Couples & Marriage Counselling in Calgary
Curio Counselling provides couples counselling in Calgary for partners at every stage, including monogamous, non-monogamous, long-distance, and LGBTQ+ relationships. Sessions are available in person at our Beltline office, 1414 8 St SW Suite 200, and online across Alberta.
Couples counselling at Curio is offered by Registered Provisional Psychologist Nevena Kalajdzic, regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists, and Canadian Certified Counsellor John-Paul Morales, certified by the CCPA and trained in the Gottman Method. Their work draws on established couples-therapy approaches including Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method to address the problems couples actually bring in: the argument that keeps repeating, trust after infidelity, emotional distance, and conversations that seem to go nowhere.
New clients can start with a free 20-minute consultation to talk through what is happening in the relationship and find the couples therapist who fits both partners. Book online or call (403) 243-0303.
What Is Realtionship Counselling and How Does It Work?
Calgary couples counselling, also known as couples therapy or marriage counselling, is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on improving the relationship between two or more partners. You should not feel ashamed or disappointed that you want to explore therapy for your relationship, in fact, its a sign that you care and want to put effort toward a successful relationship with your partner/s.
Couples therapy Calgary will help you resolve past relationship trauma and loss, it can offer a couple, or an individual, space to explore their feelings and reflect on their relationship and interaction patterns. This kind of therapy is for couples and relationship scenarios of all ages and kinds. We also have specilaity sex therapy for couples.
Uniquely Tailored Relationship & Marriage Counselling
At Curio Counselling, we recognize that relationships span a broad spectrum, each with its unique dynamics and challenges.
From monogamous partnerships to polyamorous arrangements, long-distance relationships, and even casual connections like ‘friends with benefits,’ we celebrate the diversity of human connections.
Our inclusive and unique approach extends to understanding the nuances of asexuality and supporting LGBTQ+ relationships. Whatever your relationship configuration, we are here to provide meaningful and tailored counselling.
The Importance of Seeking Support For Couples
Is relationship counselling worth it? This is a common question, and the answer lies in recognizing the value of investing in the well-being of your relationship.
Relationship counselling provides a safe space to explore, understand, and strengthen your connection, making it a valuable investment in the health of your partnership.
Types of Marriage Counselling
Curio Counselling utilizes a variety of effective marriage counselling approaches to address the diverse needs of our clients. Some of the therapeutic modalities we incorporate include:
EFT Couples Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a structured, evidence-based approach to couples therapy that treats recurring arguments as symptoms of a broken emotional bond — then repairs the bond itself. Curio’s Calgary couples therapists use EFT to help partners de-escalate conflict cycles and rebuild secure attachment.
EFT moves through three researched stages: de-escalating the negative cycle, restructuring how partners reach for each other, and consolidating the new pattern.
Decades of outcome research show roughly 70–75% of couples move from distress to recovery in EFT trials, among the strongest results in couples research (International Centre for Excellence in EFT).
It fits couples who keep having “the same fight” — the content changes, the cycle doesn’t. Our guide to couples counselling techniques shows how a session actually unfolds.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
The Gottman Method is a research-grounded couples approach built on four decades of observational studies of what makes relationships succeed or fail. It gives couples concrete, learnable tools — softened start-ups, repair attempts, love maps — rather than insight alone.
Best fit: couples who want practical structure and measurable skills, including high-conflict pairs who need de-escalation tools first.
Gottman’s research identified the “Four Horsemen” (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling) as the strongest predictors of divorce — and a specific antidote for each.
Not sure which fits? Our FAQ below compares EFT and Gottman directly, and your free 20-minute consultation is the fastest way to find out.
Imago Therapy, Relational Life Therapy (RLT), and Other Approaches
Imago Relationship Therapy uses structured dialogues to surface how childhood patterns replay in your partnership; Relational Life Therapy (RLT), developed by Terrence Real, takes a more direct, confrontational stance on harmful relationship behaviours. Both aim at the same target as EFT and Gottman — replacing reactive cycles with genuine connection.
Curio’s couples work is anchored in EFT and the Gottman Method; elements of other models are drawn in where they serve the couple.
Choosing by method matters less than choosing a therapist both partners trust — working alliance predicts couples-therapy outcomes more strongly than modality.
Side-by-side comparison of all four approaches: EFT, Gottman, CBCT & Imago explored.
Premarital Counselling
Premarital counselling is couples counselling before the commitment — engaged and pre-engaged couples use the same evidence-based frameworks (EFT, Gottman) to align on money, family, intimacy, and conflict style before patterns harden. You don’t need a problem to benefit; you need an upcoming decision.
Typical premarital focus areas: expectations around children and in-laws, financial values, division of labour, and how each partner handles stress.
