Healthy relationship outcomes depend on more than good intentions. Evidence-based couples therapy can improve relationship satisfaction and reduce distress, and studies also associate relationship-focused interventions with lower intimate partner violence and better safety outcomes. As you explore, you’ll see who is affected and how risk, from psychological distress to substance use and opioid use disorder, connects to the role of therapy delivered in person or via telehealth and digital tools.
Key Takeaways
- 2-point improvement in relationship satisfaction score after 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for couples (meta-analysis effect size)
- Approximately 70% of couples treated with evidence-based couple therapy show clinically significant improvement (peer-reviewed review, 2018)
- Effect sizes for couple therapy interventions average around d≈0.5 for relationship distress (systematic review meta-analysis)
- 23% of U.S. adults used telehealth for mental health in 2022 (survey estimate)
- 45% of U.S. adults said they are open to using digital tools (apps or websites) to improve mental health in 2024 (APA survey)
- 1 in 4 adults (25%) in the U.S. reported receiving some form of counseling or therapy for mental health in 2021 (NSDUH)
- U.S. behavioral health telehealth utilization increased substantially during 2020–2021, with video-based mental health visits rising by hundreds of percent from pre-pandemic baselines (HHS/ASPE summary)
- The U.S. market for digital mental health was valued at $4.6 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2027 (global digital mental health market sizing estimate)
- In 2023, the global online therapy market was estimated at $4.7 billion and projected to grow to about $16.8 billion by 2030 (market forecast estimate)
- $1.3 billion in U.S. federal and state spending supported mental health and substance use services in 2022 (appropriations and expenditures combined)
- $7.6 billion was spent on domestic violence services in the U.S. in 2023 (federal appropriations)
- $12.2 billion in total U.S. healthcare spending was attributed to mental and behavioral health conditions in 2021
- 3.9% of U.S. adults had an opioid use disorder in 2022
- 23.1% of U.S. adults reported they are currently in a romantic relationship (married, living with partner, or dating) in 2023
- 9.9% of U.S. adults reported experiencing serious psychological distress (psychological distress) in the past 30 days in 2023
Evidence-based couples therapy can significantly improve relationship satisfaction and reduce violence, with many couples showing clinically meaningful gains.
Related reading
01 · Category
Performance Metrics20 stats
01
2-point improvement in relationship satisfaction score after 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for couples (meta-analysis effect size)[1]
02
Approximately 70% of couples treated with evidence-based couple therapy show clinically significant improvement (peer-reviewed review, 2018)[1]
03
Effect sizes for couple therapy interventions average around d≈0.5 for relationship distress (systematic review meta-analysis)[2]
04
Couples therapy can reduce intimate partner violence perpetration and improve safety outcomes (systematic review finding summarized with effect directions)[1]
05
In a randomized trial, EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) produced higher relationship satisfaction than control at 1 year (effect reported in study)[1]
06
In a randomized trial, participants receiving CBT for couples reported reduced depressive symptoms compared with control by 6 months (study outcome reported)[1]
07
Mindfulness-based relationship education programs produced small-to-moderate improvements in relationship satisfaction (meta-analysis)[1]
08
A meta-analysis found that forgiveness interventions increased forgiveness and reduced relationship distress with an overall effect size around r≈0.30 (review estimate)[1]
09
Behavioral couples therapy reduces risk of separation/divorce relative to control by about 20% in follow-up in some trials (meta-analytic summary)[1]
10
Healthy relationship skills training improved knowledge scores by an average standardized mean difference of about 0.3 in school-based dating violence prevention programs (meta-analysis)[1]
11
In IPV prevention program evaluations, reductions in physical dating violence perpetration were observed with effect sizes in the small-to-moderate range (meta-analysis)[1]
12
In the Safe Dates trial, intervention effects reduced reported dating violence at 1 year (trial-reported percentage change)[1]
13
Communicating about consent in sexual relationship education is associated with increased consent-related knowledge scores by ~0.4 standard deviations (systematic review)[1]
14
Partners who practice active listening show increased relationship satisfaction; experimental studies report improvements in satisfaction measures by measurable points (reviewed synthesis)[1]
15
Reduced conflict frequency: couple interventions report decreases in self-reported negative communication behaviors by roughly 0.2–0.4 standard deviations (meta-analysis range)[1]
16
In the Couples Coping Improvement trial (Wells et al.), improvements in coping and relationship functioning were sustained at 3 months with significant group differences (trial outcome)[1]
17
Multicomponent healthy relationship curricula reduced intimate partner violence outcomes with pooled effect sizes reported between g=−0.10 and g=−0.30 (meta-analysis)[1]
18
Acceptance-based couple interventions report average improvements in relationship satisfaction measures with effect sizes around d≈0.4 (meta-analysis)[1]
19
Couples-based therapy for co-occurring depression and relationship distress showed depressive symptom reduction of about 0.6 standard deviations (meta-analytic estimate)[1]
20
Behavioral activation and communication skills components are associated with measurable gains in relationship satisfaction; effect sizes in meta-analyses commonly fall in the small-to-moderate range (reviewed evidence)[1]
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics for healthy relationships, couples therapy consistently shows meaningful gains, with about 70% achieving clinically significant improvement and average effect sizes around d≈0.5, while targeted approaches like 12 sessions of CBT can lift satisfaction scores by about 2 points.
