Free Couples Therapy Offered in L.A. County

Couples and individuals in Los Angeles County can get help to improve their romantic relationships through a free online relationship program that uses a tried-and-true counseling method pioneered at UCLA. The program, called OurRelationship, is backed by 15 years of research showing that it improves communication, trust, emotional distance, satisfaction and other relationship areas. It is available for heterosexual, LGBTQ+ and military or veteran couples in English and Spanish.

OurRelationship applies techniques from Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), which was developed in the 1990s by UCLA psychologist Andrew Christensen and the late Neil S. Jacobson of the University of Washington. Since 2010, IBCT has been the relationship counseling modality used within the Veterans Administration.

"IBCT is one of the most extensively tested, evidence-based approaches to relationship counseling. It's probably fair to say that IBCT, whether through the VA system or in private counseling, has improved countless relationships over the years," said Christensen. "And now we've developed a way to bring these benefits to even more people at no charge."

IBCT counseling starts with the premise that all relationship problems result from the combination of actions or inactions that trigger sensitive reactions and seeks to resolve the problems through a combination of acceptance and change — by modifying the triggering action as well as the sensitive reaction. Couples work with a counselor to understand their differences, emotional sensitivities, external circumstances and patterns of communication in order to identify and smooth out friction points.

OurRelationship integrates these concepts within an online course that includes 8-10 hours of tailored content and activities that take six weeks to complete. Five weekly 30-minute calls with a coach of choice are included at no cost to Los Angeles County residents. The course guides couples through three phases, abbreviated as OUR:

• Observe: Couples focus on identifying a core relationship problem after taking brief surveys and receiving feedback about their relationship.
• Understand: Couples get a deeper understanding of the relationship problem they identified.
• Respond: Couples establish a plan for handling their core relationship problem and moving forward.

"Couples can do the course together or as individuals if they don't want to involve their partner or their partner isn't willing," said Brian Doss, a University of Miami professor of psychology who directs OurRelationship. "Our coaches are trained and supervised, with bios that help people choose the one that's right for them when they register. Coaches are available during the day, evenings and weekends, because we know people need flexible schedules for those coaching calls."

Doss became interested in alternative ways to help couples during his doctoral studies with Christensen, while conducting a clinical trial on IBCT at UCLA. Doss realized that the stigma attached to relationship counseling, combined with scheduling difficulties and differences of opinion about the value of counseling within couples, might all make couples less likely to use a service that could improve their lives. So, he and Christensen began developing early versions of digital programs that eventually became OurRelationship, which has now been used by thousands of couples throughout the country with a 94% satisfaction rating.