Therapeutic Services
for Couples
Quick Facts
- Who It Is For: Couples at any stage of their relationship, from premarital to empty nest and retirement, who want to improve their connection, communication, or work through a specific challenge together.
- What We Help With: Communication difficulties, adjusting to parenthood, rebuilding after infidelity, navigating major decisions, increasing emotional and physical intimacy, and processing the dissolution of a relationship.
- Our Approach: We use only research-based therapies delivered in a flexible and approachable way. As an objective third party, we guide couples toward better understanding and more productive ways of relating to each other.
- First Session: Your first appointment is 60 minutes. We will discuss what brought you in, learn about your relationship history, and develop a clear plan together for working toward your goals.
- Getting Started: No referral is needed. Contact us to ask questions or schedule an appointment. We will help determine if we are a good fit before you commit to anything.
What is couples therapy?
Couples therapy is a research-based process where you and your partner work with a trained therapist to improve communication, resolve conflict, and strengthen your relationship. Sessions are guided by your specific goals and concerns. The therapist serves as an objective third party to help you both feel heard and understood.
About Acacia Collaborative
A Collaborative & Supportive Approach To Therapy
How Does Couples Therapy Work?
Couples therapy is a structured, collaborative process designed to help you and your partner feel heard, understand each other more deeply, and build healthier ways of connecting and communicating.
- Intake: We begin with an initial conversation to understand what brings you to therapy, your relationship history, and what each partner hopes to get out of the process.
- Assessment: We explore your communication patterns, relationship dynamics, and the specific challenges you are facing to develop a clear picture of where support is needed most.
- Personalized Treatment: Using only research-based therapies, we build a plan tailored to your relationship goals, whether that is rebuilding trust, improving communication, navigating a major transition, or increasing intimacy.
- Integration: As progress is made, we focus on helping you apply new skills and insights to your daily life together, building routines and patterns that strengthen your relationship over time.
- Ongoing Support: Continued sessions help you maintain momentum and adapt as your relationship evolves, with deeper support available during particularly challenging transitions or life changes.
Can couples therapy help even if you are not in crisis?
Many couples come to therapy proactively to strengthen communication, prepare for a major life transition, or simply invest in their relationship. You do not need to be at a breaking point to benefit. Therapy is just as valuable as a tool for growth as it is for resolving conflict.
Getting Started is Easy
1. Contact Us
At any point in your decision to pursue therapy or assessment, feel free to contact us with questions. We will gladly talk with you over the phone to determine if one of us will be a good fit. Visit our Contact Page.
2. Intake
Once you have scheduled an appointment, you will be emailed forms to complete electronically prior to your first appointment. If you have Aetna, Blue Cross, or State Health Plan insurance benefits will be processed.
3. First Session
Your first appointment will be 60 minutes. In this first appointment, we will discuss what brought you in, your history, and will develop a “game plan” with you to work toward your goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does couples therapy typically take?
This varies depending on the challenges you are working through and the goals you set together. Some couples see meaningful progress in a relatively short time, while others benefit from longer term support. From the first session we develop a clear game plan so you always know where you are in the process.
What if we have tried couples therapy before and it did not work?
Previous experiences with therapy do not determine future outcomes. Our approach is research-based and tailored specifically to your relationship and goals. If something has not worked before we will take that into account and find an approach that fits better for you both.
How do we know if we need couples therapy or individual therapy?
Sometimes both are beneficial. If the challenges you are facing are primarily relational, couples therapy is a natural starting point. If one or both partners are also dealing with personal concerns such as anxiety, depression, or trauma, individual therapy can run alongside couples work. We will help you figure out the right approach.
Acacia Collaborative
Our Name Says A Lot About Who We Are
Why did we choose the name Acacia? The Acacia tree (pronounced Ah-KAY-shah) is a medicinal tree that looks quite different depending on the environment in which it has grown; leafy in more nutrient-rich environments and thorny in a less supportive one. This represents how people develop ways of coping with their circumstances or finding ways to overcome adversity in their lives.
Sometimes we may continue to think, feel, and behave in ways that once worked for us but now no longer provide the desired result. This is where Acacia Collaborative comes in. We can help you identify what may be causing more pain than joy in your life, introduce to you other, more effective options, and help eliminate roadblocks that are preventing you from experiencing a more fulfilled life. We chose a full leafy tree as our logo to convey the growth and enrichment possible through therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are you located?
Acacia Collaborative Psychological Services provides in-person therapy in the triangle at our offices in Cary & Durham. We also provide online therapy to all residents and locations of North Carolina.
Cary Office Address:
570 New Waverly Pl #210, Cary, NC. 27518
NEW Durham Office Address:
3710 University Drive, Suite 302, Durham, NC. 27707
Are you in-network with my insurance?
We are in-network with Aetna, the North Carolina State Health Plan & Blue Cross Blue Shield (not UNC Health Alliance). We are credentialed with the following Medicaid plans: Healthy Blue, Carolina Complete, and Wellcare.
In addtion to those in-network partners, all of the providers at Acacia Collaborative are qualified as out-of-network providers for all major insurance carriers in the Triangle area; with the exception of Cigna and Tricare who do NOT qualify associate-licensed clinicians, . Most of our clients use their insurance benefits to be reimbursed a percentage of treatment fees (this percentage varies based on your plan’s benefits.) We provide everything you need to easily file with your insurance, including an insurance “super bill” or statement of services and a link to your claim form. We are also happy to reach out to your insurance company, with your permission, if you would find that helpful.
What are the session fees?
Session fees range from $115 to $185 based on provider and length of session. We also offer a limited number of reduced fee spots.
There are some things that are bothering me, but also some things I specifically don't want to talk about. Is that ok?
Absolutely. At Acacia Collaborative, we “meet you where you are.” This means that we do not force you to talk about topics you are not ready to discuss or do not feel are relevant. We are trained at various levels of “depth” of treatment and believe there is no one “right” way to be in therapy.
While most people do choose to have weekly sessions for the first few months, we are flexible about how often and how long you would like your sessions to be. We will offer suggestions, but ultimately, it is your decision about what you would like to get out of therapy.
I’m in the process of shopping for a therapist, is there a way for me to speak with one of you to see if we are a good fit before committing to working with you?
Yes! “Fit” with your therapist is the most important element that makes therapy work ( according to studies, even more important than training or length of experience!). Thus, we prioritize making this part very easy for you. Our providers are happy to speak with you over the phone prior to making an appointment (you can schedule a phone call HERE). Our providers can answer your questions and address specific conerns you have, all while getting to know each other a bit and getting a feel for what it is like to work with us.
In addition, we also offer a no-risk first appointment. If you do not feel like it is a good fit after your first appointment and do not wish to continue working with that provider, there is no charge for that appointment.