A Sample Couples Therapy Plan

These nine topics cover most of what couples work on together. The plan is worth reading as a table of contents for the rest of the library: almost every worksheet here belongs to one of these sessions. Read the row, then find the worksheet.

Nine-session course map

Example — Session: 1 · Topic: Communication — Reflective Listening · Homework before: None · Homework after: Two appointments per week

Example — Session: 2 · Topic: Intimacy · Homework before: None · Homework after: Complete and exchange love lists

Example — Session: 3 · Topic: Family of Origin — Partner 1 · Homework before: Complete the Family of Origin worksheets · Homework after: Discuss wounding and comforting patterns

Example — Session: 4 · Topic: Family of Origin — Partner 2 · Homework before: Complete the Family of Origin worksheets · Homework after: Discuss wounding and comforting patterns

Example — Session: 5 · Topic: Problem Solving · Homework before: None · Homework after: Apply the ten-step tool to two problems

Example — Session: 6 · Topic: Strengths & Support · Homework before: Complete two Strengths & Support worksheets · Homework after: Try three new behaviors for one month

Example — Session: 7 · Topic: Sex · Homework before: Complete the Sex Discussion worksheets · Homework after: Try three new behaviors for one month

Example — Session: 8 · Topic: Forgiveness & Trust · Homework before: None · Homework after: Complete the Forgiveness worksheet

Example — Session: 9 · Topic: Final Session Review · Homework before: Complete the Final Session worksheet · Homework after: Build a growth plan for your relationship

Common add-on topics — insert extra sessions wherever they fit

• Anger management
• Parenting
• Money
• Sleep
• Chores
• Extended family
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Time management

The map is not the timetable: Nine sessions is a shape, not a deadline. Couples add topics, repeat a session, or take two months on one row. What the plan really protects is the homework column — the work between sessions is where most of the change actually happens.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Your First Session, from The Neurodiverse Couples Repair Program. What actually happens in a first couples session at our center: the ground rules, how confidentiality works, and the three words that pause anything.
• Your Goals, from The Neurodiverse Couples Repair Program. What each of you wants, in your own words, and the questions your therapist asks underneath it.
• Therapy for the Neurodiverse Couple, from The Neurodiverse Couple. Why standard couples therapy can misfire for neurodiverse couples, how to tell a mismatch from control, and how to find a therapist who actually fits.