?

These are reasonable questions to ask before making an appointment. Therapy is both an emotional and financial investment, and you deserve to understand what you're paying for before you begin.

How Much Does Couples Therapy Cost in Colorado?

There isn't one standard price for couples therapy in Colorado.

The cost can depend on the therapist's experience and training, location, session length, type of therapy, and whether the therapist accepts insurance.

In the Denver and Greenwood Village area, you'll find couples therapists with a range of fees.

At Inner Calm Counseling, my couples therapy rates are:

50-minute couples session: $210

75-minute couples session: $315

I offer both in-person couples therapy in Greenwood Village and online couples therapy throughout Colorado and New Jersey.

I also offer a free 15-minute consultation for new clients who want to talk briefly about what they're looking for before scheduling a full session.

Why Does Couples Therapy Often Cost More Than Individual Therapy?

If you've been to individual therapy before, you may notice that couples therapy can cost more.

There are a few reasons for this.

First, couples therapy involves working with two people and the relationship between them.

Instead of focusing primarily on one person's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and experiences, the therapist is also paying attention to what happens between partners.

Who reaches for connection?

Who pulls away?

What happens when one person feels criticized?

What happens when the other feels ignored?

How does the conversation escalate?

Where does the cycle begin?

And what happens when both people are hurting at the same time?

There's a lot happening in a couples session.

Couples therapy also often requires the therapist to carefully balance two people's experiences while helping them move out of a repetitive pattern.

That can make the work more complex than simply having two people sitting in the same room talking about their week.

Is a 50-Minute or 75-Minute Couples Session Better?

Neither is automatically better.

It depends on your relationship, what you're working on, and what fits your lives and budget.

A 50-minute session can provide enough time to identify what's happening, work on a specific issue, and continue building the therapeutic relationship.

A 75-minute session gives you more room to slow things down.

This can be particularly helpful when you're working through complicated relationship issues, because couples can sometimes spend the first 20 minutes just trying to explain what happened.

By the time everyone understands the problem, there may not be much time left to actually work with it.

A longer session can provide more breathing room.

It doesn't necessarily mean you'll accomplish twice as much. Therapy isn't about racing through a checklist.

Sometimes having extra time simply means you don't have to rush an important conversation.

Does Insurance Cover Couples Therapy in Colorado?

Insurance coverage for couples therapy can be complicated.

Many insurance plans are designed to cover treatment for a diagnosed mental health condition rather than relationship counseling by itself.

Some therapists accept insurance directly, while others are out-of-network and may provide a superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

At Inner Calm Counseling, I am out-of-network with insurance.

If you have out-of-network mental health benefits, you may be eligible for some reimbursement depending on your specific plan.

Because every insurance policy is different, it's important to contact your insurance company directly and ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits before assuming that couples therapy will be reimbursed.

Some useful questions to ask your insurance company include:

Do I have out-of-network mental health benefits? Does my plan reimburse for couples therapy? Is a specific diagnosis required? What is my deductible? What percentage is reimbursed after the deductible? Is there a maximum number of sessions? Do I need a referral or preauthorization? Do you require a specific billing or procedure code?

Your therapist can provide information about their fees and, when applicable, the documentation needed for you to submit an out-of-network claim. Your insurance company ultimately determines your coverage and reimbursement.

Why Don't All Therapists Accept Insurance?

You may come across therapists who don't accept insurance at all.

That can be frustrating when you're trying to make therapy affordable.

There are several reasons therapists choose to remain out-of-network, including having more control over the treatment they provide and avoiding some of the limitations that can come with insurance-based care.

For couples specifically, insurance can also introduce questions about diagnosis and whose mental health condition is being treated when the primary reason for therapy is the relationship itself.

That doesn't mean insurance-based therapy is bad.

It simply means that it's worth understanding what you're looking for and what your insurance will actually cover before choosing a therapist.

Is Couples Therapy Worth the Cost?

This is probably the hardest question to answer.

Because therapy doesn't come with a guarantee.

No ethical therapist can promise that couples therapy will save your relationship.

And if someone tells you that they can guarantee that outcome, I'd be cautious.

What therapy can offer is a structured opportunity to understand what's happening in your relationship and begin working toward change.

For some couples, that means rebuilding a relationship that has become disconnected.

