What is couples therapy in Riverside, CA and how can it help our relationship?

Couples therapy in Riverside, CA helps partners improve communication, resolve conflict, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional connection. You will meet weekly with your therapist who will help you get unstuck and stop having the same fights over and over. An experienced couples therapist provides guidance, structure, and evidence-based tools to help couples break unhealthy patterns and create a stronger, more secure relationship.

How do I know if we need couples therapy in Riverside, CA?

In short, you need couples therapy if you and your partner can't solve your problems on your own. What you're doing to stay connected isn't working and you don't know what else to do. Many couples seek couples therapy in Riverside, CA when they experience frequent arguments, emotional distance, trust issues, or difficulty communicating. Therapy can help whether your relationship is in crisis or you simply want to improve connection and prevent future problems.

Do you offer online couples therapy throughout California?

Yes. We offer secure online couples therapy throughout California. Online couples counseling allows you to work with an experienced couples therapist from the comfort of your home without the hassle of a drive to our office. Online couples therapy is also useful if you and your partner are in a long distance relationship.

What types of problems can couples therapy help with?

Couples therapy in Riverside and Murrieta can help with: Communication problems. Frequent arguments or conflict. Emotional disconnection. Infidelity and trust issues. Premarital counseling. Relationship crisis. Considering separation or divorce. Life transitions and stress. Blended families and coparenting. Mixed-faith marriages and interfaith relationships.

Is couples therapy in Riverside, CA effective?

Yes. Couples therapy is highly effective when both partners are willing to participate and willing to make changes to improve their relationship. Working with an experienced couples therapist in Riverside, CA can help couples improve communication, rebuild emotional intimacy, and resolve long-standing relationship challenges.

What happens during couples therapy sessions?

We spend the first few sessions understanding your goals for your relationship and your conflict patterns. Then when you come in for your sessions we make change! Our therapists won't let you talk endlessly about your problems. We will help you make change IN your sessions so that you don't just have an idea of how things might be different between you and your partner, you actually get to experience that change. We're like coaches: watching your form, giving you tips on how to improve, helping you know what you need to practice, and then celebrating with you when you get it right.

How long does couples therapy usually take?

The length of couples therapy depends on your goals and situation. Some couples with very complex problems and little time to work on their relationship outside of therapy stay with us for a year or more. But our data from 10 years in business shows that most people who make meaningful progress toward their goals stay with us for about 4 months of weekly therapy (about 16 sessions). Your couples therapist will create a personalized plan based on your needs.

Can marriage counseling in Riverside, CA help save our relationship?

Yes and no. If you and your partner want to save your relationship, marriage counseling can help if it's part of your overall plan to work on your relationship. But we aren't relationship fairies. Merely sitting in the office once a week with a couples therapist won't make a difference if you are unwilling to shift your perspectives, change your behavior, or soften your heart. You might be willing to work and your partner is not. Marriage counseling still might help. We can't make them change, but we do have skills to help your partner find motivation to change. We can try.

Do you offer in-person couples counseling in Riverside, CA?

Yes. We offer in-person couples counseling in Riverside, CA. Our Riverside office is just off the 91 freeway at Arlington. Our office provides a comfortable, private environment where couples can focus on healing and strengthening their relationship. Both buildings have comfortable furniture, ADA compliant restrooms, and are in quiet professional buildings.

Is online couples counseling in California as effective as in-person therapy?

To be totally honest with you, we think so, but the field doesn't have robust research yet to support this. Anecdotally, we have had several couples come to see us for in-person sessions after working with other therapists online and have found the in-person sessions work better for them. Here's what we do know: We give the same amount of care and attention to every couple that works with us whether they are in-person or online. We have had many couples do online sessions in our practice with great results. We are always checking on your progress. If you are doing online couples counseling sessions with us and we can see you're not getting better, we will help you find another solution that will work for you.

Can couples therapy help rebuild trust after infidelity?

Yes! Infidelity is a common reason people come to see us. We help couples recover from infidelity and trust issues all the time. Couples therapy can help partners process the impact of infidelity, rebuild trust, improve communication, and work toward healing. We will help you see which phase of the healing process you are in and what you need to do to take your next steps toward healing. Our therapists are never shaming or judgmental. We want to help you both recover.

Do you offer couples therapy for serious relationship problems?

Yes. Couples therapy in Riverside and Murrieta, CA can help couples facing serious challenges, including emotional disconnection, ongoing conflict, and relationship crises of all kinds. Just like medical problems, sometimes your primary care doctor can help and sometimes you need to be referred to a specialist. We are specialists in relationship problems.

What are the benefits of couples therapy with an experienced couples therapist?

We're going to share a secret: not all therapists know how to work with couples. Most marriage and family therapists in California only take 1 class on couples therapy in their graduate school programs and many marriage and family therapists confess to us that they don't like working with couples! You wouldn't want to have a doctor perform a surgery on you that they haven't done since med school. With couples therapy, it really makes a difference that you work with someone who is experienced and has specialized training in helping relationships. Working with an experienced couples therapist can help you: Communicate more effectively. Resolve conflict in healthier ways. Rebuild trust. Strengthen emotional connection. Improve relationship satisfaction. Professional guidance helps couples create lasting, meaningful change.

