Usually conducted in one-to-one sessions, an individual may choose to invite other family members in order to enhance effectiveness.

For marital therapy the client may come alone, if the spouse is not able or not open to sessions.

If both persons experiencing the marriage problem are interested to come together for therapy, this changes the dynamics of the session.

In couple/marital therapy, the clients explore their relationship and their family backgrounds to determine the family behaviour patterns and coping mechanisms that may be impacting the current marital situation.