For others, it means learning how to communicate differently.

It might mean rebuilding trust after an affair.

It might mean addressing intimacy problems.

It might mean understanding why you keep having the same argument.

And sometimes it means determining whether staying together is actually the right decision.

The value isn't necessarily in "saving" a relationship.

It can also be in gaining clarity, learning something new about yourself and your partner, and making intentional decisions about your future.

What Happens If We Keep Waiting?

It's understandable to think:

"We'll try to work it out ourselves for a little longer."

Sometimes you do.

You talk.

You promise to communicate better.

You decide you're going to have more date nights.

You agree that you're not going to fight in front of the kids.

You try to put your phones away.

And for a while, things might actually improve.

But then something happens.

One person gets stressed at work.

The kids need something.

Someone's family gets involved.

You have a disagreement about money.

You're exhausted.

And suddenly you're right back in the same pattern.

That's often because the problem isn't simply that you don't know you're supposed to communicate better.

You may already know that.

The problem may be the pattern underneath the communication.

If you've been stuck in the same cycle for years, knowing what you're "supposed" to do doesn't necessarily make it easy to do something different.

That's where working with a couples therapist can help.

What Are You Actually Paying For in Couples Therapy?

When you're comparing therapists, it can be tempting to compare prices alone.

But the lowest fee isn't necessarily the least expensive option in the long run.

And the highest fee isn't necessarily the best fit.

Instead, consider what you're actually looking for.

Does the therapist have specific training in couples therapy?

Do they understand relationship dynamics?

Do they work with the kinds of challenges you're experiencing?

Do you feel comfortable with them?

Do they offer the session length and format you need?

Do they provide in-person therapy if that's important to you?

Can you attend virtually if getting to an office is difficult?

Do they explain their approach clearly?

And perhaps most importantly:

Can you imagine both of you feeling safe enough to be honest with this person?

The therapeutic relationship matters.

You can find a therapist with a very impressive list of credentials, but if one or both of you doesn't feel comfortable talking to them, it may not be the right fit.

How Do I Choose a Couples Therapist in Colorado?

If you're searching for a couples therapist in Colorado, I'd encourage you to look beyond the first page of search results.

Read the therapist's website.

Learn about their approach.

Look at the issues they work with.

Pay attention to whether their writing resonates with you.

And don't be afraid to schedule a consultation and ask questions.

You can ask:

"Do you work with couples like us?"

"What approach do you use?"

"What does a first session look like?"

"Do you work with couples who are considering divorce?"

"How do you handle high-conflict relationships?"

"Do you work with infidelity?"

"Do you offer virtual sessions?"

A good therapist should be comfortable having that conversation with you.

Why I Use Emotionally Focused Therapy With Couples

My couples work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), an attachment-based approach to couples therapy.

One of the things I appreciate about EFT is that it helps us look underneath the argument.

A couple may come in saying:

"We can't communicate."

But as we slow things down, we may discover that one partner's criticism is connected to feeling unimportant or alone, while the other partner's withdrawal is connected to feeling like nothing they do will ever be good enough.

Neither person necessarily woke up that morning thinking, How can I make my partner miserable today?

They got caught in a cycle.

EFT helps us begin seeing that cycle and understanding the emotions underneath it.

The goal isn't to decide who is right.

It's to help couples create a different way of responding to each other.

Couples Therapy in Greenwood Village and Online Throughout Colorado

I'm Shoshana Ort, LCSW, and I provide couples therapy in Greenwood Village and the Denver Tech Center, as well as online throughout Colorado and New Jersey.

Couples sessions are:

$210 for 50 minutes

$315 for 75 minutes

I offer a free 15-minute consultation for new clients who would like to talk briefly about their situation and determine whether working together might be a good fit.

If you're feeling disconnected, stuck in the same argument, struggling with trust or intimacy, or simply wondering what happened to the relationship you used to have, you don't have to figure everything out before you reach out.

Learn more about Couples Therapy in Denver & Greenwood Village →

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation →

And if you're not quite ready to schedule, that's okay too.

Sometimes the first step is simply asking a question.

You can reach me at 720-772-7149 or through the contact form on my website.

Your relationship doesn't have to be in crisis for therapy to be worthwhile.

And you don't have to wait until things are unbearable to start taking your relationship seriously.