How do we get started with couples therapy in Riverside, CA?

You can get started by scheduling a free consultation. We will answer your questions, learn about your relationship, and match you with an experienced couples therapist in Riverside, CA, or for online couples therapy sessions anywhere in California.

Couples Counseling in Riverside CA

Schedule a Free Consultation

Do you ever look at an old photo of you and your partner and wonder what happened to the happy people you used to be?

You wonder how it’s possible to love a person so much you don’t want to live without them AND at the same time you are so hurt and angry that you don’t know how you can keep living with them. It is a hopeless, discouraging place to be.

You’ve tried everything you know to fix the growing distance between you and your love, and it’s not getting better.

You don’t want to keep going on like this and risk that your relationship ends up in breakup or divorce. You think maybe you just need to try harder or be more patient, but you feel discouraged about that because what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working. You and your partner are still disconnected, lonely even when you’re together, and fighting more than you’d like (or maybe you’re not fighting at all, and the lack of communication is part of the problem too).

You find yourself searching “marriage counseling near me” or “in-person couples therapist in Riverside.” And that brought you to us. But you are left wondering how to choose the right couples therapist for you and whether this will be worth the time and money you’ll invest in it. Keep reading. We’re here to help.

If you’re not sure you want to stay in your relationship or if your partner has already asked for a divorce discernment counseling might be a good fit before you do couples counseling.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Find lost connection
Heal the distance
Create a more fulfilling relationship
Fall in love again

Close up shot of an elderly couple holding hands and looking each other in the eyes. They are in couples counseling in Riverside CA — We can help. We’re specialized couples counselors in Riverside.

We are more than caring people, more than just great therapists, **we are relationship experts.** Our priority is helping you heal the distance between you and your partner and fall in love again. Our goal is to help you create a relationship that’s closer and more fulfilling than ever. We want you to look back at those old photos and think “I’m so glad we stayed together! We were happy then, but the best was yet to come.”
We don’t want you to stay another week in despair and loneliness. We don’t want you to have that same fight over and over until you give up on each other. You and your partner deserve better. We want you to experience the satisfaction of knowing you did everything you could to save your relationship, to fight for yourself and your partner. And we want you to walk away from our work together smiling and holding hands, experiencing the lightness of letting go of the breath you’ve been holding for months or even years, confident that you’ve got this and you’re in it together.
If you’ve tried couples therapy before and didn’t get results like we just described, we want you to give us a chance. Not every therapist has specialized training in couples therapy, not even all marriage and family therapists have training in couples therapy. And having specialized training makes a BIG difference in your results. Just like with medical care, there are some things you can treat at home, some things you go to your general practitioner for, and some issues that require a specialist. There are some relationship issues you can handle at home and sometimes you need or want a specialized couples therapist. We regularly have couples come into our office and say things like *“We tried couples work before with someone from our insurance, and this is SO much better. Thank you!”* or *“I did couples therapy with a former partner and it was nothing like this. I’m so glad we drove a little further to find you.”*
Contact us today to schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation for couple’s counseling in Riverside, CA.
Are you out of the area, or do you and your partner travel for work? Learn more about **online couple’s counseling** or **couples therapy retreats**.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Meet Our Team of Couples Therapists in Riverside CA

Alexis Johnson, LMFT, CA Lic. No. 149111

Feeling disconnected, stuck in repeated patterns, or unsure how to navigate the unique challenges of a blended family or a neurodivergent relationship can be exhausting. You may be searching for a way to reconnect, communicate more effectively, or find balance in all the important areas of your life. Sometimes it’s not as easy as just “prioritizing your relationship.” You know you need to, but you also have a whole complicated life and people who depend on you. I get how hard that is, and I’m here to help you create meaningful change in your relationship so that you actually enjoy your life and your time together as a couple.

Find out more about couples counseling in Riverside with Alexis
Rebecca Williams LMFT, CA Lic. No. 81817

Do you miss your partner? You see them every day but you feel like you hardly know them. You miss the days when you were best friends and lovers. You don’t know how to go back to the relationship you used to have, maybe you doubt if it’s even possible to have that happiness and connection again. I’m Rebecca Williams; and I can help you heal your hurts and fall in love again.

Explore couples counseling with Rebecca

Schedule a Free Consultation

For Couples Counseling in Riverside CA

Not sure where to start in finding the right couple’s therapist? Click below to schedule your free private 15 minute phone consultation with one of our licensed relationship experts. Alternatively, learn about online relationship counseling and secure video sessions. Or, if your partner is not willing to come to couple’s counseling right now, check our our solo relationship counseling option.

We are ready to get started!

Frequently Asked Questions about Couples Counseling in Riverside CA

We want you to feel that you’re in good hands trusting your relationship to the therapists at Inland Empire Couples Counseling. If you have a question we didn’t answer here, please schedule a consultation. You’ll get to talk with a member of our team live.

