The Couples Center

The Couples Center Pre-​Marital Workshop is a highly-​recommended experience for pre-​marital couples seeking a secular method for developing their relationship as a married couple. As a pre-​marital couple in Gal and Liron’s workshop, we learned important skills in navigating the issues of communication and ways to more clearly think and envision our future together in our married life. It was a great way to take time out of our busy schedules to truly reflect on our personal needs and the needs of each other, our goals, and ways to achieve them together in order to be the best version of ourselves. We are very grateful for the team that supported us in our goals during this workshop and are happy to have a more grounded, systematic way of approaching our marriage together. Thank you to The Couples Center for an amazing weekend of connection and fun!

I attended the «Love Made Simple» workshop hosted this past weekend with my partner, and feel very enlightened and hopeful in developing a healthy communication style as well as learning more about the needs of myself and my partner. Gal and Liron run an excellent workshop, having a great blend of teaching techniques and quality time to exercise ideas with our partners. Gal has a calm and gentle way in expressing ideas, and so much patience for not only the questions we had as a group, but regularly checking in to make sure we understood the concepts that were being focused on. Liron has such a warm and caring heart, and made every person feel welcomed and nurtured as we stepped into this vulnerable journey together. Thank you to the Couples Center for offering such a profound workshop– every couple, no matter where they are in their journey together, could benefit from this workshop. Many thanks!

My boyfriend and I attended this workshop last weekend. We learned soo many valuable tools and have a new outlook on our relationship. We are soo incredibly thankful!!!

I recently had the joy of assisting a two-​day weekend workshop put on by the Couples Center. The atmosphere created by Gal and Liron was full of warmth and understanding. Couples worked on growing their relationships with professional coaching available to help them work through the most challenging places. I was honored to witness couples going deep with each other, and also having a lot of fun. I’m a marriage & family therapist intern in San Francisco, and I highly recommend the Couples Center — if you are looking for a place to work on your relationship, this is it!

My partner and I attended Gal and Liron’s Love Made Simple workshop this past weekend. We thought we were doing pretty well, so we wondered how this workshop could help us.
I walked in unsure and walked out thinking that this kind of work should be required for any marriage. The weekend’s various activities were paced so that we had enough time to explore concepts with our partners then share with the large group if we wanted, but we managed to cover a vast number of them in a single weekend. Gal and Liron, as well as other therapists from the Center, facilitated when we needed but also let us talk through issues on our own.
I uncovered more about my partner, myself, and our relationship than I thought possible in one weekend. I’d definitely recommend this workshop to anyone looking for premarital or long-​term relationship counseling.

We went to a premarital group session and found it really valuable. It was focused on communication and pattern recognition. Since then we’ve gone back for individual sessions as a refresher. It’s been helpful having a shared way of talking about things together in an respectful, meaningful way. Gal does a great job creating a friendly environment and helps you see things from your partner’s perspective. Highly recommended for anyone.

Working with Suzanne Berens at the Couples Center over the past 7 months has been invaluable in helping to work on my relationship of nearly 20 years. Suzanne and I worked together in individual counseling and her empathy, patience, and warmth helped make the process both comfortable and productive. Therapy can be intimidating and stressful to deal with, but Suzanne created a safe and compassionate environment in which to open up and be vulnerable.
Highly recommended!

As a member of the Couples Center, I feel good about being part of a team of gifted therapists who bring tremendous talent and commitment to fostering the growth and connection of couples. In addition to providing high-​quality therapy, the center functions as a home base for couples. The web site alone offers free articles written by the center’s therapists, videos and tips. In addition, founders Gal and Liron bring a wealth of experience, wisdom, skill and fun to date nights and couples workshops. Gal’s teaching method beautifully combines strength and confidence with tenderness and compassion, a perfect recipe for feeling held.

As a colleague, I’m very familiar with Gal and Liron’s work – and I’ve been continually impressed with the focus, passion, and creativity that they bring to their work with couples. As a couple themselves, they offer genuine awareness and compassion for relationship challenges, and The Couples Center has a range of fun, educational events (from date nights to weekend couples workshops) that inspire deeper connection. Check them out!

After hearing Gal speak we decided to see him privately. We weren’t in crisis but both felt we could benefit from learning better communication skills and understanding what the other person meant or felt. What an amazing difference it has made. Couples don’t even realize the toxicity of their communication/​behavior patterns. Gal gets to the crux of things, he draws what he needs out of you to help you and your partner be stronger and more loving to each other. I can’t thank him enough. People often have a stigma attached to therapy or they think it’s so expensive. Give up something, a dinner out, your daily $ 5 latte and invest in your relationship! Divorce/​breaking up is really expensive!

My wife and I participated in a weekend long workshop by Gal and Liron and it was a great experience. We signed up for the workshop a few months before getting married and it was ended up being an extremely useful two day exercise of making sure we understood each others’ perspectives and were on the same page. I appreciated the structure of the workshop where there was a good mix of learning through examples and participation. The biggest thing I learned from the workshop was the concept of mindfulness and how it can unlock many of the issues that couples have. I will continue to refer to the packet of materials from the workshop with my partner so that we can continue to use it as a tool to maintain our foundation in the future. If you’re looking for a welcoming forum that will encourage open communication between you and your partner, look no further than the Couples Center.

