Couples Therapy & Marriage Counselling Singapore

Couples therapy and marriage counselling generally involve using the same therapeutic approaches, and the two are often used interchangeably.

The meaningful distinction is who attends and what they tend to be working through. Couples therapy is open to any couple regardless of marital status, while marriage counselling is specifically for married couples and often involves the issues that come with that stage of life, such as parenting stress, financial pressure, interference by in-laws, and the longer-term patterns that develop in a shared household. TYHO’s couples therapists and marriage counsellors work with both, and the approach in the room will be shaped by what you and your partner actually bring to it. Sessions are available from S$152.60 per session.

Yes, it genuinely does. For example, Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is used by TYHO’s marriage counsellors, puts meaningful improvement rates at around 70–73% for couples who complete a course of treatment, and the Gottman Method has been tested and refined over more than four decades of clinical research. TYHO marriage counsellors also draw on other approaches (eg CBT, Narrative Therapy, trauma-informed therapies) depending on what you and your partner need.

Research shows that couples who come before communication has broken down entirely tend to have better outcomes. Having said that, many married couples who arrive in serious difficulty, or after a significant breach of trust, do go on to reconnect and rebuild something stronger. If both partners genuinely want to save the relationship, professional support can make a big difference. It is one of the most worthwhile investments a couple can make, at any stage.

We encourage couples to attend marriage counselling earlier rather than wait for things to get worse. Research shows that the average couple waits around six years after problems first appear before seeking professional help, and during that time patterns become more ingrained, making what might have taken a few sessions to address into something far longer.

Some signs that married couples should consider couples therapy include: recurring arguments, a growing emotional or physical distance, a breach of trust that has not been properly worked through, a major life change that is putting a strain on the marriage, or simply the feeling that something is off. Importantly, the marriage does not need to be in crisis to attend counselling. 

We advise starting pre-marriage counselling about three to six months before the wedding, as that gives enough time to work through anything that comes up without the pressure of an imminent deadline, and enough distance from the pre-wedding excitement to have genuinely honest conversations.

Some couples start earlier, when they first get engaged, and others come with the date already set. There is no wrong time, and coming sooner is always worthwhile.

Most couples who attend premarital counselling are not in any difficulty. With couples in Singapore getting married later in life, at TYHO, we are seeing a growing number of couples choosing premarital counselling as a deliberate investment in the marriage to come. They come to build communication skills and align on things that are easy to defer, such as finances, family boundaries, and what each person needs to feel secure, and go into the marriage with a clearer sense of each other. Many leave saying they wish they had done it sooner.

Note for Muslim couples: pre-marital counselling through TYHO does not fulfil the MUIS/ROMM mandatory requirement. Visit muis.gov.sg for approved providers. TYHO sessions are available in addition to the mandatory programme, not instead of it.

TYHO’s pre-marital counselling is available from S$152.60 (incl. GST), same-day (subject to availability), in-person or online.

The duration of couples therapy and marriage counselling will depend on many factors, such as how much both partners are able to engage in the sessions, the goals you bring, and the complexity of what you are working through. 

In general, couples therapy and marriage counselling can take anywhere from 6 to 25 sessions before you and your partner have made meaningful progress. 

Healing and growth are not linear, so you might even slip back to your old habits and patterns once in a while. Couples and marriage counsellors at TYHO can guide you through these slips and adjust their approach accordingly.

As you learn more about yourself and your partner and do between-session exercises your couples therapist or marriage counsellor gives you, you will start noticing real changes in how you and your partner connect and communicate.

During the first few sessions, you can always talk to your partner and the couples therapist or marriage counsellor about your relationship goals and timelines.

Here is what you can typically expect during couples therapy and marriage counselling sessions:

• Honest assessment and goal setting with your couples or marriage counsellor
• Identifying patterns and triggers of conflict, and understanding underlying root causes using evidence-based modalities EFT, Gottman Method & SFBT
• Learning practical skills for communication or conflict resolution
• Regular check-ins on progress, and adjusting direction as you go

Some TYHO clients often report feeling vulnerable attending a session with their partner or spouse because it may involve sharing deeply personal stories and feelings.  TYHO’s couples therapists and marriage counsellors are aware of the several challenges and fears couples may have and understand the importance of being objective and patient during sessions.

Usually yes, both partners need to attend couples therapy. The reason is that couples therapy is built around the dynamic between two people rather than one person’s experience in isolation. That said, if your partner is reluctant, TYHO’s counsellors can work with you first in an individual counselling session around relationship issues that you are facing. If your partner is open to it, our counsellors can also speak with them to explain what to expect before a first joint session. Starting individually is a genuinely useful option and is almost always better than waiting indefinitely.

Yes, marriage counselling or couples therapy is effective after infidelity. For many couples, it is where the real work of the relationship begins. Recovering from infidelity is not the same process as working through communication difficulties — involving processing betrayal, rebuilding trust, managing trauma responses, and helping the hurt partner feel safe again — and having a marriage counsellor or couples therapist who understands that distinction makes a significant difference to outcomes. Couples who seek professional support after infidelity have meaningfully better outcomes than those who try to manage it alone, and a good proportion do choose to stay together and rebuild. TYHO marriage counsellors and couples therapists working with infidelity draw on various modalities, including EFT and the Gottman Method to rebuild trust and emotional safety. If both partners are genuinely willing to do the work, there is real reason for hope.

Couples therapy and marriage counselling work best when both partners are willing to engage honestly, not necessarily in agreement, but genuinely present and open. It tends to be less effective in certain situations:

• One partner has already decided to end the relationship, since therapy cannot hold together a partnership where one person is no longer invested.
• Active deception is occurring, such as an ongoing affair or hidden financial behaviour the couples therapist does not know about, as the process relies on honest disclosure from both sides.
• One partner is attending under duress without any genuine willingness to reflect during sessions, since reluctant participation limits what the sessions can do.
• Domestic violence is present, as couples therapy in an abusive relationship can make things worse rather than better. Individual support for each partner separately is the safer and more appropriate path.

None of these are reasons to avoid couples therapy and marriage counselling. They are reasons to be honest with your couples therapist or marriage counsellor about where both partners actually are. TYHO’s couples therapists and marriage counsellors are experienced at working with ambivalence, resistance, and difficult starting points, and the first session is often more diagnostic than therapeutic, helping everyone understand what kind of support is actually needed.