Mini-Marathon Couple Therapy

The Relationship Mini-Marathon: A Focused Deep-Dive

Standard 50-minute sessions are excellent for maintenance, but they can sometimes feel like “putting out fires” rather than addressing the foundation. A Mini-Marathon is a 3-4 hour intensive session designed to create immediate momentum.

By dedicating a half-day to your relationship, we can move past the surface-level symptoms and use the Gottman Method to restructure how you communicate, handle conflict, and build shared meaning.

Why a Mini-Marathon?

• Time-Efficient: Achieve the progress of several weeks of therapy in a single afternoon.
• Research-Based: We utilize the Gottman Method, a gold standard in couple therapy backed by 40+ years of research.
• Systemic Focus: As a PhD-level Marriage and Family Therapist, I look at the “worldview” of your relationship to identify patterns that keep you stuck.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a “Mini-Marathon”? It is a single, intensive session lasting at least 4 hours. Unlike traditional weekly therapy, we don’t spend time “catching up” on the week’s events; instead, we dive directly into the core issues using specific clinical assessments and interventions.

Who is this for? It is ideal for couples who:

• Feel they are in a “stalemate” or a high-conflict cycle.
• Have busy schedules that make weekly appointments difficult.
• Are looking for a “jumpstart” to their therapeutic journey.
• Want to work with a highly specialized clinician at a more accessible rate.

Can I use insurance for a “Mini-Marathon”? Marathon Couple Therapy is not billable to insurance due to it being longer than a typical therapy appointment. In fact, in many cases week-to-week Couple Therapy often isn’t billable to insurance either. Read more about that here.

How much do typical Marathon sessions cost? Depending on the provider, Marathon sessions (generally between 8-12 hours) cost between $3,000 to $6,000. This equates to an average of between $300 and $750 per hour. That would land a Mini-Marathon to around $1,200 (on the low end).

How much is a “Mini-Marathon” with Dr. Whitehead? Dr. Whitehead is offering a steeply discounted price as he nears the end of his Certification Track for Gottman Method Couple Therapy. The price for the first 4 hour mini-marathon is ONLY $1,200.00. For clients wishing to have another 4 hours after the first session will get a discount of $400.00. That would make a full marathon price with Dr. Whitehead at only $2,000.00.

Why is there a discount? While I have been a licensed therapist and supervisor for many years, I am currently finalizing the formal certification track for the Gottman Method. To gather the final clinical hours required for this specific credential, I am offering these intensives at a reduced rate for a short period.

How do we prepare? To take part in this opportunity, pay for the Mini-Marathon using this product. Once your purchase is complete, Dr. Whitehead will send you an email to schedule and complete the required paperwork. Once scheduled, you will receive a link to the “Gottman Relationship Checkup”—a detailed online assessment that allows me to review your relationship’s strengths and challenges before we even meet, ensuring we hit the ground running.

Your Provider: Dr. Michael Whitehead, LMFT

Experience the standard of care your relationship deserves. Dr. Michael Whitehead is a classically trained Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience helping couples move from gridlock to connection. By blending a doctoral-level understanding of systemic family dynamics with the most respected, research-based interventions in the field, he provides a therapeutic environment that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply compassionate.

In these Mini-Marathon sessions, Dr. Whitehead moves beyond the “weekly check-in” model to help you implement structural changes in real-time, utilizing the gold standard of couple therapy.

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD): Advanced specialization in Couple and Family Therapy from Michigan State University, providing a deep mental model (paradigm) for solving complex relationship issues.
• Gottman Level 3 Trained: Utilizing 40+ years of research to help you identify the specific “Sound Relationship House” tools needed for your unique dynamic.
• Final Certification Track: Currently in the final stages of the Gottman Certification process, allowing clients to access this elite level of specialized care at a short-term, discounted rate.
• Doherty-Informed Approach: Expertly trained in Discernment Counseling (The Doherty Approach) to help couples on the brink navigate the “crossroads” of their relationship with clarity and confidence.
• AAMFT Approved Supervisor: Recognized as a leader and mentor in the field, ensuring your therapy is guided by the highest clinical and ethical standards.
• Multi-State Licensed: Providing expert care to couples across Idaho (License #: LMFT-7120), Utah (License #: 8324338-3902), and Washington (License#: LF60462315) via both in-person and secure telehealth formats.
• Systemic Specialist: Trained to see the “whole picture,” ensuring that individual needs and relationship goals are balanced for long-term sustainability.

Cancellation/Refund Policy

Due to the limited and discounted nature of this service, a processing fee of $175.00 will be reserved for all cancellations. All no-show’s will require us to retain your full fee.  If you need to cancel your session, and do so up to 72 hours before your session, you will be refunded the cost of service minus the processing fee.

If you need to reschedule for any reason, you may do so at no additional cost, unless there are no available spaces for us to reschedule you. At which time, the cost of services will be refunded minus the processing fee.