Marriage counseling retreat


Private Couples Retreats - Couples

COVID-19 Update:  Drs. Gottman are excited to now be offering Private Couples Retreats online using secure video-conference software. For more information, please contact Kristi Content at [email protected], or simply complete the registration form here

Learn research-based tools for building and maintaining intimacy from the comfort of your own private getaway.

Have you ever planned a wonderful romantic vacation, complete with a lovely room, candle-lit dinners and white sand beaches, only to have your dream become a nightmare when tense quarrels and silence spoil the sunset? We have been listening to painful stories like these for nearly 40 years.

Now you can restore your relationship while on holiday. In an exclusive, small-group two-day couples retreat, you’ll learn new skills for deepening intimacy, managing conflicts, and enhancing your sense of shared meaning in a private, comfortable setting. The retreats are presented by the Gottmans online from their seaside and include lectures, role-plays, discussions, and exercises completed just with one’s partner.

The intimate setting enables couples to receive personalized, special attention from the Gottmans while enhancing and restoring their relationship.

During the Retreat, you will learn skills to:

  • Strengthen your friendship
  • Deepen your understanding of one another
  • Spice up your intimacy
  • Transform inevitable relationship conflicts so you can build solid bridges between the two of you
  • Unearth the values and life purpose you share

They would love to assist you in planning a beautiful getaway location for your Retreat. To do so, their event planner offers up her complimentary support in finding lodging, transportation, dining, and outstanding recreational opportunities.

The Retreats are limited to eight couples. We recommend that you register early.

To read more information about these retreats and to register for an upcoming event, please click here or contact Kristi Content with questions at [email protected].

Online Marathon Couples Therapy

In addition to providing Private Couples Retreats, John and Julie Gottman also schedule appointments with individual couples for private Marathon Couples Therapy Online.

In this powerful intensive therapy format, one couple meets with either John Gottman, Julie Gottman, or both for five hours a day on three consecutive days. Marathon Couples Therapy can thus accommodate clients traveling from other locales who cannot attend weekly therapy sessions. It provides an intensive, condensed and highly focused approach to relationship issues that can help couples move quickly through specific issues and learn important new skills in a short period of time.

Click here to learn more about Marathon Couples Therapy. To schedule an appointment with John Gottman, please contact Kristi Content at [email protected]. For appointments with Julie Gottman, please contact Kathryn Schwartz at [email protected].

8 Best Marriage Counseling Retreats in the U.

S. | by Laurie Burnham

Whether you are a newlywed or have been married for decades, making a point to work on your marriage is one of the best ways to keep it strong. While weekly marriage counseling is a go-to solution for many couples, other marriages will benefit from longer, more intensive counseling sessions and private retreats.

Thankfully, there are a wide array of marriage conferences, retreats and counseling intensives available across the United States. Each of them plays a role in helping couples renew their commitment, work through present issues, re-establish common ground, learn new skills and increase their connection. However, not all are created equal.

After analyzing the different offerings and methodologies used at marriage counseling retreats, we compiled this list of our top 8 marriage retreats. Included in the list is information about each retreat, a cost breakdown, a staff summary and links you can follow for more information.

The Northampton Center for Couples Therapy (NCCT) is the only center in the U. S. that has an on-site team entirely dedicated to couples counseling. They are also known for using a full spectrum of restoration methods. From the Gottman Method to Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) to the PEX-T model by Brent Atkinson, Ph.D., each couple is given a big “toolbox” of skills and strategies derived from the most effective approaches treating marital crisis today.

All NCCT retreat counselors are fully-licensed, and every couple receives exclusive, 1–1 attention during their retreat. No matter what you are struggling with when you reach NCCT, you can count on personalized care from the get-go. They will help you hand-pick your therapist, customize your treatment, and offer you a post-retreat plan-of-action catered exclusively to your unique needs as a couple.

Also, all counselors at NCCT use a “state-dependent approach.” This means they will be right there with you as you deal with the same situations you face at home. Instead of standing on the sidelines, they coach you through each challenge and teach you positive, relationship-building habits for success. You can choose between a 2-day or 3-day intensive, and because they have a home base, you can come back for subsequent mini-intensives offered exclusively to retreat participants.

$2,995/couple for a 2-Day Retreat/ $4,500/couple for a 3-Day Retreat. (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

By Appointment

Kerry Lusignan, Founder/Director of NCCT, holds a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology, has more than 25 years of professional clinical experience and has trained extensively with some of the heavy-hitters in the field of relationship distress, including John Gottman, Ph.D., Esther Perel and Brent Atkison, Ph.D.

