Integrating the online OurRelationship program into a stepped‐care model of couple therapy.

Due to various barriers, most relationally distressed couples do not seek couple therapy. With the COVID‐19 pandemic, many of these barriers are further exacerbated, while the need for relationship services has increased. To increase the reach of couple therapy both during and after the pandemic, we propose a stepped‐care model that utilises technology as a precursor to couple therapy and acts as an integral component of it. In this paper, we first introduce the OurRelationship program – an evidence‐based online relationship program that improves both relationship and individual functioning in several large‐scale, nationwide trials. We then describe how therapists can incorporate this program into an abbreviated, eight‐session course of couple therapy. We expect this integration will be useful to couple therapists from a variety of theoretical orientations and will address numerous common barriers to treatment including cost, scheduling difficulties and geographic distance from the therapist. Practitioner points: Couple therapists can leverage technology to increase their reach both during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic.The online OurRelationship program improves relationship and individual functioning in several nationwide clinical trials.The OurRelationship program can be integrated into an eight‐session course of couple therapy to serve couples who would otherwise be unable or unwilling to attend therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]