Couples Psychologists in Beirut

Couples counselling works with two people, and with what happens between them. It does not treat one of them.

Both partners usually attend ¹. Couples counselling works on repeated arguments, an affair, sex, money, parenting, or a decision about separating.

It does not rule on who is right. It is not for married couples alone. Ask a practitioner which approach they use.

If you are afraid of your partner, say so to the practitioner before any joint session is booked. Ask to be seen on your own first. The support numbers at the top of this page are for that situation.

Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.

Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.

Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.

Usually. Partners are almost always seen together¹. Couples sessions require safety.

Some practitioners will see one partner alone where the other will not attend. Ask what a practitioner does when one person is unwilling.

No. Couples counselling is for people in a relationship, married or not, of any gender, living together or not. The same practitioners work with couples deciding whether to separate, and with couples who have already separated and are parenting together. Say which of those describes you at first contact.

No. The work is with what happens between two people rather than with a verdict on either of them. Effective work with couples needs its own theories and methods, drawn from research on relationships. Ask a practitioner how they handle it when you disagree in the room.

Yes, and many practitioners offer it. Couples therapy by video shows few significant differences from face-to-face sessions². Symptom reduction, engagement and the therapeutic alliance are comparable.

Sitting in the same room at home suits some couples and not others. Ask what a practitioner offers.

Practitioners who work online say so on their listing.

Psychotherapy delivered live by video reaches outcomes close to in-person work, across therapies in general rather than couples work³. Couples work by video shows few significant differences from meeting in a room, and the therapeutic alliance is comparable⁴.

Say in your first message that one of you is abroad, and name the time zone.

Psychology is licensed. The Ministry of Public Health issues the licence to practise and publishes the list of licensed clinical psychologists⁵. Practising psychologists register with the Lebanese Order of Psychologists, the professional body set up by Law 254/2022⁶.

A practitioner may hold a qualification and a membership rather than a state licence, which is ordinary. Ask which they hold.

Each practitioner sets their own fee. Our guide to what therapy costs in Lebanon sets out the usual ranges; ask each practitioner what a couples session costs.

Where a practitioner states a fee on their listing, that figure is their own. Ask before the first session. Ask too whether the fee runs per session or per person in the room.

Couple therapy is an effective treatment for relationship distress, and the main models reach broadly similar results⁷.

Behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, emotionally focused and integrative behavioural couple therapy meet the criteria researchers use for a well-established treatment⁸.

Those findings describe groups of couples in studies. They are not a forecast about any one relationship, and nobody listed here can promise you an outcome.

What the research does not settle is which approach suits you. Ask a practitioner how they work with two people, and what they do when the two of you want different things.

Practice differs on what comes first. Some approaches open with a formal assessment that combines joint and individual meetings. Others use no set assessment stage¹.

In the first meeting you usually talk about why you are coming now, how each of you sees the problem, and what each of you wants changed.

Before you start, ask the practitioner these questions.

• Does the practitioner see each partner alone?
• What does the practitioner do with what one partner tells them in private?
• How will you know the work has finished?

Employer and private policies set their own outpatient benefits, and counselling is often outside them.

Ask your insurer whether it covers outpatient consultations with your practitioner's category, and ask the practitioner what they can invoice.

There is no threshold you have to cross first. Relationship distress is one of the commonest reasons adults seek psychotherapy at all⁷.

Distress between partners travels. It is associated with mood, anxiety and substance-use difficulties in the partners themselves, and with difficulties for children in the household¹.

Couples come with a repeating argument, with an affair, with a decision about whether to stay together, and with none of those. You do not have to agree on the problem before you make contact.

Titles you will see include Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist. Search the registers by name at Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon (MOPH) or Lebanese Order of Psychologists (LOPsy). Check that the name and title match and that the entry is current. If they do not, ask the practitioner why.

See the Lebanon page.