All NCCT counselors are fully licensed and dedicated couples therapists, well-versed in the leading evidence-based models of marriage therapy. Collectively, they bring 155 years of professional experience to the table and as the only center in New England dedicated exclusively to couples; they have a unique understanding of the tools and techniques needed to overcome even the most challenging relationship hurdles.

Part romantic vacation and part counseling intensive, this two-day counseling retreat on Orcas Island outside of Seattle is hosted by one of the world’s leading experts in marital stability, John M. Gottman.

Held in the home of Gottman and his wife Julie, the retreat includes lectures, role plays, discussions, and exercises completed just with one’s partner. Moreover, it employs methodology discovered after 40 years of intensive research which is used by countless certified couples’ counselors worldwide.

While the retreat is conducted in a group setting, all participants will receive one-on-one attention and intervention from Gottman-trained therapists.

$7500/ couple. Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.

Year-Round

John Gottman, Ph.D. is a world-renowned marital stability expert who has conducted decades of research on the study of emotions, physiology, communication, and divorce prediction. He is also the author or co-author of 119 published academic articles and 37 books.

Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D. is the co-founder and Clinical Director of the Gottman Institute and co-teaches the Institute’s Advanced Training Seminar in Couples Therapy and The Art and Science of Love Couples Weekend Workshop with Dr. John Gottman.

Looking for a part counseling, part revival experience? Consider Sedona Soul Adventures. The Arizona based center offers a spiritually-based and fully customizable retreat experience. Available for individuals or couples, each retreat is carefully customized to each participant. Every aspect of your retreat will be mapped out by your professional counselor to cater to your needs.

While the mission is to put the spark and romance back into your relationship, that is not the sole purpose of Sedona Soul Adventures. At the heart of every experience is the goal of reconnecting you with your authentic, spiritual self. You will leave not only be reunited with each other but reunited with the world around you. Click here to view a sample retreat itinerary.

Cost:

$2800/person or $5600/couple. (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

By Appointment

While Sedona Soul Adventures has been in operation for over 15 years, their specific staff credentials and licensing is unknown. Referred to as angel guides or master healers, their counseling staff serve act more as spiritual guides than research-driven or clinical psychologists. So, if a spiritual healing is what you are looking for in your marriage, then this might be the retreat for you.

Hosted in one of four scenic retreat locations across the U.S. and Mexico, LIFE Marriage Retreats participants can choose between a private, one-on-one experience or small group program. Each experience is conducted over a four-day span and centered on the principles of trust, accountability, forgiveness, commitment, and perspective.

Designed for new marriages or marriages in crisis, LIFE Marriage Retreats provide couples with a “hands-on” approach to their journey. They are taught how to work through and develop skills needed to improve their bond, including communication, problem-solving and more.

Private 1-on-1 Retreats start at $9,495/Small Group Program starts at $3,895 (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

Year-Round

Gerry Dye has decades of experience delivering training and education programs worldwide. His marriage, personal, professional, and family-based training programs have been utilized on five continents and in more than 45 countries around the world. Margo Dye has been a professional nurse for more than 25 years, with a primary focus on emotional and mental health care and behavioral treatment programs. Together, they have served couples for over ten years through classes, seminars, coaching and private retreats.

Healing Couples Retreats, led by Dr. John Grey, provides couples with a blend of research-based interventions and effective, hands-on coaching. All participants can choose from one of two formats: private, one-on-one counseling or a shared group retreat.

While private retreats are more commonly requested, both formats allow for direct interaction with Dr. Grey who utilizes a broad range of state-of-the-art strategies. However, with the private retreat, you will have much more focused time with Dr. Grey. The standard and recommended retreat length is three days, but there are also four-day and two-day options available upon request.

$8850/couple for a 3-Day Retreat (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

Year-Round

Dr. John Grey received his Doctorate in Psychology from Stanford University and had been conducting retreats for couples for over two and a half decades. As the author of four relationship help books, he has been praised by bestselling author and relationship expert Stan Tatkin, who describes Dr. Grey as “a highly intelligent, creative force in the arena of science and relationships.”

One of the top-rated Christian-centered marriage counseling retreats in the U.S., Marriage Rescue offers 3-day or 4-day retreat options with six months of follow-up phone support. Designed for couples on all ends of the marriage spectrum, from newly married to separated or on the verge of divorce. This retreat program promises to help you get to the heart of your issues.

