Marriage counselling onlineFind your way back to each other.
Most marriages do not fall apart in a single moment. More often, two people who once felt like a team slowly drift into separate routines, talk mostly about logistics, and find that small disagreements now carry the weight of years.
Online in English, with a therapist from our team, wherever you live · Sessions in Greek are with Matina Ladikou.
Each session lasts 45 minutes and costs 70 €. All fees
At Art of Mind, a centre founded by psychotherapist Matina LadikouAt a glance
- Format
- Online by video on Google Meet, 45-minute sessions.
- Who you work with
- A therapist from our team, in English. In Greek, Matina Ladikou.
- Getting started
- Send an enquiry; we reply within 24 hours.
There is help
You don’t have to face this on your own
For couples living abroad, the pressures can be particular: one partner may have moved for the other's job, family support may be far away, and the usual friends to confide in may not yet exist. It is easy to feel that you should be able to fix things on your own.
At Art of Mind, a psychotherapy centre founded in Patras, Greece in 2019, our therapists offer marriage counselling in English for couples, online by video. Whether you want to rebuild closeness, stop the same argument from repeating, or think carefully about your future together, counselling offers a structured space to talk with someone who is not on either side.
Recognising it
Signs that your marriage could use support
Every couple goes through difficult seasons. Counselling may be worth considering if you recognise some of these:
- The same argument keeps returning, and neither of you feels heard.
- Conversations escalate quickly into criticism, defensiveness or silence.
- You feel lonely inside the relationship, or more like housemates than partners.
- Intimacy and affection have faded, and it has become hard to talk about.
- Trust has been damaged, for example after an affair or a serious breach.
- A big life change, such as becoming parents, moving country, illness or a change in work, has unsettled the balance between you.
- Disagreements about money, parenting, in-laws or where to live feel impossible to resolve.
You do not have to wait for a crisis. Couples who seek support earlier often find change easier, because resentment has had less time to build.
Recognising it
Why good people get stuck
Most couples who struggle are not short of love or goodwill. What tends to happen is that each partner develops a way of protecting themselves when they feel hurt or unheard. One may push harder for a response, the other may withdraw to avoid conflict, and each partner's reaction confirms the other's worst fear. Over time, the cycle itself becomes the problem, and both people feel like the injured party.
Marriage counselling helps you step back and see this pattern together. When couples can name the cycle rather than blame each other, there is usually more room for curiosity, repair and change.
What the research says
What research says about couples therapy
A meta-analysis of 33 randomised trials with 2,730 participants examined two well-established couples approaches, one focused on emotions and attachment and one focused on behaviour and communication. Both produced medium improvements in relationship satisfaction at the end of therapy and smaller improvements at six months, with no significant difference between the two; at 12 months, data were available for only one approach, and its gains had not been maintained (Rathgeber et al., 2019). A separate systematic review of emotion-focused couples work reported improvements in marital satisfaction that were sustained at follow-up, though it included only a small number of trials (Beasley & Ager, 2019).
NHS guidance on depression includes behavioural couples therapy, usually over 15 to 20 sessions, for situations where relationship problems contribute to low mood (NHS). Taken together, the research suggests that couples work can help, that results vary, and that building skills to use beyond the therapy room is important.
Our approach
How our therapists work with couples
Our therapists use an evidence-informed, integrative approach, drawing on ideas from the main couples approaches without claiming to follow any single branded method. Sessions are adapted to your relationship and goals, and often include:
Understanding your story
How you met, what has changed, and what each of you hopes for.
Mapping the cycle
Recognising the pattern you fall into during conflict, and what each of you feels underneath it.
Communication
Practising ways to raise concerns without attack and to listen without defending, with exercises you can try between sessions.
Repair and trust
Working through hurts, including breaches of trust, at a pace both partners can manage.
Practical issues
Finding workable agreements about money, household roles, family and the future.
Individual factors
Noticing when stress, anxiety or low mood in one partner is affecting the relationship, and drawing on CBT techniques where helpful.