Couples who complete premarital work report higher marital quality and lower divorce rates in meta-analyses of premarital education programs.
Same fees and booking path as all couples work: $200–$230 per session, starting with a free consultation.
- Narrative Therapy: Narrative therapy focuses on reshaping the stories we tell about our relationships, empowering couples to create new narratives.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Addressing attachment patterns, this therapy helps couples understand and navigate the dynamics that influence their connection.
- Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT): SFT concentrates on identifying and building upon solutions rather than dwelling on problems, promoting positive change.
- Trauma-Informed Therapy: For couples dealing with past traumas, trauma-informed therapy provides a safe space for healing and understanding.
- Expressive Arts Therapy: Incorporating creative expression, expressive arts therapy can provide a unique avenue for couples to communicate and connect.
How Can Marriage Counselling Help Us?
Our Calgary relationship counselling services address a wide range of issues to help couples navigate their journey together. These may include:
- Resolving Conflict: Developing effective conflict resolution strategies to strengthen the relationship.
- Improving Communication: Enhancing communication skills for better understanding and connection.
- Understanding Each Other Better: Facilitating a deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives and needs.
- Increasing Intimacy: Cultivating emotional and physical intimacy within the relationship.
- Strengthening Friendship: Nurturing the foundation of friendship to build a stronger bond.
- Addressing Infidelity: Providing a supportive space to navigate the complexities of infidelity and rebuild trust.
- Facilitating Forgiveness: Working through hurt and betrayal to achieve forgiveness and healing.
- Setting and Maintaining Boundaries: Establishing healthy boundaries for a balanced and respectful relationship.
- Managing Expectations: Helping couples align expectations and foster a realistic understanding of each other.
- Dealing with Interfaith Concerns: Navigating the unique challenges that arise in relationships with different religious backgrounds.
- Preparing for and Adjusting to Life Transitions: Supporting couples through major life changes, such as marriage, parenthood, or career shifts.
- Navigating Separation and/or Divorce: Providing guidance for couples considering or going through the process of separation or divorce.
- Working Together as a Parenting Team: Assisting couples in co-parenting effectively and maintaining a united front.
- Processing Infertility Issues: Offering support and coping strategies for couples facing challenges related to infertility.
Marriage Counsellor, Marriage Therapist, or Psychologist — Who Should You See?
In Alberta, “marriage therapist” and “marriage counsellor” describe the same work: a trained professional helping couples repair their relationship. What differs is credential and fee.
All three credentials are qualified for couples work; psychologists’ receipts are more widely accepted by insurance plans that specify “psychologist” — check your plan’s wording.
“Marriage psychologist” simply means a Registered Psychologist who works with couples; it is not a separate designation.
Full breakdown of what each Alberta credential means: counselling credentials in Alberta.
Relationship Coach vs. Couples Counsellor: What’s the Difference?
A couples counsellor or therapist holds a recognised professional credential: in Alberta that means a Registered Psychologist, regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists, or a Canadian Certified Counsellor, certified nationally by the CCPA, trained to treat relationship distress, trauma, and mental-health factors.
“Relationship coach” is an unregulated title anyone can use, with no required training, ethics code, or complaint process.
Coaching can help motivated couples with goal-setting; it is not equipped for infidelity recovery, attachment injuries, or when one partner has anxiety, depression, or trauma in the mix.
Insurance plans reimburse regulated providers — coaching receipts are almost never covered.
Signs You Need Couples Counselling — And Why Earlier Is Always Better
Most couples wait far too long. We have found that 29% of couples seeking relationship support had been living with the problem for five years or more before asking for help. By then, patterns are entrenched, resentment has compounded, and the repair work is significantly harder.
The signs that couples counselling could help you often appear long before a relationship reaches crisis. This guide covers what those signs actually look like — including the ones that are easy to rationalise away — and why acting early gives you far more to work with than waiting until you feel backed into a corner.
The clearest signs that couples counselling is worth considering are:
- Recurring arguments that cycle without resolution
- Communication that has broken down or turned consistently negative
- Trust damaged by infidelity, secrecy, or repeated broken promises
- Emotional or physical intimacy that has decreased or disappeared
- Feeling more like roommates than partners
- One or both partners feeling chronically unseen or unheard
- Avoidance of conflict that has replaced honest conversation
- Major life transitions straining the relationship
None of these require a catastrophic event to be valid. If your relationship feels stuck in a pattern you cannot shift on your own, that is reason enough to reach out.
Relationship Conflict Counselling in Calgary
Relationship conflict counselling targets the fight cycle itself — how disagreements start, escalate, and end — rather than adjudicating who’s right. Couples learn to catch escalation early, repair mid-argument, and return to hard topics without the blow-up.
