Couples/Relationship Services

Dr. Ollen has extensive training and experience in supporting couples/relationships, through couples therapy and an innovative brief relationship health program called the Relationship Checkup. Dr. Ollen has experience working with all kinds of couples including LGBTQ/queer, heterosexual, mixed-orientation, and open/ethically non-monogamous and poly relationships.

Couples Therapy

Dr. Ollen offers Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), which is a type of couples therapy that helps partners improve their relationship by focusing on both acceptance and change. IBCT helps couples understand and accept each other's feelings, while also providing tools to work through problems and build a stronger connection. Instead of just focusing on fixing things, IBCT helps couples see where their partner is coming from emotionally. Once they understand each other better, the therapist guides them in changing unhealthy patterns and developing better communication skills. IBCT aims to bring couples closer by fostering emotional connection and building a more positive and supportive relationship.

Not ready to jump into couples’ therapy?

Can’t convince your partner to start couples therapy?

Try a brief (2-session) “Relationship Check-up”!

Many couples wait until their relationship is nearing a breaking point before they go to couples therapy. The Relationship Checkup is designed to foster connection and deepen mutual understanding, whether you’re in a new relationship or you’ve been married for 50 years. Like all other areas of our health, relationships benefit from regular attention and care. In the absence of routine care, even the healthiest relationships tend to drift apart or build up distress over time. The Relationship Checkup disrupts this trend by offering a brief, strengths-based, and preventative approach.

Over 25+ years of clinical research has repeatedly shown that the Relationship Checkup improves relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and longevity. Dr. Ollen trained directly under Dr. James Córdova, a nationally recognized couples’ researcher and the developer of the Relationship Checkup.

Relationship Check Up

FAQ

  • Relationship Checkup is a brief, two-session exploration of your relationship. Think of the Relationship Checkup as preventative care — like a dental cleaning or an oil change. During those two sessions, we’ll work together to identify your relationship’s strengths, patterns, and areas of concern. Afterward, you’ll receive a personalized report that summarizes applicable findings from scientific research on relationships, highlights recommendations that are most relevant to you and your partner’s key strengths and concerns, and offers a list of ideas for ways to continue supporting the health of your relationship.

  • The Relationship Checkup is supported by over 25 years of clinical research and has been proven to increase relationship satisfaction, acceptance, intimacy, longevity, and positive communication, while also decreasing rates of divorce, distress, conflict, and depression. The Relationship Checkup is effective for couples at all relationship stages and satisfaction levels, from couples building on an already strong bond to those seeking to address significant concerns.

  • Yes! In research studies distressed couples improved significantly after engaging in a Relationship Checkup. While couples who are struggling often want to jump right to the heart of their concern, the Relationship Checkup can help you see the entire context of your relationship, rather than focus only on the crisis at hand. We find that couples appreciate being reminded of what is right about their relationship rather than focusing exclusively on what is wrong. The Checkup is all the help needed for many distressed couples, because they leave feeling more connected and with solid advice on how to move forward. And, for some couples, the Relationship Checkup can be an excellent introduction to longer term couple therapy. It can help couples see that professional help is effective and be the bridge to seeking additional couple therapy.

  • The Checkup includes two live zoom sessions specifically designed to prevent relationship deterioration, intervene early in any developing relationship distress, and lower barriers to treatment for severely distressed couples. At the end of the sessions, you'll receive a personalized report which is specific to your relationship and provides research-supported recommendations to continue improving relationship health.