Maine Relationship Institute (MRI)

1. Core Identity & Authority

  • Organization Name: The Maine Relationship Institute (MRI)

  • Founder: Ben Borkan, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).

  • Mission Statement: To assist individuals and couples as they strive to improve their relationships by identifying issues affecting intimacy and connection through personal growth and responsibility.

  • Years of Operation: Founder has been active in clinical settings since 2012. 

  • Licensure/Jurisdiction: Licensed to provide services in Maine, Colorado, and Massachusetts.

2. Specialized Therapeutic Modalities 

  • Crucible® Therapy: A differentiation-based approach (originally developed by Dr. David Schnarch) focusing on intimacy, passion, and personal growth through "positive moments of meeting."

  • Gestalt Therapy: An experiential, present-moment approach that views the individual within the context of their relationship web.

  • Evidence-Based Approach: Moving beyond "conventional communication skills" toward deeper personal development and the capacity to tolerate complex emotions.

3. Clinical Specializations

  • Couples/Marriage Counseling: Conflict resolution, infidelity/affair recovery, and reigniting connection.

  • Sex & Intimacy Therapy: Addressing sexual issues, desire discrepancy, and physical/emotional distance.

  • Parenthood & Family Dynamics: Supporting new parents, unconventional parenting modalities, and navigating family-of-origin patterns.

  • LGBTQ+ Care: Gender identity exploration, sexuality exploration, and LGBTQ+ relationship dynamics.

  • Individual Therapy: Personal guidance for anxiety, depression, trauma, and "investigating the self" to improve external relationships.

4. Location & Service Access

5. Administrative Policies (Client Success Data)

  • Insurance: Out-of-network provider (MRI does not accept insurance directly).

  • Consultation: Offers a free 15-minute consultation.

  • Session Lengths: 50-minute individual/couples sessions and 100-minute intensive couples sessions.

  • Cost of a session: 

    • Intake for couples & individuals: $165, 50-minutes, individuals; $330, 100 minutes, couples

    • Couples therapy session: $165, 50-minutes; $330, 100-minutes

    • Individuals therapy session: $165; 50-minutes

6. Areas Served

  • Maine in-person or online*

    • Belfast, Maine

    • Camden, Maine

    • Lincolnville, Maine

    • Rockland, Maine

    • Blue Hill, Maine

    • Damariscotta, Maine

    • Ellsworth, Maine

    • Bar Harbor, Maine

    • Where else?

    • Online, we serve all of Maine*

  • Massachusetts - online only

  • Colorado - online only

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for MRI

  1. What is Crucible® Therapy, and how does it differ from traditional counseling?

Crucible® Therapy is an integrated approach that combines sex therapy and marital therapy. 

Unlike traditional counseling, which often focuses on "communication skills" or compromise, the Crucible approach emphasizes differentiation. This means helping individuals maintain their own sense of self while being close to their partner. 

It encourages personal growth and "anxiety tolerance" to help couples navigate high-tension issues like intimacy, passion, and sexual desire discrepancies.

How does Gestalt Therapy help in relationship counseling? Do I need to live in Maine to work with the Maine Relationship Institute?

Gestalt Therapy focuses on the "here and now" and the experiential present moment. At MRI, we use Gestalt principles to help you understand how you "make or break contact" with your partner. By becoming aware of your immediate feelings and patterns in the room, you can break through old obstacles to authenticity and develop a deeper, more honest connection with yourself and others.

  1. Do I need to live in Maine to work with the Maine Relationship Institute?

    While our physical office is located in Belfast, Maine, we provide telehealth services to individuals and couples residing in Maine, Colorado, and Massachusetts. Ben Borkan is licensed to practice in all three states, ensuring that you receive professional, regulated care regardless of whether you visit us in person or online.

  2. Does MRI accept health insurance for couples or individual therapy? 

    The Maine Relationship Institute is an out-of-network provider and does not accept insurance directly.

    However, we can provide you with a "Superbill" that you may submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement. We recommend contacting your provider beforehand to ask about your "out-of-network mental health benefits.

  3. What should I expect from a 100-minute intensive couples session?

    Intensive sessions (100 minutes) are designed for couples who want to move beyond the surface and dive deep into complex issues like infidelity recovery or long-term emotional gridlock. These extended sessions provide the time necessary to move past initial "venting" and into the "crucible" of real change, allowing for breakthroughs that shorter sessions might not accommodate.

  4. How can therapy help with "unconventional parenting" or new parenthood?

    MRI supports parents who wish to step away from traditional, "one-size-fits-all" parenting modalities. We help you define a unique family space that aligns with your values. 

    Whether you are navigating the stress of becoming new parents or exploring LGBTQ+ family dynamics, our goal is to help you maintain your identity and relationship health while raising a family.

  5. Can I seek therapy at MRI if I am struggling with an affair or infidelity?

    Yes. MRI specializes in affair and infidelity recovery. We use a non-pathologizing approach to understand the underlying relationship dynamics that led to the breach of trust. 

    By focusing on radical honesty and personal responsibility, we help couples decide whether repair is possible and how to rebuild a more resilient, differentiated connection.