Your therapist will not decide whether your marriage should continue. Some couples leave counselling closer than before; others conclude that separating is right and use the sessions to do so with less conflict. Either way, the aim is a considered decision rather than one made in the heat of an argument.
Online, by video
Online sessions for couples
Reach out
One of you sends a short message through our enquiry form, with your time zone and the times you are both usually available. There is no need to describe the difficulties in detail. We reply within 24 hours.
Set up the first session
Sessions in English are with a therapist from our centre, online via Google Meet, Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 21:00 Athens time. Couples usually join together from a quiet room on one screen.
The first session together
The therapist asks about your history as a couple, what brings you now and what each of you would like to be different, then agrees an initial plan with you. Sometimes the therapist may suggest a brief individual conversation with each partner as part of the assessment.
Ongoing sessions
Each session lasts 45 minutes. Couples pay a single fee of 70 € per 45-minute session for both partners; see pricing.
Couples sometimes worry that video will feel distant. In practice, many find it easier to speak honestly from their own home. Research comparing telemedicine with in-person care found comparable efficacy, satisfaction and drop-out rates across 20 randomised trials in mood, anxiety and trauma-related conditions (Shaker et al., 2023), though couples therapy specifically has been studied less.
Is it time?
When to seek help
Consider reaching out if conflict, distance or a loss of trust is affecting your daily life, sleep, health or ability to parent, or if one of you is considering separation and you want to think it through carefully.
Marriage counselling is not suitable when one partner is afraid of the other or is being harmed. If there is violence, threats or control in the relationship, please prioritise safety and contact emergency services or specialist domestic abuse support where you live. Online counselling is not an emergency service.
If you need urgent help. In an emergency call 112. In Greece you can also call 1018 (suicide prevention) or 10306 (mental-health support). For helplines in your country, see findahelpline.com.
If you need urgent help
In an emergency call 112. In Greece you can also call 1018 (suicide prevention) or 10306 (mental-health support). For helplines in your country, see findahelpline.com.
Our founder
Art of Mind, founded by Matina Ladikou
A centre where you can talk without fear of judgement, at your own pace.
Matina Ladikou, psychotherapist and founder of Art of Mind, set up the centre in Patras, Greece, in 2019. Sessions in English are with a therapist from our team; sessions in Greek are with Matina, and you can book Greek sessions directly.
We don’t promise a “guaranteed” or “instant” result; we offer a space of trust and work at your own pace.
Trained in Biothymic Psychotherapy and Clinical Hypnosis, in Mental Health Counselling and in NLP, with an MSc in Criminology from Panteion University.
About Matina and the centreNext step
Enquire about a session
If you are both ready to talk, or even if just one of you is ready to take the first step, send us a short message. We will reply within 24 hours.
Related pages: couples therapy · relationship counselling · divorce counselling · pricing
Before you start
Frequently asked questions
Do we both have to want counselling?
It helps when both partners are willing to try, even if one is more hesitant. If your partner is not ready, you can start with individual relationship counselling and they can join later if they choose.
Can we join from different places?
Usually, yes. Most couples join from the same room on one screen, but if you are temporarily apart, for example because of work travel, we can discuss whether joining from two locations will work for your sessions.
Will the therapist take sides?
No. The therapist's role is to support the relationship and both of you, making sure each person is heard. If one of you feels the sessions are unbalanced, we encourage you to say so, and we will address it.
Is marriage counselling only for couples on the verge of separating?
Not at all. Many couples come during a stressful period, after a major change such as a new baby or a move abroad, or simply because they want to communicate better. Earlier support is often easier than waiting for a crisis.
How much does it cost for a couple?
Sessions for couples cost 70 € per 45-minute session for the couple together, not per person. Details are on our pricing page.
What if one of us decides to end the marriage?
Counselling can also help couples separate as respectfully as possible, especially when there are shared responsibilities. We do not push you towards staying or leaving; we help you make a considered decision.