What Is PACT Couples Therapy and How Can It Help Your Relationship?

Whether you’re in a new relationship, navigating the ups and downs of a long-term partnership, or preparing for marriage, PACT Couples Therapy (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) offers a powerful, science-backed approach to fostering trust and emotional connection. Developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin, PACT helps couples rebuild, strengthen, and maintain healthy relationships, no matter the challenges they face.

How Can PACT Help Your Relationship?

PACT is designed for all kinds of couples—whether you’re in a new relationship, working through issues in a long-term partnership, or considering marriage. PACT also supports couples exploring consensual nonmonogamy or navigating life transitions. Using practical tools based on neuroscience, attachment theory, and the biology of human arousal, PACT helps couples build emotional safety and resolve long-standing issues.

PACT is particularly effective for:

• New couples seeking to create a solid foundation

• Long-term partners looking to reignite connection and break unhealthy patterns

• Couples preparing for marriage or trying to strengthen their commitment

• Couples facing trust issues, betrayals, frequent conflict, or communication breakdowns

• Partners adjusting to major life transitions, such as parenthood or relocation

• Any relationship configuration, including monogamous and consensual

  non-monogamy

What Makes PACT Couples Therapy Different?

PACT stands out because it integrates insights from neuroscience, attachment theory, and the biology of human arousal to help couples understand their relationship on a deeper level. Here’s how these elements work:

• Neuroscience: PACT helps you understand how the brain is wired for connection and survival. Some areas of the brain are focused on reducing threat, while others foster connection. Understanding these dynamics can help you stay emotionally safe and connected in your relationship.

• Attachment Theory: Your early attachment experiences shape the way you relate to others. PACT examines how your attachment style (secure, anxious, avoidant, or disorganized) influences your interactions today and helps you break free from old patterns that may be causing problems.

• Biology of Human Arousal: PACT focuses on how your body physically responds during moments of stress or excitement. Learning to recognize these cues can help you stay calm and present, even in the middle of a disagreement.

What to Expect in a PACT Couples Therapy Session

PACT therapy isn’t just about talking—it’s about working through your issues in real-time. During sessions, your therapist will help you recognize subtle changes in each other’s body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. This allows both partners to become more attuned to each other’s emotional states.

Here’s what makes PACT sessions unique:

• Real-Time Interaction: Your therapist will recreate tension-filled situations and guide you through them in real time, using a "show me" method. Rather than traditional talk therapy, PACT focuses on coaching you in the moment to practice new responses.

• Fairness & Justice: PACT helps couples create agreements for a conscious, secure relationship. You’ll define the purpose of your relationship, how to share information, and protect each other—building a “social contract” that treats your relationship like a partnership.

• Subtle Cues Matter: PACT therapists focus on small shifts in your behavior and micro-expressions, teaching you to notice these in yourself and your partner. These subtle cues often reveal more than words & impact your communication.

• Longer Sessions: PACT sessions typically last longer than other models ( although we like to adjust to your need & time) giving you the time to dig deep into the root of your challenges and make meaningful progress in each session.

• Immediate Feedback: Some PACT therapists may use video recordings of your session with your permission to offer immediate, tailored feedback and help you better understand your own reactions and those of your partner.

How PACT Can Strengthen Your Relationship

No matter where you are in your relationship, PACT couples therapy can help you:

• Stay connected, even during conflict

• Build emotional safety and trust

• Manage emotional highs and lows more effectively

• Resolve conflicts without harming the relationship

• Rekindle intimacy and love whenever needed

• Minimize stress and support each other’s well-being

• creating new relationship agreements

PACT therapy focuses on creating a relationship where both partners feel emotionally and physically secure, deeply connected, and capable of handling challenges together.

Is PACT Right for You?

If you’re ready to understand your partner on a deeper level and break free from the patterns that are holding you back, PACT might be the right fit. Whether you’re in a new relationship, working through long-term issues, or preparing for marriage, PACT couples therapy offers a research-backed, hands-on approach to building a secure, fulfilling partnership.

Ready to Transform Your Relationship?

Whether you’re looking to heal from past wounds, strengthen your bond, or simply improve your communication, PACT therapy can guide you toward a more connected, thriving relationship. By combining neuroscience, attachment theory, and real-time interaction, PACT provides the tools to help you and your partner make lasting changes.

PACT, the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy, draws from research in four areas