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Don’t gamble with the most important relationship in your life.

This week, thousands of people across the globe used our methods to turn their relationships around. Next week, you can be one of them.

Whatever your frustrations or hurts, we have already been there – hundreds of times.

We know the challenges that await around every corner. We have been rebuilding broken relationships… all day… every day… for over 35 years.

Let us help you.

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What’s Your Problem?

“My partner has an excuse for everything!”
“My partner is hyper-sensitive.”
“My partner won’t keep agreements.”
“My partner is always stressed out.”
“I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells.”
“Nothing is ever good enough!”
“My partner is basically a selfish person.”
“My partner can’t let go of the past.”
“We’re more like roommates than lovers.”
“My partner can’t stop flirting with others.”
“My partner has low self-esteem and is really insecure.”
“I’m always last on my partner’s priority list.”
“My partner doesn’t have my back.”
“The ex is ruining our life while my partner does nothing!”
“My partner puts her family above us.”
“I honestly can’t remember the last time we had sex.”
“My partner lives in his own little world.”
“My partner is just a negative person.”
“My partner has unrealistic expectations.”
“My partner knew I was like this when we met. I’m not going to change now.”
“My partner just doesn’t get me.”
“My partner’s spending is out of control.”
“My partner is a slob.”
“I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.”

Why the Couples Clinic?

Ground-Breaking, Innovative Methods.

For decades, we have been at the forefront of those who are translating new findings from neurobiology and relationship science into practical methods for improving relationships. Therapists from all over the country regularly travel to the Couples Clinic to learn our ground-breaking approach.

A Clearly Defined, Step-by-Step Approach.

You’ll never wonder what the plan for improving your relationship is. We’re not shooting from the hip. We will assess your relationship and discuss our recommendations for you ahead of time. You will know exactly what you’re signing up for.

Daily Guidance.

Forging new relationship habits requires daily practice, not just weekly counseling sessions. With the assistance of smartphone technologies and exercises tailored to your specific needs, your therapist will function like a personal trainer, designing a individualized training program for you and providing “on-demand” guidance at the moments when you need it most.

Resources, Resources, Resources.

You’ll have access to our library of audio-recordings that provide step-by-step guidance when for all of the different types of conflict situations that arise in relationships. Plus, we’ll provide you with dozens of articles, worksheets, and exercises that are tailored for your needs.

Proven. Effective.

For over 35 years, we have been refining a power-packed, streamlined system for restoring broken connections.

Oprah Winfrey has called our methods “completely counterintuitive and wonderfully effective.”

Our guidance is practical, step-by-step, and straight to the heart of the matter.

We’ll pinpoint the changes that you need to make, guide you through the tough conversations, and steer you away from the rabbit holes that can sidetrack progress.

Ways We Help

Counseling for 
Improving Relationships

Couples Therapy
Intensive Couples Therapy
Couples Therapy for One
Other Types of Therapy

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Seminars and 
Trainings for 
Therapists

Upcoming Seminars and Trainings
Keynote Addresses by Couples Clinic Staff Members
Past Seminars and Trainings

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Seminars for 
Improving 
Relationships

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Books and 
Resources

Books
Couple Stories
Articles
Staff Publication List

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Don’t Live in the Chicago Area?

If you live anywhere in Illinois, New York, Texas or Arizona, call to learn about video-session options. 

Our help is accessible through your device.

Receive guidance from therapists who are part of the team who developed the Pragmatic/Experiential Therapy for Couples.