All programs are also completely private. Spouses with meet one-on-one with their assigned counselor to work through their specific issues. While the retreat is Christian-based and includes Bible-based teachings, it is open to couples of all beliefs, even those with no particular faith.

$2,795/couple for a 3-Day Retreat/$3,695/couple for a 4-Day Retreat (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

Year-Round

Wendy Godfrey holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling and is a specialist in marriage crisis counseling. She is solution-oriented and has developed unique tools and techniques for her approach to total marriage recovery. John Z. Godfrey is a clinical pastoral counselor with extensive experience in helping couples overcome the barriers to the marriage. He also has a heart for people with sexual difficulties and addictions. Dennis Welch holds a Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling and served as a pastor for 15 years before joining Marriage Rescue. He also has a deep desire to help restore and rebuild broken marriages.

Designed to take couples through six months of counseling in the span of three days, Relationship Rescue Academy is also available in 2-day or 4-day increments. All sessions, however, are 100% private. Each couple will meet one-on-one with a licensed, master level counselor who can address everything from the threat of divorce to infidelity, mistrust or a lack of intimacy.

Each counselor uses a research-driven approach and various exercises to help each couple break through the unique barriers in their marriage. Included in your retreat fees are one pre-intensive phone consultation and one post-intensive follow-up conversation.

$2,800 for a 2-Day Retreat/$3,800 for a 3-Day Retreat/$6500 for a 4-Day Retreat (Price includes lodging, but couples are responsible for meals and travel. )

By Appointment

While no specific information is published online about the staff, all counselors at Relationship Rescue Academy are fully licensed and experienced couples’ therapists.

Hosted by Jim and Elizabeth Carroll, Marriage Boot Camp is one of the most affordable marriage counseling intensives on this list. It is also not just restricted to married or serious couples. This 4-day engaging retreat is open for couples of all kinds: dating, engaged, newly married, married with children or on the brink of divorce.

It is a game and drill-based counseling program that utilizes the techniques of expert counselors Dr. Phil. Some of those strategies you might recognize from the TV series titled “Marriage Boot Camp” which was hosted by Jim Carroll himself.

$1,200/couple (Price does not include lodging, meals or travel.)

Year-Round

Jim Carroll, founder of Marriage Bootcamp, got his start as a trainer with Dr. Phil. From there, he sought out to transform marriage and couples therapy formats into fun, interactive games. Since 1994, Jim has been working with couples across the country, using games, drills, and exercises to facilitate healing.

Elizabeth Carroll, Jim’s wife, has 30 years of experience in the corporate world and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University in San Francisco. Her counseling experience includes individuals, couples, and adolescents.

Every marriage faces unique struggles and has unique needs. The issues you are facing, along with your personality profiles, will determine whether a 1–1 or group-based approach is best for you. Also, you should consider the role you want spirituality or religion to play in your counseling experience compared to research or strategy-driven techniques.

No matter what kind of guidance or support you require, there are some great counseling programs and retreats which can help you improve your marriage. For any couple that is looking for professional help, and wants to find a way in which they can resolve the issues and problems they are struggling with, these are a few of the marriage counseling programs to consider.

If you do your homework and find what works best for you and your budget, you are sure to find success.

Advising on the application of current legislation

Legal advice is a standard and necessary step in the provision of legal assistance. Direct communication allows you to discuss in detail all the nuances and details of the case, ask questions of interest, analyze documents and circumstances.

Legal advice is a separate type of advice on current legal norms, which allows to give an idea to the client about the correct interpretation of the law, its correct application and judicial practice. If ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility, then its knowledge guarantees the absence of conflicts with the state and society. The problem is that legal norms are not always easily formulated and uniformly applied in practice. nine0003

Specifics of current legislation

According to statistics, there are 5,350 federal laws in force in Russia. But there are also by-laws: orders of ministries and departments, Decrees of the President, Decrees of the Government. And quantity is not the only problem.

Distinctive features of the Russian legal system:
  • many legislative norms are formulated in such a way that they can be interpreted ambiguously. Even the state bodies have different opinions on some issues; nine0003

  • not all rules and principles are spelled out in one legislative act, there are also instructions, clarifications from regulatory authorities, etc.;

  • legislation is constantly being improved;

  • jurisprudence also tends to change.

In many cases, only a specialist can understand the system and determine the norm applied in a particular case. nine0003

Counseling is available in any form and place

Consultation involves personal communication, which can now be in various forms, including by phone, through a visit to a law firm and through the use of modern technologies. Departure at the location of the client is possible.

