The best online couples counseling of 2024, according to mental health experts

Cost: $150-$200 per session | Insurance accepted: No, but reimbursement may be possible | Time until first appointment: 2-6 days | States available: All 50 states | Types of therapy offered: Couples

Ours is a platform dedicated exclusively to couples, offering therapy for an expansive range of relationship issues, including premarital counseling, discernment counseling, communication, major life changes, conflict resolution and intimacy. Therapy is available in all 50 states from fully licensed mental health providers, all of whom have experience working with couples.

According to Benu Lahiry, the chief clinical officer at Ours, every therapist in the network has specialized training in evidence-based couples therapy techniques, such as the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Therapists are also thoroughly vetted and selected by the clinical care team, so you can be sure you’ll be matched with a high-quality provider.

Although couples can work on any type of relational issue, Ours places an emphasis on proactive work and relationship maintenance. Along with therapy, the platform offers free digital tools that couples can use in between sessions, including a weekly reflection exercise, journal prompts and virtual card decks that can facilitate deeper conversation.

Therapy sessions are 50 minutes long and held via video. Insurance isn’t accepted, but depending on your policy, you may be able to get reimbursed. Ours offers the first session for a discounted rate of $50. After that, you can either purchase sessions individually or as part of a package:

• Individual sessions, $200 per session

• Four-session package, $180 per session

• Monthly subscription, $150 per session

Cost: $85-$170 per session | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: All 50 states (for coaching) | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples

While the terms "couples therapy" and "marriage counseling" are often used interchangeably, there are some issues that married couples may be more likely to face, particularly when it comes to major life changes. These could include getting married, having children, making major purchases as a couple, navigating new phases of life or illnesses and the natural ebbs and flows of intimacy that can occur during a long-term relationship. That's why it's particularly important for married couples to seek counseling from specialized therapists or providers with training in marriage issues.

That's what makes Growing Self our top pick for best marriage counseling service: All the providers are licensed marriage and family therapists. Like Ours, the platform is relationship-focused, although it does provide a variety of services for both individuals and couples.

For couples, the platform offers premarital counseling, marriage counseling, couples therapy, relationship coaching and parent coaching. Other services include discernment counseling, life coaching, career coaching and breakup recovery.

It’s worth noting that Growing Self has a smaller network of providers, and therapists aren’t licensed in every state. However, couples coaching is available nationwide. What’s more, the coaches and therapists are the same, so if you sign up for couples coaching, the sessions will still be provided by a licensed marriage and family therapist. 

The only downside to this platform is the cost. There’s no rate difference between therapy and coaching sessions. Instead, rates vary by provider and experience level. The cost breakdown works like this:

• More affordable providers: Master’s-level clinicians with counseling and psychology degrees (marriage and family therapist candidates or associates) priced at $125 per session; some have a sliding scale between $85 and $125

• More experienced providers: Licensed mental health professionals priced at $145 per session; some have a sliding scale between $105 and $145 per session

• Most experienced providers: Doctoral-level clinicians priced at $170 per session

• Solution session: One-time coaching session priced at $115

All coaching and therapy sessions are 45 minutes long and held over video. Prior to sign-up, you also have the option of scheduling a free consultation with any provider to make sure they’re a good fit for you.

Cost: $40-$80 per session plus one-time membership fee of $65 | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Varies by therapist and location | States available: All 50 states and Canada | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples, family, children and teens

Open Path Collective is easily one of the most affordable online therapy options around. It’s a nonprofit that was created to provide low-cost therapy to those who are uninsured, underinsured or otherwise in need. While the platform isn’t specifically geared toward relationships, it does offer couples therapy.

Rates can vary depending on provider, but all therapy sessions are under $100. In addition, pricing is incredibly transparent, so you’ll know the cost ahead of time. For couples therapy, you can expect to pay between $40 and $80 per session. Open Path also offers the option of working with a student intern for only $30 per session. There is also a one-time membership fee of $65 to use the platform.

Therapists are available nationwide and the directory is extremely comprehensive and easy to use. Simply select your location and whether you want in-person or online therapy. After that, you can use the search filters to narrow down your options by therapist race/ethnicity, languages spoken, specialty areas and treatment orientation. The directory also makes it easy to find the right provider. Each provider has a detailed profile with their availability, accepted payment methods, areas of expertise, treatment approaches and a personal bio.

