Couples Therapy in Washington DC
Couples therapy in Washington DC at Life Migration Therapy is $315 for a 75-minute session on secure video, so the two of you can work on what’s happening between you from your own living room.
- $315per 75-minute couples session
- Free15-minute first call
- Self-paysuperbill on request
For adult couples in Washington DC and Maryland. Sessions are with a couples clinician at an LGBTQ+ affirming practice started by an immigrant therapist.
What does couples therapy in Washington DC look like?
Couples therapy is a series of 75-minute video sessions where two partners work with a couples clinician on the patterns pulling them apart, from the argument that never ends to the distance that crept in slowly.
Maybe your schedules only overlap on Sunday, and Sunday goes to errands. Maybe one of you grew up in a house where nobody raised their voice, and the other grew up where everybody did. Maybe you moved to DC for work, built a life far from both families, and the weight of doing it alone landed on the relationship. Or maybe something broke between you, and neither of you knows how to start the conversation that comes after.
Whatever brought the two of you to this point, it deserves to be named. Whether you call it couples counseling or marriage counseling, the work gives each partner a turn to be heard, with a clinician on the call whose job is to slow the conversation down before it slides into the same old fight.
What are the signs you need couples counseling?
Couples counseling is worth a look when the same hurt keeps coming back and talking about it alone keeps making it worse. One of these is enough reason to reach out.
One argument, every week
It starts with the thermostat or the calendar and ends at something said three years ago.
Talks that end in silence
One of you walks off to cool down, and the other feels left in the middle of a sentence.
Trust that took a hit
An affair, a hidden debt, or a promise that broke, and both of you want to know if repair is possible.
A big life change
A new baby, a new job, a move, a death in the family. Life transitions reshuffle who carries what at home.
Two families, two rulebooks
Holidays, money sent home, and how loud a disagreement may get were all decided long before you met.
Living like roommates
The logistics run smoothly. The closeness you started with is harder to find.
Some couples come in before anything is wrong. Engaged partners can start before the wedding, and premarital counseling is a calm place to talk through money, family and children while the stakes still feel low.
Tell us what’s going on between you.
Often one partner is more ready than the other, and that’s a fine place to begin. A few lines about what’s happening is enough. The practice writes back, typically within 1 to 2 business days, about the free 15-minute call with the couples clinician.
Prefer to skip the form? Book your free call directly or call or text 301-244-8219.
Send the practice a message
What happens before the first session?
The first step is a free 15-minute call to speak with the couples clinician and see if it’s a good fit, before any paid session is booked.
Book the free call
Pick a 15-minute slot online, or send a message first if you have a question before booking.
Talk through the fit
Tell the couples clinician what’s going on between you and what you’d like to feel different. Ask about the fee, the format and the video setup.
Meet for session one
If it fits, the two of you log on together for a 75-minute session with the couples clinician.
Couples sessions are with a couples clinician at Life Migration Therapy. The practice was founded by Charika White, LICSW, LCSW-C, a queer Black immigrant woman from Jamaica, and her own sessions are individual therapy. If the free call shows that one partner needs space for their own mental health first, individual therapy is available at the practice too.
What does couples therapy cost in DC?
A couples session costs $315 for 75 minutes, the same fee in Washington DC and Maryland, paid directly by you.
Life Migration Therapy chose self-pay because insurance creates barriers for vulnerable communities. Insurance plans often don’t cover couples counseling, so check yours before counting on reimbursement. A superbill lets you submit the sessions to your plan yourself, and out-of-network reimbursement is never guaranteed.
How the practice handles payment and superbills is covered under self-pay mental health services. For what insurance usually does with couples work and what a few months of therapy sessions add up to, read the guide How much does couples therapy cost?
Who is couples therapy at Life Migration Therapy for?
Adult partners anywhere in Washington DC and Maryland can book, whether you’re married and looking for marriage counseling, engaged, dating, living together or living apart. Polyamorous and non-monogamous partners are welcome too. Same-sex couples, LGBTQ+ couples where a partner is trans or nonbinary, intercultural couples, and couples where one or both partners are immigrants all start the same way, with the free call.
