The core themes of Couples’ Therapy are grief, love, and relationships. With my concept, I wanted to focus specifically on how grief changes a person and their relationships, both romantic and platonic. Much of my research dove into the physical effects of grief on a person, such as a lowered immune system, as well as the mental effects, such as brain fog and a lower ability to create neural connections. Grief in relationships can caused issues through a difference in grieving style and can exacerbate issues that were already there.

The staging for Couples’ Therapy was in a black box theatre with a thrust seating. All six actors were on stage the entire time unless specifically scripted to exit. Dr. Warren, the therapist, turned in her chair to the area the next couple was seated, creating the idea that each couple was in a different part of the same office at different times.