What’s even more impressive is the diversity represented in the range of therapists: Along with race and ethnicity, Open Path providers have a wide range of specialty areas for couples, including polyamorous or nontraditional relationships, BDSM and kink-affirming, infidelity and affair recovery, infertility, communication issues, sex therapy and more.

Cost: $155-$185 per session | Insurance accepted: No, but reimbursement possible | Time until first appointment: 1-3 days | States available: 17 states (CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MD, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA) and Washington, D.C. | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples and teen (12+)

Couples therapy can be beneficial to any couple, regardless of sexual orientation, but LGBTQ couples can face different relationship challenges — so it’s important to find an LGBTQ-trained therapist. That’s where LGBTQ Therapy Space comes in.

As the name suggests, LGBTQ Therapy Space is an online counseling platform geared toward those in the LGBTQ community. Therapists are licensed professional counselors, social workers and marriage and family therapists who have experience and training in LGBTQ-competent therapy techniques. While the pool of therapists is rather limited, there is a lot of diversity among the providers.

Providers have a wide range of specialties, including anxiety, depression, grief, attachment issues, addiction and LGBTQ-specific issues, such as coming out, loss of family due to sexual identity, third-party reproduction and gender-affirming therapy. There are also a number of therapists who have expertise working with military members and nontraditional or polyamorous couples.

LGBTQ Therapy Space offers therapy sessions for individuals, teens and couples. Individual therapy sessions cost $155 while couples therapy sessions cost $185. Therapy sessions are 50 minutes and held over video. You can choose your own therapist or be matched with someone. Either way, you can schedule a free consultation to make sure the therapist is a good fit for you.

Cost: Free directory; cost of therapy varies by provider | Insurance accepted: Yes, by some providers | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: All 50 states | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples, family

The Gottman Method is a form of couples therapy developed by doctors John and Julie Gottman, clinical psychologists and partners who have been married for over 35 years. The framework is based on the sound relationship house theory, which outlines nine elements of a healthy relationship. Couples therapy, then, works to address these nine components and help partners rebuild and strengthen their relationship.

Today, the Gottman Method is one of the most well-known, popular and effective approaches to couples therapy. It’s an evidence-based system, meaning it’s backed up by research. Numerous studies have found that the Gottman Method can help couples improve intimacy, communication and marital satisfaction. It’s not surprising, then, that aspects of the method are used in many different types of couples therapy. But true Gottman Method counseling is only done by a Gottman trained or certified therapist.

That’s why the Gottman Referral Network (GRN) is the best way for couples who want Gottman Method couples counseling to find a provider. GRN is an online directory that’s free to use and allows you to easily find a Gottman-trained therapist near you. There are over 1,000 therapists listed on GRN and all of them are licensed mental health providers trained in the Gottman Method.

The Gottman professional training program has three levels, and providers can only become certified Gottman Therapists after completing all three. Many therapists on GRN are fully certified, and all of them have Level 2 training or above.

Cost per session: $100-$260 per month | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: All 50 states | Types of therapy offered: Individual and couples

Couples therapy can seem like a huge time commitment, especially for couples with small children, full-time jobs or a demanding family life. That’s why Ritual stands out. It offers a more accessible and flexible way for couples to get professional relationship guidance.

Ritual is an online, relationship-focused counseling platform. It’s important to note that Ritual is not traditional couples therapy. Rather, it’s billed as an affordable and alternative option for couples who want to improve their communication, deepen their connection or work through relational issues. With shorter sessions and self-guided tools, it offers busy couples a way to improve their relationship on their schedule.

The couples program costs $260 per month and includes weekly video sessions with a relationship expert. Relationship experts are psychologists, social workers and therapists who have experience working with couples, and sessions last between 20 and 40 minutes. With Ritual, there’s an emphasis on individual work, so sessions can be done together and by each partner separately. There’s also an individual-only option if your partner doesn’t want to participate with you. Individual plans cost between $100 and $160 per month.

The best part is how much flexibility Ritual offers. Not only are the sessions shorter, they’re available seven days a week. The program also features a self-guided component, with video lessons, quizzes and exercises to do in between sessions. The interactive journal is another fun element. You’ll complete a journaling exercise for your provider to review and discuss with you during your next session.

