Personalized Marriage Intensive Retreats

Couples Counseling and Professional Training Associates specializes in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and offers personalized marriage intensive retreats. Mary Beth George offers online services for residents of Pennsylvania and Texas.  Alysha Roll offers online services for residents of Texas,  Utah, Maine and Florida, plus in-person sessions in Kingwood, TX.

Marriage Intensive Retreats

No crowds. Just you and your partner.

Our Intensive Couples Therapy is an extreme relationship makeover.

Review our Intensive Retreat Packages listed below along with it’s benefits and what you can expect. 

Couples TherapyThe Benefits of Intensive Sessions

  • Most importantly, it is designed for couples to change the trajectory of their relationship in a shorter period of time than traditional weekly counseling or coaching.  This condensed, highly focused approach can help couples move more quickly through specific issues.
  • Techniques used in this marriage retreat are based on the research of Dr. John Gottman.  Why Gottman?  Science . . . this approach to relationship health has been developed from over 40 years of research.
  • Our marriage retreats are provided by Certified Gottman Therapists and Master Trainers for The Gottman Institute, Mary Beth George and Alysha Roll. Our skilled therapists  facilitate a calm, constructive dialogue about issues that plague you.
  • Marathon intensive sessions offer flexibility in scheduling to meet your unique needs.  Sessions can range from 4 hours up to 4 days.
  • The private setting gives you ample, uninterrupted time to devote to your relationship.
  • Marathon therapy can help move couples from thinking of ending their relationship to recommitting in new ways.  It can also start premarital couples on the right track to have a life-time of relationship satisfaction.

Who is a candidate?

  • Couples who want to make changes quickly
  • Couples who live out of the area
  • Couples who work out of town or struggle with setting aside time for weekly appointments
  • Couples who have experienced a crisis and need to rapidly shift gears in their relationship

Who would not be a candidate?

  • Couples who are not committed to the intensive nature of this process
  • Couples who are struggling with active drug and/or alcohol addiction
  • When there is an ongoing or undisclosed affair
  • When there is serious violence in the relationship
  • If one partner is suicidal or suffers from a serious mental illness

Our Intensive Retreat Packages

  • Ideal for couples who want a quick start to the weekly therapy process as it combines all aspects of our assessment process, including: 
  • Relationship Checkup Questionnaire
  • Love Lab Video assessment of friendship and conflict
  • Couple’s assessment
  • Individual interviews for each partner
  • Treatment plan prepared by a Certified Gottman Couples Therapist/Master Trainer for the Gottman Institute
  • Feedback session  
  • The Half Day Assessment Package plus intensive therapy for a total of 6 hours
  • A virtual “Swag Bag” of tools (Gottman Builder)
  • The Half-Day Assessment Package plus intensive therapy, totaling 12 hours
  • A virtual “Swag bag” of tools (Gottman Builder)
  • Intended for couples with moderate to severe relationship issues
  • The Half-Day Assessment Package plus intensive therapy, totaling 18 hours
  • A virtual “Swag bag” of tools (Gottman Builder)
  • Intended for severe relationship issues, such as affair/betrayal recovery
  • The Half-Day Assessment Package, Two-day Art & Science of Love Workshop and 6 hours of intensive therapy
  • A “Swag Bag” of tools (Gottman Builder)
  • Ideal for couples who want the benefit of psycho-education from the workshop and individualized sessions for their relationship issues
  • Mental health clinicians who attend with their partner can get 12 CEU

What can I expect?

Before the first session:

Once a marathon session is booked, the process starts immediately with a confidential online questionnaire completed by each partner (except for the premarital package).  The assessment is a tool created by The Gottman Institute.  It illuminates the dynamics of the relationship, highlighting the strengths and areas of concern, as well as what the hopes are for counseling.

During the intensive:

When you arrive for Day 1 of the marriage retreat, you start with the Half-Day Relationship Assessment (except for the Premarital Package).  You both will meet with your therapist to talk about the history of your relationship, detailing the twists and turns that helped you arrive at the current state of concern.  Your therapist will then see you each individually.  After the lunch break your therapist will share all that she has learned in your couples meeting, on-line assessments and individual sessions to talk with you about your relationship strengths and areas of concern. She will discuss the goals for therapy and explain the process of Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Once all are in agreement, you dive right into the therapeutic process, working to achieve those intentions.

Most intensives are scheduled for 6 hours each day. You will spend 3 hours in the morning with your therapist and another 3 hours after lunch with short breaks during the 3-hour blocks.  During the intensive you can expect to gain new skills and tools to build your friendship, manage conflict and create shared meaning.  You will work to repair regrettable incidents and have an opportunity to break through previously unsolvable gridlocked issues.

After the intensive:

After the inclusion of the intensive therapy sessions, you will be encouraged to have follow up sessions to assure the benefits are maintained.

The Right to a Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.  Under the law, health care providers, including therapists, need to give patients/clients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance, an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.  The Good Faith Estimate will provide information on your expected out of pocket costs.  You should expect to receive your Good Faith Estimate at least one day prior to your first appointment with us.