Most couples who come to a marriage retreat are in significant distress. They are caught up in reactive patterns. They feel disconnected. Suffering from such emotional blocks, sometimes for years, many are on the brink of divorce.
Our retreats help a majority of couples save their marriages and get their love back on track. Our retreats have proven to provide significant results and benefits for couples in a wide variety of circumstances.
As one of the pioneers of this intensive approach to working with couples, John has decades of experience successfully helping partners negotiate a very broad range of presenting issues and situations.
Can an intensive retreat be right for meeting your needs? To get a sense, here are some of the most common scenarios John has helped couples with…
Contemplating Divorce
Many couples come to our marriage retreats as a last ditch effort. One or both are considering divorce. This may be explicit, where actual threats have been stated. Or it may be just beneath the surface. Either way, a retreat provides a perfect supportive place to get to the root of all issues and work with a dedicated focus to best transform any unhappy situation. Helping a couple gain clarity is a vital step to their… Continue reading →
Surviving Infidelity and Affairs
Often couples come to a marriage retreat as a result of infidelity. Usually it is a recently discovered affair that triggers emotional turmoil and a crisis. Sometimes it is the after-effects of an infidelity in the past that was never properly repaired, and so it keeps reeking havoc and prevents partners from fully trusting or reconnecting. Affairs are felt to be a deeply traumatic betrayal. And for proper healing they must be worked with… Continue reading →
Reactive Cycles or Distancing
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is another matter. Some couples seem blessed with everlasting happiness. But what about the rest of us, who run into problems once the honeymoon is over? We encounter differences, disagreements, disappointments. Buttons get pushed and we fall into a downward spiral. We watch helplessly as our once deeply loving feelings fade in the face of misunderstandings, reactive cycles and disconnection… Continue reading →
Empty Nest Crisis or Living Like Roommates
In a long term relationship, partners can end up taking each for granted. This common unconscious process leads them to feel emotionally disconnected. After years of being stuck in this state, couples can end up feeling more like roommates than lovers. I sometimes hear, “I love you but no longer feel in love with you.” This is the result of long term, habitual disconnection. As we explore how this happened, couples find how… Continue reading →
Sexual and Intimacy Problems
A couple’s physical and emotional intimacy can get eroded over time by unrepaired upsets or cycles of poor communication. These damage partners’ ability to feel emotionally connected, can reduce how attracted they feel to each other, or how open they feel to being sexual. The tools couples learn in an intensive retreat to repair emotional wounds and become more engaged often re-ignite sexual desire and passion for each other… Continue reading →
Mid-Life Crises or Major Life Changes
Many couples come to an intensive marriage retreat as a result of a mid-life crisis or a big life change that impacts the relationship. When someone experiences a significant change it can radically shift the dynamic in their marriage. Mid-life crises are a classic example of this, where someone starts re-evaluating their life. Different things can initiate this process of questioning things. For some, it happens if they lose their job or retire… Continue reading →
Premarital Counseling or Marriage Tune-Up
Whether you are interested in premarital counseling, want to improve your marriage, or desire to increase satisfaction in your intimate relationship, an intensive couples retreat is a perfect place to learn new tools that enable love to thrive. Most couples start out with great promise and strong feelings of being in love. Sadly, all too many end up feeling stuck. Despite their best intentions, all couples encounter occasional rifts and differences… Continue reading →