The stage of your relationship may also have an influence on the work you and your spouse perform in couples therapy. MA, LMFT Susan J. Leviton: Couples therapy is not the same as marital counseling. It can help them understand their issues better so they can solve them. If you're just starting out with this type of therapy, then attending sessions together is not necessary. You will still be able to get useful information from each other's records if you choose to go that route. But once you've been seeing your therapist for awhile, then it may be beneficial for you both to attend together. You should never go to couples therapy alone. This could put too much pressure on one person to fix their problems while being ignored by their partner. Also, if you aren't working through your issues together, then you won't be able to help each other become more effective at dealing with them. There are many different types of couples therapy. Some therapies focus only on the man in the relationship, others focus only on the woman, and some therapies focus on both partners equally. The type of therapy that best fits with your situation will determine what role you play in the process. If you're just getting started with this type of therapy, then attending sessions together is not necessary.