First skills taught: recognizing your physiological flooding point, structured time-outs that aren’t stonewalling, and softened start-ups for raising complaints.
Conflict isn’t the warning sign — unrepaired conflict is. Gottman’s research shows stable couples argue too; they repair faster.
What you say mid-conflict matters as much as the tools: see what not to say during couples counselling.
How much does couples therapy cost ?
Couples Counselling Calgary Prices & Fees
| Practitioner Type | Session Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) | $200 | Affordable, high-quality couples support |
| Provisional Psychologist | $230 | Psychologist-led care with added supervisory oversight |
| Registered Psychologist | $230 | Full psychologist services and insurance coverage* |
*We are able to direct bill for many companies, but coverage varies by insurance plan — most plans reimburse Registered Psychologists and many also cover CCCs and Provisional Psychologists. Check your benefits or ask us.
At Curio Counselling, we believe in the transformative power of relationship counselling.
Your journey matters, and we are here to provide the support, guidance, and tools you need to navigate the complexities of your relationship.
Take the first step towards a healthier and more fulfilling connection – contact us today to schedule a session with one of our experienced relationship therapists, we offer a free 20 minute consultation to new clients.
Elevate the Connection with Your Partner
Is there a relationship therapist
near me who can help us?
Are you looking for relationship counselling in Calgary, AB? You’re not alone. Whether you’re going through a rough patch in your relationship, you and your partner are feeling overwhelmed, or you just need to get back into a groove, thousands of couples are experiencing the same struggles. More reach out for help every day.
That is why we offer a free, no-obligation, 20-minute phone or video consultation with the Calgary therapist of your choice to find the perfect match for you and your partner.
Meet Curio's Counsellors for Couples
All of our Calgary therapists hold a Master of Counselling degree from an accredited university and are members in good standing with either the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) or the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP).
All of our Calgary counsellors hold a Master of Counselling degree
from an accredited university and are members in good standing
with one or more of the following governing bodies:
the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP)
the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (ACTA)
the Canadian Association for Play Therapy (CAPT)
the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA).
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Canadian Certified Counsellor, Registered Nurse
Graduate Counselling Student, Registered Nurse
In-Person & Virtual Couples Counselling
Our counselling spaces are designed to make you feel comfortable and safe. Upon entering a your private room, you are welcome to choose whichever seat you would like. Feel free to put your feet up, drape a blanket over yourself, or even lie down.
In addition to our office in Downtown Calgary, we have couples therapists available to help you virtually over the phone or on a video call.
Couples Therapy in Calgary’s Beltline
Our couples clinic is at 1414 8 St SW Suite 200 — in the Beltline, a five-minute walk from downtown Calgary’s core. If you searched “couples therapist Beltline” or “marriage counsellor downtown Calgary,” this is the neighbourhood office you’re looking for.
Easy access for downtown workers: evening appointments run Monday–Friday until 8:00 pm, plus Saturdays 10:00 am–4:00 pm.
Near 8th Street SW transit stops; street and lot parking available nearby.
Prefer not to commute? The same therapists offer secure virtual sessions to couples anywhere in Alberta.
Ready To Take
The Next Step?
Contact Curio Counselling today to see if we are the right couples therapy provider for you. Book a free 20-min session now to find the right therapist for your relationship.
How to Book Couples Counselling in Calgary
Booking couples counselling at Curio takes three steps: request a free 20-minute consultation (phone or video), get matched with the couples therapist who fits your situation and schedule, then book your first session online. Most couples can be seen within the week.
Free consultation — no commitment, both partners welcome on the call.
Therapist match — based on your goals, availability, and preferred fee tier ($200 CCC / $230 psychologist).
Book online — evenings until 8 pm weekdays and Saturday hours included.
Frequently Asked
Couples Therapy Questions
Is it worth doing marriage counselling?
Yes. For most couples, marriage counselling is worth it: in a five-year randomized trial, 72-74% of couples were still together after therapy, and 46-50% showed clinically significant improvement. Research shows gains in satisfaction, commitment, and resilience, including after infidelity or trauma.
What is the success rate of couple counselling?
About 70% of couples report improvement after couples counselling, and current professional data show more than three-quarters of couples in marital or family therapy see their relationship improve. Evidence-based methods like Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method account for much of that success.
Results are strongest when both partners engage and when therapy starts early, before conflict patterns become entrenched. Both EFT and the Gottman Method are used by the couples therapists at Curio Counselling in Calgary.
What are the 5 stages of a counselling relationship?
The five stages of a counselling relationship are: relationship building, problem assessment, goal setting, counselling intervention, and evaluation and termination. Every couples counselling process moves through these stages, though rarely in a straight line.
