For Couples & Partners
Couples Therapy
For married, common-law and same-sex couples in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge who keep having the same argument and cannot find the way out of it. In person in Kitchener, or online across Ontario.
Couples, not just marriages
Most clinics advertise marriage counselling. That wording quietly excludes a lot of people. In the 2021 Census, 22.7 per cent of Canadian couples were living common law, the highest share in the G7. Between 1981 and 2021 common-law couples grew by 447 per cent while married couples grew by 26 per cent.1
We work with married couples, common-law partners, same-sex couples, engaged couples, couples who do not live together, and couples who are not sure what they are any more. Sessions are $170 for 50 minutes. Book a free 15-minute consultation to start.
What couples usually bring in
Very few couples arrive with one clean problem. Most arrive with a pattern: a conversation that always goes the same way, a silence that has lasted longer than either of you intended, a resentment that neither of you can quite put down.
- The same argument on repeat, about something that is probably not the real subject
- Communication that has turned into scorekeeping
- Trust that has been damaged, by an affair or by something slower
- Physical and emotional distance
- Parenting differently, and undermining each other without meaning to
- The strain of a new baby, a job loss, an illness, or caring for aging parents
- One of you wanting to work on it more than the other
You may not agree on why you are here, and that is normal
In a study of 147 couples seeking therapy, the most common reasons given were problems with communication and a lack of emotional affection. The more interesting finding was that partners within the same couple showed little agreement with each other about why they had come. The researchers recommended assessing each partner individually rather than assuming a shared account.2
A separate study of couples arriving at a therapy clinic found the most commonly recorded theme was not communication at all. It was stress from outside the relationship: work, money, health, caring for family.3
Both findings shape how the first session runs. You will each get asked what brought you in, separately as well as together, before anyone settles on a version of events.
What the research says, without the marketing
Couples therapy has a decent evidence base and we would rather show you it than assert it.
Across 58 studies covering 2,092 couples, couples who received therapy improved substantially on relationship satisfaction, while couples on a waiting list did not.4 The waitlist comparison is the part that matters: it separates the effect of the therapy from the effect of time passing.
That is an average across many couples. It is not a prediction about you, and anyone who tells you their method has a success rate for your specific relationship is overselling.
On the Gottman research, honestly
Leanne draws on the Gottman Method among other approaches, so it is worth being straight about what that research does and does not show.
The genuinely useful part is descriptive. Decades of watching couples argue in a lab produced good observational work on how couples fight: the difference between a complaint and criticism, what contempt does to a conversation, how stonewalling escalates rather than calms things. Those observations hold up and they are practically useful in a session.
The part that gets overstated is the divorce prediction. You will see clinics advertise that the Gottman research predicts divorce with over 90 per cent accuracy. That figure comes from models fitted to couples whose outcomes were already known, which is a different and much easier task than predicting the future for a couple walking in the door. It has attracted real methodological criticism on exactly that point. We are not going to put a number on your relationship's odds, because nobody honestly can.
What you get instead is a set of tools for the conversation you are actually having, and a therapist who will tell you when something is not working.
How long couples wait, and the number that is wrong
Almost every therapy website repeats that couples wait an average of six years before seeking help. It is one of the most widely circulated statistics in the field.
It traces back to an unpublished 1992 master's thesis based on fewer than 20 couples. When researchers went and measured it properly in a large survey, the average wait was closer to 2.7 years.5
We mention it for one reason. The six-year figure is usually deployed to make people feel they have already left it dangerously late. Most couples have not waited nearly that long, and arriving later than you would have liked is not evidence that it is too late.
What sessions look like
The first session is mostly listening. You will each be asked what brought you in and what you want to be different. Nobody gets assigned the role of the problem.
- 50-minute sessions at $170, or 80 minutes at $250. Many couples find 80 minutes works better, because 50 can go quickly once both people have spoken.
- In person at Suite 304, 678 Belmont Avenue West in Kitchener, or online across Ontario. Online suits couples juggling childcare, shift work, or two different commutes.
- Individual sessions alongside couples work are sometimes useful, and are discussed openly rather than arranged quietly.
- A free 15-minute consultation first, so you can both get a sense of whether this feels workable.