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Stories of Couples Who Used Our Methods

Susan and James

Susan and James

“On a humid evening last September, Susan and James burst into our office looking like two high schoolers in the grip of a classroom giggle fit. Usually serious and reserved, James, 36, explained between chuckles that he had been telling Susan a story about his boss’s gaffe at a meeting earlier that day. Still chortling as she landed on our office sofa, 27-year-old Susan ran her fingers through her cropped, blond hair and tried to compose herself, then eyed her gleeful husband and began hooting all over again. I glanced at my wife and cotherapist, Lisa, for a microsecond and gave her a raised-eyebrow version of a high five: This had all the earmarks of an easy session.” READ MORE

Loretta and Jack

Loretta and Jack

“Here we go again, I thought. Loretta and Jack were back in my office, dispirited and fed up. “I don’t think I love him anymore,” Loretta began, and what caught my attention was not what she said but the way she said it. Quietly, flatly, as though she was beyond caring. During our first round of couple’s therapy, one year earlier, 31-year-old Loretta hadn’t said anything quietly. She had been chronically pissed off at Jack and had let him know via frequent, name-calling outbursts. Jack, 33, prided himself on his level-headedness and often responded with patronizing mini-lectures like “Try a little rationality, Loretta,” which, of course, had only fueled her ire.”

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Debra and Steve

Debra and Steve

“At the tail end of a sweltering, humid Chicago day in 1993, I took my family to the community pool for a dip. As the children splashed gleefully, I sat nearby reading Robert Ornstein’s new book, The Evolution of Consciousness, unaware that my life was about to change. Seven years earlier, I’d emerged from my doctoral studies utterly dissatisfied with existing answers to the question of why people continue to behave in self-defeating, irrational ways despite clear evidence that their methods aren’t working. Few questions were more important to the enterprise of psychotherapy, yet the answers at that time were highly speculative—running the gamut from unresolved childhood issues to low ego strength to family homeostasis to secondary payoffs, with little scientific evidence to support any of them. Deeply discouraged, I wondered if I’d chosen the wrong career.”

READ MORE

Skeptical?

Good. You should be. You’ve got a lot at stake.

Choosing the right therapist for your relationship could be one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your lifetime.

Test the water with a free 20 minute consultation. Ask tough questions. Make us explain how we can help. Use your instincts to know when you’ve found the right place.

It won’t take you long to realize that we have the passion, commitment and expertise needed to restore your relationship.

Make an appointment

What’s New

Level 2 Intensive Online Couples Therapy Training begins Nov 1st

Level 2 Intensive Online Couples Therapy Training begins Nov 1st

Imagine working with couples where each partner is enthusiastically focused on the changes that they themselves need to make rather than constantly pointing the finger at their mate. In this training, you will learn a highly effective and nuanced method for helping...

Client Testimonials

(Healthgrades Review)

“My therapist was truly a master, and my husband and I are very thankful we received his help at a crucial time in our marriage… I can still hear his sound coaching in my ears when I need it the most.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“Our therapist is able to tell us the things we don’t want to hear but need to in order to move to the next level. His ability to see where each person is at and then move them closer together has been a huge benefit to us. He gives us the tools necessary to bring our marriage to a better place.”

(Google Review)

“The Couples Clinic does couples counseling different than anywhere that I’ve been. Instead of it being a generic approach – they really tailor it to what you need. For instance they will send recordings for you that are specifically made for you and for your situation. The other thing that is so clear when you go there is that they really care about their clients. They have always gone the extra mile for me. Thank you.”

(Google Review)

“The Couples Clinic model emphasizes self-responsibility in our relationships, rather than allowing ourselves to be “victimized” and then blaming our partners. It’s an active model that requires us to have integrity. Love it! ”

(Google Review)

“The thing I love most about this clinic is they give you guidance. Usually counseling is just talking and “what do you feel about that?” But when I ask them what to do at the couples clinic – they tell me EXACTLY what to do! I don’t like to pay therapists to help me explore how to do relationships. I would much rather have them say “do this.” And when they tell me what to do – it works!”