- Relationship building – both partners build trust with the therapist
- Problem assessment – the therapist maps your conflict cycle and history
- Goal setting – you agree on what a better relationship looks like
- Counselling intervention – the active work, using EFT, Gottman, or other methods
- Evaluation and termination – reviewing progress and ending therapy well
At Curio Counselling in Calgary, the first one or two sessions sit in stages one and two: no interventions until the therapist understands the pattern both of you are stuck in.
Is Couples Counselling Covered by Insurance?
Couples counselling in Alberta is often partially covered by extended health benefits, but never by Alberta Health Care. Whether your plan pays depends on the practitioner’s designation: most plans reimburse Registered Psychologists, and many also cover Canadian Certified Counsellors or Provisional Psychologists.
Before your first session, check your benefits booklet or call your insurer and ask specifically which designations your plan covers. If you tell us your plan details, Curio Counselling can help you match with a Calgary couples therapist whose designation your insurance will reimburse.
Can Couples Counselling Help After Infidelity?
Yes, couples counselling can help after infidelity, and affair recovery is one of the most common reasons Calgary couples book a first session with us. Structured approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method guide both partners through the anger, grief, and broken trust that follow an affair.
Recovery is slow and both partners have hard work to do: the partner who strayed rebuilds trust through consistent transparency, and the hurt partner processes the betrayal without being rushed to forgive. Many couples who commit to this work report a stronger, more honest relationship afterward.
How Do We Choose the Right Couples Counsellor in Calgary?
To choose the right couples counsellor in Calgary, look for three things: a recognized credential (Registered Psychologist, Provisional Psychologist, or Canadian Certified Counsellor), specific training in a couples method such as EFT or the Gottman Method, and a personal fit that both partners feel comfortable with.
Fit matters most. Research consistently ties therapy outcomes to the strength of the relationship with your therapist, so meet a counsellor before committing. Curio Counselling offers a free 20-minute phone or video consultation so both of you can test that fit at no cost.
What If My Partner Is Reluctant to Attend Counselling?
If your partner is reluctant to attend couples counselling, invite them to one session with no long-term commitment rather than asking them to commit to therapy. Many hesitant partners agree to Curio Counselling’s free 20-minute consultation because it costs nothing and obligates nothing.
Be honest about why you want counselling and hear out their concerns without pushing. You can also start individual counselling on your own: when one partner changes how they show up in the conflict cycle, the relationship often shifts, and reluctant partners frequently join later.
Do you offer online couples counselling in Alberta, or only in-person in Calgary?
Curio Counselling offers both: in-person couples counselling at our office at 1414 8 St SW in downtown Calgary, and secure online sessions for couples anywhere in Alberta. Virtual sessions run on encrypted, privacy-compliant video platforms that meet Canadian confidentiality standards.
You get the same quality of care whether you join from home, from another city, or while one partner travels for work, and many Calgary couples mix in-person and online sessions depending on schedules. Book a free 20-minute consultation with the therapist of your choice to start with either format.
What does couples counselling cost in Calgary, and what affects the price?
Couples counselling in Calgary at Curio Counselling costs $200 per hour with a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), $230 per hour with a Provisional Psychologist, and $230 per hour with a Registered Psychologist. Sessions are the same length at every level, and the initial 20-minute consultation is free.
Your total cost depends on session frequency, the complexity of what you are working through, and whether you add individual sessions alongside couples work. If cost is a concern, contact us and we will help you pick the therapist level that fits your needs and budget.
Is EFT the same as the Gottman Method? Which is better for us?
No. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method are two distinct, evidence-based approaches to couples counselling, and Curio Counselling’s Calgary therapists use both. EFT targets the emotional patterns and attachment needs driving conflict; the Gottman Method is a structured, skills-based approach built on over 40 years of relationship research.
Which is better depends on your core challenge. Couples stuck in pursue-withdraw cycles, emotional distance, or trust injuries often respond well to EFT. Couples wanting concrete communication tools and conflict management frameworks may get more from the Gottman Method. Many therapists blend both, and your free consultation is the right place to ask which fits your goals.
What if arguments escalate — do you teach conflict de-escalation tools?
Yes. Conflict de-escalation is a core part of couples counselling at Curio Counselling in Calgary. Our therapists help you spot what triggers escalation (criticism, defensiveness, contempt, stonewalling) and replace those reactions with skills that slow the conversation down before it spirals.
Depending on the approach, that includes Gottman repair attempts and soft start-up techniques, or EFT-informed work on naming the need underneath the anger. You also learn how to take a time-out that de-escalates without creating distance, and how to re-enter the conversation once both of you are calmer. If your arguments end in shouting, shutting down, or walking away, this is one of the most common and treatable patterns we see.