San Francisco, CA · Couples · Private pay · Online
Couples therapy in San Francisco, two calendars, one private hour
Martha Fernandez, LCSW, offers couples therapy in San Francisco without renting an office downtown: secure video, the two of you together on one screen in California. A session is 50 minutes and costs $450, paid directly, with nothing sent to an employer plan. Pick a time in Jane and the link arrives by email.
Census: ACS 2024 1-year, tables B12001 and B23007
Common reasons in SF
Relationship therapy in San Francisco, for two full schedules
Whose career leads
An acquisition, a layoff or an offer in another city can reset a couple's plans in a week. Deciding whose job comes first, whether to cash out or whether to leave the Bay entirely touches money, identity and fairness at the same time.
One apartment, two home offices
When both of you work from the same few rooms, there is no commute to decompress and no door to close behind you. Small irritations stack up because neither of you ever leaves. A session is a set time to name what is really going on.
Kids, and the cost of having them
Childcare bills, the school assignment process and whether there is even room for a crib make the question of children unusually practical here. Partners who want different things, or the same thing on different timelines, often need a structured place to talk.
Commitment without a wedding
Many San Francisco couples have been together for years without marrying, and some never plan to. Moving in, merging money or deciding what commitment means without a license is real couples work, and the sessions are the same.
The process
Simple to start, serious once you begin
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Reserve a couples hour
Open Jane, choose “Me and my partner,” and pick a time that works for both calendars. A card on file holds the slot. Nobody calls to screen you first, and there is no list to wait on.
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Watch for two emails
The intake and consent form comes first, then a separate message with the secure video link. Need to move it? Change it online at least 24 hours ahead and there is no fee.
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Side by side, in the state
Sit together in front of one device in a private space in California, whether that is your bedroom in the Richmond or a home office in Noe Valley with the door locked.
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What the hour covers
Over 50 minutes Martha asks each partner for their account, notices where the conversation tends to break down, and works with you to agree on what you are there to work on. $450 per session, in English or Spanish.
English and Spanish
English, Spanish and somewhere in between
From the Mission to Bernal Heights, many San Francisco couples are mixed in more than one sense: one partner raised in a Spanish-speaking family, the other still learning the language, or both fluent but fighting in different ones. Family expectations tend to travel with the language they were learned in.
Martha works clinically in English and Spanish and switches when either of you does, so neither partner has to translate a feeling halfway through saying it. Each of you can use the language you think in.
Therapy in SpanishSan Francisco couples FAQ
What partners ask before the first session
What does relationship therapy in San Francisco look like with Martha?
Both partners join one secure video session for 50 minutes, together, from a private room in California. She works with married and unmarried couples, including partners deciding whether to move in, marry or separate.
I travel for work most weeks. Can I log in from New York while my partner joins from home?
No. For a couples session, both of you need to be in California and in the same private room. Book the weeks you are both in town. For individual therapy while you are out of state, CEREVITY, the network Martha co-founded, sees clients in other states.
Why pay $450 for marriage counseling in San Francisco when our insurance would cover someone?
Because nothing touches the plan. No claim is filed, no diagnosis code is assigned for a payer and no benefits report exists, and you see Martha herself at every session. Some couples simply prefer that no insurer holds a record of their relationship.
We share a two-bedroom with a roommate. Where do we do the session?
Anywhere private where you are both in California. If the walls are thin, pick an hour when the roommate is out, or sit together in a parked car. What matters is that nobody else can hear.
Can we come in before a big decision, like leaving the Bay Area?
Yes. Whether to stay, move for a job or move closer to family is a good reason to start. Martha will not make the call for you; she helps each of you say what you want and what you are afraid of losing. Individual sessions are on her San Francisco page.
Keep looking
More from Martha's practice
Fees, with context
What $450 buys for the two of you
The same price for every couple and every week, paid directly by card. This is what the two of you get for it.
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One clinician for both of you
Martha sees you together, every session. No intern, no handoff, no second therapist taking one side.
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No claim for either of you
Couples work never needs a diagnosis here, and no insurer sees the session, so neither partner's record carries it.
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Two languages in one room
Each of you can speak the language you argue and make up in. Martha works in English and Spanish at once.
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Openings now
Couples times are on her calendar today. You book them yourselves, with nobody screening you first.
Your first session can be this week
Pick a time on Martha's calendar. Private pay, secure video, anywhere in California, in English or Spanish.