Dr. Joanne Burgio, Ph.D., works with couples in her Cherry Creek office and via secure telehealth across Colorado. Psychodynamic, emotionally-focused work with 40+ years of clinical experience — the kind of therapy that goes beneath what you're fighting about to the patterns that keep producing the fight.
The presenting problem is rarely the actual problem. Couples therapy goes beneath the argument to the pattern that keeps producing it.
You both know how it goes. You can almost script it. The content changes — money, in-laws, the kids, whose turn — but the choreography is the same. The work is understanding the pattern, not winning the argument.
You're functional. You're cooperative. You're also lonelier than you've been in years. The intimacy didn't end with a fight — it drifted. The work is figuring out what got lost and whether it can come back.
Something happened. The question now is whether the relationship can hold it — and what holding it would actually require from each of you. Long-term work, not crisis management.
One or both of you are seriously asking whether this works. The therapy is not pre-committed to either outcome — sometimes the work is repair, sometimes it's clarity, sometimes it's an honest goodbye. We figure out which together.
You used to be able to talk. Now you can't. Or you can, but everything lands wrong. The work isn't communication-skills training — it's understanding what changed in the underlying dynamic that turned conversations into minefields.
New baby. Empty nest. Career pivot. Retirement. Caring for aging parents. The transitions don't break good relationships — but they expose patterns that were working under the old arrangement and aren't working under the new one.
Most couples therapy in 2026 is structured, protocol-based, and short. There's a place for that. But for couples whose patterns have been running for a long time — or whose patterns trace back to each partner's own history more than to anything the other person did — short-term protocol work often doesn't reach what's actually driving the dynamic.
My work is psychodynamic and emotionally-focused. We pay attention to what each of you brings to the relationship from before the relationship — the attachment patterns, the family-of-origin dynamics, the ways each of you learned to do closeness and conflict. The relationship in front of us reflects those, and the way through the current pain usually involves both partners seeing those patterns in themselves, not just in the other person.
Sessions are 50 minutes, typically weekly, in-person at my Cherry Creek office or via secure telehealth from anywhere in Colorado. Joint sessions, individual sessions, or both — depending on what the work needs.
Cherry Creek office
8337 Cherry Creek N Drive, Suite 801
Denver, CO 80209
Or secure HIPAA-compliant telehealth from anywhere in Colorado — both partners in one room or on separate cameras.
50-minute sessions, typically weekly
$225 per couples session
Colorado: self-pay; superbills provided for out-of-network reimbursement
TRICARE patients welcome (out-of-network)
A free 15-minute consultation by phone is the right first step. We'll briefly discuss what's bringing you in, the practical logistics, and whether the fit feels right. Both partners don't have to be on the consultation call — one is fine.
Schedule NowIt depends on what you're working on. Psychodynamic couples work is open-ended rather than time-limited; the trajectory depends on what the couple is working on. Many couples continue weekly for 6-12 months; some longer, some shorter. We discuss pace and expectations in the first few sessions, and reassess together as the work develops.
Yes. Couples often come in when one or both partners are seriously questioning the relationship. The work in that context is sometimes about repair and sometimes about clarifying — what's worth saving, what isn't, and what each person actually wants. There's no pre-decided outcome.
Yes. Dr. Burgio is licensed in Colorado and conducts couples sessions via secure video from anywhere in the state. Couples can be in the same room together on one camera, or on separate cameras from separate locations — both work. The experience is very close to in-person work; you'll need a private space and a reliable internet connection.
Yes. Dr. Burgio works with couples of all configurations. The therapy is about the relational patterns and how each partner shows up in the relationship, not about any particular structure.
Couples sessions are $225 for 50 minutes. In Colorado the practice is self-pay; we provide superbills you can submit to your insurance for out-of-network reimbursement. TRICARE patients are welcome on an out-of-network basis. A free 15-minute consultation by phone is available before scheduling.
That's completely fine. Many people do. Sometimes the work begins as individual therapy and stays that way; sometimes it transitions into couples work later. Sometimes a partner is reluctant to attend at first and warms up over time, and individual sessions for the willing partner can shift the dynamic enough that the other partner becomes curious.