If one of you is unsure
It is common for one partner to book and the other to agree reluctantly, or for one of you to be genuinely undecided about staying. That is a legitimate thing to bring into the room rather than something to resolve before you arrive. Therapy is not automatically an attempt to keep a relationship together; sometimes the useful work is getting to a clear decision either way.
When couples therapy is not the right call
Couples therapy is not appropriate where there is abuse or ongoing violence in the relationship. Joint sessions can make things less safe, because one partner cannot speak freely and may face consequences afterwards. Individual support is the right route.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region operates a 24-hour support line for Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. The Assaulted Women's Helpline is available across Ontario at 1-866-863-0511. For urgent mental health support in this region, Here 24/7 is on 1-844-437-3247, and the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline can be called or texted any time.
More local options are set out on our Waterloo Region mental health resources page. We are a private practice, not a crisis service.
Fees and coverage
| Session | 50 minutes | 80 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Couples | $170 | $250 |
| Individual (either partner) | $150 | $225 |
OHIP does not cover this. Psychotherapy from a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice is not an OHIP-covered service.6
Check your plan for couples specifically. Many extended health plans reimburse Registered Psychotherapist services, but some treat a couples session differently because two people attend, and some apply the cost against one partner's annual maximum. Ask your insurer about couples sessions rather than about therapy in general. If you both have coverage, it is often worth checking whether the plans coordinate. We offer direct billing to most major providers.
No HST. Psychotherapy and counselling therapy services became exempt from GST/HST across Canada on 20 June 2024.7
For lower-cost options, Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health offers couple and family counselling on a sliding scale based on income at 400 Queen Street South in Kitchener, 519-743-6333.8
Common questions
Do you work with common-law and unmarried couples?
Yes, and it is worth saying plainly because most clinics still advertise marriage counselling. In the 2021 Census, 22.7 per cent of Canadian couples were living common law, the highest share in the G7. We work with married, common-law and same-sex couples, and with partners who do not live together.
How long should we wait before booking?
You have probably read that couples wait six years. That number traces to an unpublished 1992 master's thesis based on fewer than 20 couples. When researchers measured it properly, the average was closer to 2.7 years. Coming in later than you would have liked does not mean the work will not help.
What if we disagree about why we are here?
Normal, and one of the more useful findings in the research. In a study of 147 couples seeking therapy, partners within the same couple showed little agreement about what had brought them in. It is part of why the first session hears from each of you rather than settling on one story.
Does couples therapy actually work?
The evidence is reasonably good. Across 58 studies covering 2,092 couples, couples who received therapy improved substantially on relationship satisfaction while couples waiting for treatment did not. That is an average across many couples, not a prediction about any particular one.
What does it cost, and is it covered?
$170 for 50 minutes, $250 for 80. OHIP does not cover it. Many extended health plans do, though some treat couples sessions differently because two people attend, so ask your insurer about couples work specifically. Direct billing available to most major providers.
What if only one of us wants to come?
That happens often. One partner can start individually and the work can still be about the relationship. Sometimes the other joins later, sometimes not. What we will not do is take sides or treat the absent partner as the problem.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page links to its source below. If you find something out of date or wrong, email leanne@kwtherapy.ca and we will correct it.
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: families, households and marital status, released 13 July 2022.
- Doss BD, Simpson LE, Christensen A, Why do couples seek marital therapy? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2004. 147 couples.
- Descriptive study of presenting concerns at a couples therapy clinic, available via PubMed Central. Note this was a US veteran sample, so the ordering may not transfer exactly to a Canadian private practice.
- Meta-analysis of couple therapy outcomes, 58 studies, 2,092 couples, published 2020.
- Research tracing and correcting the "six years" claim, published 2021. The 2.7-year average comes from a national online survey sample.
- Government of Ontario, what OHIP covers.
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Memorandum 25-3.
- Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health, cost information and flexible options. Retrieved July 2026.
This page describes psychotherapy services offered by KW Therapy in Kitchener, Ontario. It is general information, not clinical advice. Leanne Wiese is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, registration #15522; Teodora Kostadinovska is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), registration #19697. Both can be confirmed on the CRPO public register. Page last reviewed 20 July 2026.
Related: Pregnancy and postpartum therapy, if the strain arrived with a baby · Child behaviour therapy, if you are also parenting through something hard · All services and fees · Frequently asked questions
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