Currently, legal advice in Moscow can be provided online, using instant messengers or via Skype. Such interaction is in no way inferior to personal communication and allows you to discuss all the necessary issues with the study of written and material evidence (documents, videos, photos, etc.). nine0003

Benefits of working with Dubravin&Partners

Dubravin&Partners law firm offers the following opportunities:
  • legal advice at an affordable price;

  • various forms of consultations: by phone or via Skype; field service; oral and written recommendations; representation in disputes with contractors and government agencies with the preparation of a legal forecast on the development of the situation; nine0003

  • consultation of a lawyer on legislation with the preparation of a reasoned written opinion of a specialist, providing constant access for the client to the answer of a professional on legal issues;

  • legal advice to legal entities on an ongoing basis, providing an overview of changes in legislation as necessary.

Our advantages:

  • flexible pricing policy, the use of a system of discounts and bonuses for regular customers;

  • professionalism of lawyers;

  • extensive experience in solving various situations;

  • an extensive database of court decisions, legislative acts with an analysis of judicial practice and law enforcement practice. nine0003

Legal advice is a right, the law does not make it an obligatory stage of conflict resolution. However, timely receipt of a professional opinion of a specialist in the field of law will help to avoid lengthy litigation, claims from counterparties, claims from regulatory authorities.

Qualified legal assistance - guaranteed solution to problems!

Question 13. Counseling on marriage, family and building personal relationships. nine0001

Premarital counseling as a "counsel" considered ambiguous. From functions consultations in it remain only discussion of problems and educational intervention for the main purpose supplying the bride and groom with typical information for such cases.

Pioneer in the implementation educational instructional method preparing for marriage was Ernst R. Groves, who in 1924 in one of the colleges Boston University has introduced a training course titled "Preparing for Marriage and family life." Great influence on development of premarital counseling also made a transition in psychology from strictly intrapsychic consideration problems to a broader view of interpersonal systems and cultural aspects of problem situations. This prompted specialists in the field of mental health and pastoral consultants pay attention to relationship variables in marriage and in the process of preparing for marriage. nine0003

Over time accumulated data to support the assertion that some of those who didn't work out relationships in the first marriage, thanks to consulting, build more constructive relationships in the second marriage - counseling helps a new married couple to avoid those problems which led to insolvency previous marriage.

AT contemporary literature on premarital counseling says that marriage and family counselors encouraged to help those who intend get married realistically evaluate many of the romantic illusions and motives associated with marriage. They can explore socio-psychological aspects of marriage dynamics and process formation of marital affection and fidelity. In addition, many are aware the need to investigate the causes family formation and the painful process separation and parting. nine0003

Premarital counseling (according to G. Navaitis)

Before starting a family desirable to achieve physical maturity, gain experience with the other sex, at least partially reach psychological and material independence from the genetic family. It is also important to choose the right marriage partner. partner, gain experience of emotional and business interaction with him.

When solving any of the listed tasks are possible difficulties. Some of them are "programmed" age or determined by models parental behavior, or determined individual psychological personality characteristics, experience in interpersonal relationships, etc. Since these difficulties reflect problems preparing young people for marriage apply two types of psychological counseling - individual and group counseling. nine0003

Consulting as information

the main task informing - psychological education - elimination of scarcity psychological knowledge needed for effective interaction with premarital, and in the future - marriage partner.

Practical psychologists in the process of individual and group counseling:

- introduce young people people with the specifics of premarital courtship, the main causes of errors interpersonal perception and others premarital "risk" factors; nine0003

- analyze psychological optimization conditions premarital period, reveal main components of psychological readiness for marriage, psychophysiological and psychological characteristics of men and women, etc. ;

- promote and explain the results of the latest psychological research not only on the issue of marriage, but also matrimonial relationships, as well as factors influencing on them; form the need for psychological knowledge and desire use them in life.

Counseling how to inform held in form lectures, talks, seminars, discussions, exhibitions psychological literature, views and discussions of videos in terms of psychological analysis of behavior actors. Actively used psychotherapy techniques such as film therapy. Educational consultations can be used in schools, student classrooms, youth centers.

In many registry offices organizing youth groups psychologist talking about psychology women and men, on the adaptation of young married couples in the first year of marital life, etc. Sometimes informing used during individual psychological counseling and in cases where there is no need carry out corrective work to the client in solving his problems, it is enough just give relevant information or specialized literature, visit lectures, group classes.


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