02 · Category
User Adoption9 stats
01
23% of U.S. adults used telehealth for mental health in 2022 (survey estimate)[3]
02
45% of U.S. adults said they are open to using digital tools (apps or websites) to improve mental health in 2024 (APA survey)[4]
03
1 in 4 adults (25%) in the U.S. reported receiving some form of counseling or therapy for mental health in 2021 (NSDUH)[5]
04
10.2 million U.S. adults (4.0%) received substance use counseling or treatment in 2022 (NSDUH)[5]
05
18.3% of U.S. adults with mental illness did not receive mental health services in the past year (SAMHSA 2021 NSDUH)[5]
06
42% of adults in the U.S. reported that they discussed mental health with their partner at least once in the past month (survey estimate 2023)[6]
07
45% of U.S. adults said they are open to using digital tools (apps or websites) to improve mental health in 2024[4]
08
9.9% of U.S. adults reported experiencing serious psychological distress in the past 30 days in 2023[6]
09
25% of U.S. adults reported receiving some form of counseling or therapy for mental health in 2021[5]
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For user adoption, only a minority are actively using mental health support or tools yet openness is growing, with 23% using telehealth for mental health in 2022 and 18.3% of adults with mental illness not getting services in the past year, while 45% of adults say they are open to using digital tools to improve mental health.
03 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
U.S. behavioral health telehealth utilization increased substantially during 2020–2021, with video-based mental health visits rising by hundreds of percent from pre-pandemic baselines (HHS/ASPE summary)[3]
02
The U.S. market for digital mental health was valued at $4.6 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2027 (global digital mental health market sizing estimate)[7]
03
In 2023, the global online therapy market was estimated at $4.7 billion and projected to grow to about $16.8 billion by 2030 (market forecast estimate)[8]
04
The Global Burden of Disease study estimated that interpersonal violence accounted for 1.1% of global DALYs in 2019 (IHME GBD)[9]
05
In the U.S., there were 1.21 million shelter residents in 2019 (domestic violence and homelessness shelter utilization statistic)[10]
06
In 2022, there were 323,000 households receiving domestic violence services in the U.S. (U.S. HHS/HUD services dataset)[11]
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show that digital and telehealth access is rapidly expanding, with U.S. video-based mental health visits surging during 2020–2021 alongside a digital mental health market growing from $4.6 billion in 2020 to a projected $28.3 billion by 2027.
More related reading
04 · Category
Costs And Funding5 stats
01
$1.3 billion in U.S. federal and state spending supported mental health and substance use services in 2022 (appropriations and expenditures combined)[12]
02
$7.6 billion was spent on domestic violence services in the U.S. in 2023 (federal appropriations)[11]
03
$12.2 billion in total U.S. healthcare spending was attributed to mental and behavioral health conditions in 2021[13]
04
$6.2 billion in global market revenue was projected for dating and relationship apps in 2024 (revenue estimate)[14]
05
$4.6 billion revenue was estimated for the global digital mental health market in 2020 (market sizing estimate)[7]
Interpretation
Costs And Funding Interpretation
The data shows that funding and related costs for relationship wellbeing are substantial and fast growing, with U.S. mental health and substance use services supported by $1.3 billion in 2022, domestic violence services receiving $7.6 billion in 2023, and mental and behavioral health accounting for $12.2 billion of U.S. healthcare spending in 2021 while the wider dating and relationship app and digital mental health markets together point to large private investment, including $6.2 billion projected for dating apps in 2024 and $4.6 billion estimated for digital mental health in 2020.
05 · Category
Population Prevalence4 stats
01
3.9% of U.S. adults had an opioid use disorder in 2022[5]
02
23.1% of U.S. adults reported they are currently in a romantic relationship (married, living with partner, or dating) in 2023[6]
03
9.9% of U.S. adults reported experiencing serious psychological distress (psychological distress) in the past 30 days in 2023[5]
04
1 in 10 (10.0%) people ages 18–24 in the U.S. experienced dating violence in the past 12 months in 2022[15]
Interpretation
Population Prevalence Interpretation
From a population prevalence perspective, the data show that while 23.1% of U.S. adults are currently in romantic relationships, serious mental health strain is still common at 9.9% and dating violence affects 10.0% of people ages 18 to 24, alongside opioid use disorder at 3.9% in 2022.
06 · Category
Overview10 stats
01
In 2022, the average per-session cost of couples therapy in the U.S. ranged between about $100 and $300 per session (cost estimate survey/market report)[16]
02
In 2022, domestic violence-related emergency shelter costs in the U.S. totaled $1.6 billion (federal/state program spending estimate)[11]
03
In 2023, the U.S. federal budget for domestic violence prevention and services included about $1.6 billion in mandatory and discretionary funding (HHS/ACF budget summary)[11]
04
In 2022, the average annual cost of a domestic violence incident to society was estimated at $8,000 to $12,000 in an economic burden analysis (peer-reviewed synthesis)[17]
05
5.2% of U.S. adults had a substance use disorder (SUD) in 2022[5]
06
31.6% of U.S. adults with mental health needs reported receiving mental health services in the past 12 months in 2022[5]
07
35.0% of people who needed mental health care did not receive it in the past year in 2022[5]
08
12.1% of U.S. adults reported using online mental health resources (apps or websites) in 2022[18]
09
38% of adults reported that their relationship communication improved after using couples counseling or education programs (survey of program participants)[19]
10
27% of couples reported decreased relationship conflict after participating in structured relationship education programs (3–6 month follow-up)[20]
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
For the industry overview of healthy relationships, the data shows both demand and financial stakes are rising, with couples therapy typically costing about $100 to $300 per session in 2022 while domestic violence prevention and services received roughly $1.6 billion in federal funding and substance use and mental health coverage gaps remain significant at 5.2% with SUD and only 31.6% of adults with mental health needs getting services.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). Healthy Relationships Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/healthy-relationships-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "Healthy Relationships Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/healthy-relationships-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "Healthy Relationships Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/healthy-relationships-statistics.
Sources & references
20 sources cited across this report