Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT)

Best for

• High-arousal conflict or rapid escalation
• Couples who want skills for moment-to-moment co-regulation
• Partners interested in attachment and nervous-system literacy
• Those seeking a more experiential, in-session focus

How it works

Therapists track micro-expressions, posture, and arousal while partners face each other. Interventions emphasize secure-functioning agreements, war games for hypothetical threats, and repairing quickly when someone goes offline emotionally or physiologically.

What to expect

Sessions are often active and present-focused. You may sit facing each other while the therapist coaches eye contact, timing, and repair in the moment—not only talking about conflict after the fact.

Clinically influential with a dedicated training institute; integrates attachment and interpersonal neurobiology principles used widely in modern couple work.