General FAQs about services at IECC here

Couples therapy in Riverside, CA helps partners improve communication, resolve conflict, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional connection. You will meet weekly with your therapist who will help you get unstuck and stop having the same fights over and over. An experienced couples therapist provides guidance, structure, and evidence-based tools to help couples break unhealthy patterns and create a stronger, more secure relationship.
In short, you need couples therapy if you and your partner can’t solve your problems on your own. What you’re doing to stay connected isn’t working and you don’t know what else to do. Many couples seek couples therapy in Riverside, CA when they experience frequent arguments, emotional distance, trust issues, or difficulty communicating. Therapy can help whether your relationship is in crisis or you simply want to improve connection and prevent future problems.
Yes. We offer secure online couples therapy throughout California. Online couples counseling allows you to work with an experienced couples therapist from the comfort of your home without the hassle of a drive to our office. Online couples therapy is also useful if you and your partner are in a long distance relationship.
Couples therapy in Riverside and Murrieta can help with:
- Communication problems
- Frequent arguments or conflict
- Emotional disconnection
- Infidelity and trust issues
- Premarital counseling
- Relationship crisis
- Considering separation or divorce
- Life transitions and stress
- Blended families and coparenting
- Mixed-faith marriages and interfaith relationships
Yes. Couples therapy is highly effective when both partners are willing to participate and willing to make changes to improve their relationship. Working with an experienced couples therapist in Riverside, CA can help couples improve communication, rebuild emotional intimacy, and resolve long-standing relationship challenges.
We spend the first few sessions understanding your goals for your relationship and your conflict patterns. Then when you come in for your sessions we make change! Our therapists won’t let you talk endlessly about your problems. We will help you make change IN your sessions so that you don’t just have an idea of how things might be different between you and your partner, you actually get to experience that change. We’re like coaches: watching your form, giving you tips on how to improve, helping you know what you need to practice, and then celebrating with you when you get it right.
The length of couples therapy depends on your goals and situation. Some couples with very complex problems and little time to work on their relationship outside of therapy stay with us for a year or more. But our data from 10 years in business shows that most people who make meaningful progress toward their goals stay with us for about 4 months of weekly therapy (about 16 sessions). Your couples therapist will create a personalized plan based on your needs.
Yes and no. If you and your partner want to save your relationship, marriage counseling can help if it’s part of your overall plan to work on your relationship. But we aren’t relationship fairies. Merely sitting in the office once a week with a couples therapist won’t make a difference if you are unwilling to shift your perspectives, change your behavior, or soften your heart. You might be willing to work and your partner is not. Marriage counseling still might help. We can’t make them change, but we do have skills to help your partner find motivation to change. We can try.
Yes. We offer in-person couples counseling in Riverside, CA. Our Riverside office is just off the 91 freeway at Arlington. Our office provides a comfortable, private environment where couples can focus on healing and strengthening their relationship. Both buildings have comfortable furniture, ADA compliant restrooms, and are in quiet professional buildings.
To be totally honest with you, we think so, but the field doesn’t have robust research yet to support this. Anecdotally, we have had several couples come to see us for in-person sessions after working with other therapists online and have found the in-person sessions work better for them.
Here’s what we do know:
- We give the same amount of care and attention to every couple that works with us whether they are in-person or online.
- We have had many couples do online sessions in our practice with great results.
- We are always checking on your progress. If you are doing online couples counseling sessions with us and we can see you’re not getting better, we will help you find another solution that will work for you.
Yes! Infidelity is a common reason people come to see us. We help couples recover from infidelity and trust issues all the time. Couples therapy can help partners process the impact of infidelity, rebuild trust, improve communication, and work toward healing. We will help you see which phase of the healing process you are in and what you need to do to take your next steps toward healing. Our therapists are never shaming or judgmental. We want to help you both recover.
Yes. Couples therapy in Riverside and Murrieta, CA can help couples facing serious challenges, including emotional disconnection, ongoing conflict, and relationship crises of all kinds. Just like medical problems, sometimes your primary care doctor can help and sometimes you need to be referred to a specialist. We are specialists in relationship problems.
We’re going to share a secret: not all therapists know how to work with couples. Most marriage and family therapists in California only take 1 class on couples therapy in their graduate school programs and many marriage and family therapists confess to us that they don’t like working with couples! You wouldn’t want to have a doctor perform a surgery on you that they haven’t done since med school. With couples therapy, it really makes a difference that you work with someone who is experienced and has specialized training in helping relationships.
Working with an experienced couples therapist can help you:
- Communicate more effectively
- Resolve conflict in healthier ways
- Rebuild trust
- Strengthen emotional connection
- Improve relationship satisfaction
Professional guidance helps couples create lasting, meaningful change.
You can get started by scheduling a free consultation. We will answer your questions, learn about your relationship, and match you with an experienced couples therapist in Riverside, CA, or for online couples therapy sessions anywhere in California.

FAQs written and reviewed by Rebecca Williams, LMFT, couples counselor in Riverside CA

Rebecca Williams, LMFT visits the No Supervision podcast with Dr. Thomas Hughes to talk about what to expect from couples counseling and what to look for when you’re trying to find a couples therapist!