(Healthgrades Review)

“Highly recommend. Instrumental in helping my wife and I save our marriage.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“Our Couples Clinic therapist is such a talented and honest clinician. He is so honest and straightforward and will call people on their BS.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“Our therapist takes a multi-disciplinary research-based approach that helped us to clean out contempt from our marriage and put us on the road to a new relationship built on mutual trust and deep appreciation of one another’s differences. The mindfulness teaching and trainings build the foundation for rewiring to establish respect and love in a marriage.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“My husband and I went to the Couples Clinic for several months. Our therapist helped each of us see our contribution to the problems and gave helpful, meaningful solutions to us. We had worked with other counselors in the past, but with little success in addressing the real issues. I felt that our Couples Clinic therapist got to the heart of the matter. Our marriage is better now than it was before with more openness and understanding.”

(Google Review)

“I went to the Couples Clinic on and off for a couple years. Our therapist was very fair and honest with me. Supported me when I needed to be supported and challenged me when I needed to be challenged. I learned effective communication techniques that I still use to this day. I feel very comfortable referring friends and family to her. I highly recommend.”

(Google Review)

“The staff at The Couples Clinic are a wonderful group of caring, thoughtful, highly trained and dedicated clinicians. This is a top notch place for training and for therapy services.”

(Google Review)

“My therapist has been nothing but helpful and understanding. I feel like she really is helping me understand the issues in my marriage and is helping me and my husband in so many ways. I highly recommend her as a therapist and will continue to see her.”

(Google Review)

“I love this research-based approach to couples counseling!”

(Healthgrades Review)

“I found our therapist to be excellent, who helped my wife and I enormously. He listened to us patiently and quickly pointed out how behaviors we learned early in life contributed to conflicts which were threatening our marriage. He gave us homework and recommended new behaviors that we adopted. Our lives have changed as a result and our marriage is doing much better. We very much value the counseling we received from the Couples Clinic and are grateful that they helped us rescue our marriage.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“I was reluctant to seek therapy initially, but after working with our Couples Clinic therapist and experiencing the positive results, I am confident in the concepts, process, and methods taught. Our therapist is attentive, empathetic, objective, and is skilled at putting a leash around tense topics and leading the way to positive resolution. He has helped my wife and I through challenging times. He is patient and has repeatedly gone the extra mile to help even if it does not come at a time convenient for him.”

(Yelp Review)

“My girlfriend and I worked with our Couples Clinic therapist for three months. She skillfully guided us to look within ourselves and dig to the core of our issues. For this to work, you need to surrender yourself to the process. The Couples Clinic certainly has a process that will open your eyes and see yourself and therefore your partner differently. My life has improved greatly after having working with the CC.”

(Yelp Review)

“The Couples therapists here are not “head-nodders”. They listen very, very carefully to make sure they understand exactly what is causing the problems in your relationship and then they gently guide you through the process with lots of coaching and great homework. They teach you how to share your feelings with your spouse WITHOUT getting defensiveness from your partner. This skill alone is a game changer. Dr. Atkinson has clearly found an approach to marriage therapy that the rest of the field needs to get on board with. Six stars!”

(Yelp Review)

“This clinic is pioneering in their approach to couples’ work. They expect people to take responsibility for themselves and not just blame. If you want real change and are ready to do your own work, this is the place!”

(Google Review)

“This clinic changed the course of our marriage. We’ve done 2 Intensives at the clinic and the amount of change we’ve seen in our relationship has been life changing. And unlike previous therapies we’ve gone through – 5 years later the change persists.”

(Google Review)

“We had two couples therapies before seeking help from the Couples Clinic. These other therapies were OK but in the long run they weren’t good enough. But the Couple Clinic approach brings so many helpful things you don’t find in other approaches… I can really say that the clinic saved our marriage.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“One of the most powerful & positive experiences I’ve had EVER.”

(Healthgrades Review)

“The Couples Clinic saved my marriage! The practical and scientific approach to relationships really worked for us.”

(Google Review)

“We went to the Couples Clinic with a marriage in crisis. The work we did there was surprisingly fast in helping us to rescue it.”