Cost: $249 for program with coach; $79-$99 for program without coach | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: All 50 states | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples

Like LGBTQ couples, military couples often face unique relationship challenges, so therapy interventions developed for military families and relationships may be the most helpful.

OurRelationship is an online self-help program for couples who want to improve their relationship. It’s not therapy, but it is a good alternative. The eight-hour program was adapted from Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), an approach that emphasizes emotional acceptance between partners, and uses evidence-based tools and techniques. On top of that, the OurRelationship program itself is backed by research.

Several randomized trials have found that the program is effective in improving relationship satisfaction, functioning and knowledge as well as communication skills and conflict resolution. Benefits are also long-lasting. In one study, couples who used the program reported continued improvements in relationship quality after 12 months. Another study found that military couples who used the OurRelationship program experienced similar relationship gains.

OurRelationship offers different versions of the program for different relationships: same-sex couples, heterosexual couples and military couples. All of the couples programs can be done either self-guided or with a relationship coach. There is also a program for individuals who sign up without their partners, but unfortunately, this one does not give a coaching option. Still, it’s easily one of the most affordable options around.

The individual program costs a one-time fee of $79. For couples, the program will cost $99 without a coach or $249 with a coach. If you choose to use a coach, you’ll get access to the entire program plus five 20-minute coaching sessions with a relationship expert. It’s worth noting that the coaches are not licensed therapists; however, they are all graduate-level or doctoral students studying clinical psychology.

Best of all, OurRelationship is a federally funded program. It is focused on helping low-income, minority and military couples who do not have access to couples therapy. Because of that, you may be able to get the program for free. OurRelationship is partnered with Military OneSource and has a grant from the Administration for Children and Families, so low-income couples and service members may be eligible for free access.

Cost per session: $50-$110 per week | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: 39 states, Canada, Ireland, Australia and the U.K. (Not available in AK, AR, HI, MT, NE, NH, ND, OR, RI, UT and WY) | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples

Online-Therapy.com provides a truly comprehensive way for couples to improve their relationship. The platform is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and offers couples therapy that includes live sessions, unlimited messaging and access to a virtual therapy toolbox.

It is a subscription-based service that makes therapy easily accessible and affordable. There are three different subscription plans for individuals, which range from $200 to $440 per month. For couples, there is only one plan option, which costs $440 per month. All plans have a 20% discount for the first month and are billed weekly.

What really makes Online-Therapy.com stand out, though, is how all-inclusive it is. Couples receive a weekly 45-minute therapy session, unlimited messaging with their therapist and access to the interactive online therapy program. The online program is an eight-part, self-guided CBT toolbox complete with educational videos, hands-on activities, yoga, a virtual journal and interactive worksheets, which feature daily therapist replies Monday through Friday. Therapy sessions can be done via video, phone or live chat messaging, so couples can choose their preferred communication method.

Cost: $150-$275 per session; $3,500 and up for couples retreats | Insurance accepted: No | Time until first appointment: Not listed | States available: 45 states and Washington, D.C. (Not available in LA, MS, MT, NM and SD) | Types of therapy offered: Individual, couples, intensive retreats

As the name suggests, Couples Therapy Inc. is dedicated to romantic partners. The platform offers online counseling services, including couples coaching, individual marriage counseling and premarital counseling, but its real specialty is its couples retreats.

Couples retreats are a more intensive form of couples therapy. Instead of weekly hour-long therapy sessions, retreats last an entire weekend. Think of it like a mini-vacation, only instead of regular sightseeing, you’ll be doing intensive therapy work. Therapy is done over the course of two seven-and-a-half-hour days, which allows for a more in-depth, all-encompassing experience.

Couples Therapy Inc. offers retreats for sex therapy and intensive marriage counseling in 34 locations across the United States. Weekend retreats allow couples to travel together, away from their familiar environment, which can help promote a deeper connection. However, for couples who are unable to get away, Couples Therapy Inc. offers a modified retreat that takes place online over a three-month period of time. But online or in-person, these intensives are entirely private, with one dedicated therapist per couple. Therapists are all fully licensed practitioners who specialize in marriage and couples counseling. On top of that, all the therapists have advanced training in the Gottman Method.