We were looking for some nonreligious, pre-​marriage couples counseling. There wasn’t any issue on our minds to be resolved, we just wanted to set ourselves up for a better future together as a couple. We found The Couples Center on Unilocal and were curious how they obtained an average five-​star rating. After calling to find out our options, we decided to go with the 2-​day weekend workshop rather than the weekly personal sessions because we liked the scheduling better and thought it could be helpful to hear insights from other couples.
Boy, did we make a good decision to signup! Well worth the money! After day one I already felt more secure in our abilities to communicate with each other about small or complex conflicts, simply because we both had mutual «training» and understanding from being in the class together.
Gal and Liron created such a safe and welcoming environment of understanding and acceptance that even my super private husband felt comfortable sharing insights about our relationship with the group. They have a well-​prepared and thoughtfully executed itinerary and helpful resources to guide the process along. It was engaging to hear their own personal stories as well as real life examples of situations they have helped couples grow through. We benefited from the bits of one-​on-​one attention during they offer during each exercise (and they make sure to have additional experts present so that all couples can receive this attention and helpful guidance).
I could go on and on about things we learned, but you don’t need to know all that. What you need to know is that you have found the right place. Stop looking. Call Gal and Liron. They will certainly be the place we go when we need any relationship guidance.

We recently attended a weekend workshop with Gal and Liron. I previously had assumed that such things were for couples having major difficulty. After having this experience, I now realize that it’s for everyone. Being good in a relationship is not something we’re taught. Perhaps we learn a thing or two from our parents, but for the most part, we’re just figuring it out as we go along, often developing bad habits that we take with us from one relationship into the next.
Gal and Liron focus first on the triggers which spark the conflict impacting nearly all couples. From there, we begin to understand how the that conflict goes back and forth in a cycle. More importantly, we start to learn the tools to break those cycles. It was surprisingly easy to grasp these concepts and even easier to make the small changes to avoid repeating many of the same bad habits I’ve surely had for decades.
In addition to handling conflict, Gal and Liron focus on developing the connection with your partner. Much of this comes down to the daily habits that make us feel close to our partner, such as the hug when you say goodbye in the morning and when you return after a long day at work. It’s often the little things that matter most in feeling close to your partner.
If you’re in a relationship and want to make the most of it, I highly recommend Gal and Liron. I only wish I had done this a decade ago.

Gal is a fantastic teacher, therapist and all around great guy. I organize events in the Bay Area and asked Gal to speak at my event on building extraordinary relationships. Even before the event Gal got back to me with professionalism and punctuality, we worked together to create a workshop that would work. The entire event went off extremely well, and I got a lot of positive feedback from participants on how much they liked Gal’s presentation.

I saw Gal for over 2 years as a client. He is an amazing therapist and the work we did was transformational for me. His presence and gentle, non-​invasive guidance allowed me to achieve a level of self-​realization I don’t believe I would have found elsewhere. He is a therapist, a teacher, a mentor, and a friend…

My wife and I could not be more appreciative to Dr. Liron. Her insightful feedback as we worked through some issues were helpful, meaningful and gave us the tools to continue using after therapy. Highly recommend her for her ability to provide thoughtful therapy that leads to results.

I studied Couples Therapy with Gal Szekely in 2014. He is an exceptional teacher — clear, engaging, warm and highly skilled in couples work. Watching his demonstrations taught me how to guide couples through challenging impasses and identify the underlying cycles that keep them from having the relationship they both want. His frameworks are thorough and easy to apply. As a therapist in training I also find his website videos and blogs helpful. I highly recommend Gal!
I also had the pleasure of working with Shachar Erez, a therapist at The Couples Center. I strongly recommend Shachar for individual or couples work — he is sensitive, attuned, supportive and able to work through difficult dynamics. He has really helped me in my development.

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Liron Cohen at The Couples Center from July 2014 to March 2015. She is an amazing therapist that provides not only guidance, but also instruction on how to improve relationships with both your significant other, family and friends.
She provides excellent tools to improve your relationship, while being objective and understanding of each individual couple’s situation. She brought an unbiased opinion on making relationships work and delivers it in a manner that is both familial and friendly.
I believe it’s important to have a strong relationship with your therapist or counselor, to best develop trust and understanding as you solve problems and build the tools for lasting and healthy marriage. She provided a comfortable environment that was both welcoming and informed — a real professional.
I highly recommend Liron Cohen and The Couples Center for anyone seeking to make improvements to their relationships.

I had the pleasure of working with Suzanne Berens.
She is a warm, wise and sensitive couples therapist.
I highly recommend seeing her for individual or couples counseling!

I just completed a weekend long Hakomi training with Gal. I truly feel blown away by him: both by his mastery of the Hakomi method, as well as his overall ability to hold space and create transformative experiences in clients.
I think if I were to come into a particularly challenging place in my marriage, I would most definitely seek out Gal for support. It seems possible that with the depth of work he’s capable of doing, that a couple could experience healing and change in less time than with many other therapists.
I would also imagine that he’s an excellent individual therapist as well.
I cannot recommend Gal more highly.