Couples psychotherapy is a form of psychological treatment in which both partners in an intimate relationship work together with a therapist to address relational difficulties, improve communication, deepen emotional connection, and navigate the challenges that are affecting their life together.
Couples therapy is not only for relationships in crisis. It is also valuable as a proactive investment in the relationship — helping couples understand each other more deeply, develop more effective ways of communicating, and build a stronger emotional foundation before difficulties escalate.
At IsraClinic, couples psychotherapy is available in multiple formats and may integrate several evidence-based approaches depending on the couple's specific presentation and goals.
Couples psychotherapy at IsraClinic addresses the full range of relational difficulties:
Couples therapy is also appropriate when one or both partners are experiencing individual psychological difficulties — depression, anxiety, trauma, or personality-related patterns — that are significantly affecting the relationship. In such cases, couples work may be conducted alongside individual treatment.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT-C) is the primary approach used at IsraClinic for couple work. Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, EFT-C has the strongest evidence base of any couples therapy approach. It addresses the negative interactional cycles — pursuit and withdrawal, escalating conflict, emotional shutdown — that maintain relationship distress, and works to create a more secure emotional bond between partners. EFT-C identifies and works with the underlying attachment fears and needs driving these cycles, transforming defensive responses into more vulnerable and connecting ones.
The integration of art therapy with EFT is a distinctive feature of couples work at IsraClinic, led by Valery Kravitz who is trained in both modalities. When partners find it difficult to say something directly to each other — when words feel too charged, too risky, or simply unavailable — they draw. They create images side by side or in response to each other, then look, interpret, and in that process become aware of what they feel, what the other carries, and what has been present but unspoken between them. This pathway through image and creation often reaches places that direct verbal exchange cannot.
Psychodynamic approaches address the ways in which each partner's personal history, attachment patterns, and unconscious internal representations shape the relational dynamic.
Structural and systemic approaches examine the organisation of the couple relationship — roles, boundaries, power dynamics, and the broader family context — and address dysfunctional patterns directly.
Sessions are conducted with both partners present — in person at the Tel Aviv clinic and online, including sessions where partners are in different locations, relevant for international couples or those living apart.
All sessions are conducted directly in English, Russian and Hebrew. The nuances of how each partner communicates — tone, choice of words, hesitations and silences — are central to the therapeutic process and require direct observation, not mediation through translation.
Couples therapy at IsraClinic is delivered within the framework of the Psychoergonomic Method — ensuring the approach accounts for the specific relational dynamics, individual clinical histories, and shared goals of this particular couple.
Couples psychotherapy is indicated when recurring relational difficulties are causing significant distress and are not resolving through the couple's own efforts; when a specific rupture or crisis has destabilised the relationship; when communication has broken down to the point where productive conversation is consistently impossible; and when individual psychological difficulties are significantly affecting the relationship.
It is also appropriate proactively — for couples who want to invest in the quality of their relationship before difficulties reach a crisis point.
IsraClinic accepts couples for in-person consultation in Tel Aviv and online, in English, Russian and Hebrew. No referral is required.
Lead Therapist: Valery Kravitz — Certified Art Therapist & Clinical Programme Curator | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
Every relationship has its difficult moments — but some patterns need professional support to change. Our team is available in English, Russian and Hebrew.