The practice was built for people tired of translating themselves, especially people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ adults. A relationship carries two family histories, sometimes two countries, and the couples work makes room for both. For partners who want race and culture at the center from the first session, Black couples therapy is the practice’s page for that focus.
For one-on-one sessions, an LGBTQ therapist in DC also sees adults at the practice.
Can we do couples therapy online in DC?
Sessions at Life Migration Therapy are online only, on secure video, and both partners need to be in Washington DC or Maryland during each one.
The two of you can sit side by side on one couch with one laptop, in Brookland, Anacostia, Columbia Heights or Capitol Hill, with no drive across town first. There’s no waiting room, so nobody from work or church sees you walk in.
And when a session gets heavy, you’re already home. The same setup works for couples in Maryland, from Silver Spring and Hyattsville out to Baltimore.
Questions DC couples ask before starting.
What does couples therapy cost in Washington DC at Life Migration Therapy?
Couples therapy at Life Migration Therapy costs $315 per 75-minute session, in Washington DC and in Maryland. The practice is self-pay and doesn’t bill insurance. A superbill is available on request if you want to ask your plan about out-of-network reimbursement, and the 15-minute call before you start is free.
Will insurance pay for couples counseling?
Health insurance often doesn’t pay for couples counseling on its own, because insurers typically require a diagnosed condition in one person before a session counts as medically necessary, so call your plan before you count on any reimbursement. Life Migration Therapy doesn’t bill insurance for any service. On request, the practice gives you a superbill you can submit yourself for possible out-of-network reimbursement, which is never guaranteed.
Is couples therapy really worth it?
Couples therapy is worth it when both partners want a set time, with a clinician present, to work on what keeps going wrong between them, and only the two of you can weigh that against $315 a session. No therapist can promise an outcome. What the sessions give you is room to slow down, hear each other out, and try new ways through the conflict you keep circling. The free first call lets you test the fit before you spend anything.
What type of therapist is best for couples therapy?
The best therapist for couples therapy is one trained in couples and relationship counseling whom both partners trust enough to be honest in front of. Fit counts as much as training. Each of you should feel the clinician understands where you come from, including your culture, your family and who you are. At Life Migration Therapy, couples sessions are with a couples clinician at the practice, and the free first call is the place to ask about fit.
Who leads couples sessions at Life Migration Therapy?
Couples sessions at Life Migration Therapy are led by a couples clinician at the practice. Charika White, LICSW, LCSW-C, founded Life Migration Therapy, and her own sessions are individual therapy.
What should we expect from our first couples session?
A first couples session at Life Migration Therapy is a 75-minute video call with both partners on screen together, from home in Washington DC or Maryland. First sessions in couples therapy usually center on how each of you sees the relationship, where the strain shows up, and what you hope will feel different. Leaving with more questions than answers is a normal start.
Do we have to be married for marriage counseling in DC?
Married couples, engaged couples, and partners who aren’t married can all start couples therapy at Life Migration Therapy in Washington DC. Marriage counseling and couples counseling name the same work, and the $315 fee and the 75-minute format stay the same whatever your status.
Do you work with LGBTQ+ couples?
LGBTQ+ couples are welcome in couples therapy at Life Migration Therapy, an LGBTQ+ affirming practice founded by a queer immigrant therapist. That includes same-sex couples and couples where one partner is trans or nonbinary. On the free call, you can say what you need a clinician to understand before any session is booked.
Do both partners need to be in Washington DC for online couples therapy?
Both partners need to be physically in Washington DC or Maryland during each online couples session, because those are the two places Life Migration Therapy offers couples therapy. You can live in either one and join from home over secure video.
Book the free call when you’re ready.
Fifteen minutes and no cost. Bring your questions about the $315 fee, the 75-minute sessions or the video setup, and decide from there whether to book a first session.
