Couple Retreats

Mind-Reframed Couple Retreat: A Relationship Enrichment Programme held on the island of Sicily in Italy

Imagine being able to understand each other better and build an even more loving and authentic connection that gets stronger over a lifetime. Our relationship enhancement retreat has been designed to do just that. It is a positive, research-based programme for all couples that want to gain skills to strengthen and deepen their relationship. It combines education and practical application of evidence-based relational skills with the excitement of experiential travel.

What to expect?

    • Educational talks on the neuroscience of attachment and love intermingled with video demonstrations and discussions.
    • Opportunities to engage in structured exercises based on the Hold Me Tight® and Building A Lasting Connection™ programmes (in private, not in front of the group). These exercises involve conversations between partners which are the building blocks of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples which has the highest success rate of any form of couple therapy.
    • Psycho-educational sessions drawing from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and the evolutionary science of emotions and their relevance to relationships.
    • Learning how to repair relationship injuries and how to regain or build trusting bond
    • Practicing a new way of communicating that prevents relational conflict and promotes a closer connection balanced with more interpersonal freedom and independence.

Features

It’s not just a dry program; some of the videos are fun as they demonstrate what we are teaching. We have some group discussions but no one is “put on the spot” and the extent of your participation is voluntary.

    • You will learn what is at the root of most conflicts between you and your partner, and how to change those moments through a proven method that all couples can do.
    • You will receive materials that you can continue building on after the retreat.
    • The programme is based on attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, and the best-selling book “Hold Me Tight: 7 Conversations for a Lifetime of Love” by Dr. Sue Johnson.

Who is this retreat for?

    • Couples who are doing well and want to enhance their bond.
    • Couples who tend to get caught up in negative patterns of conflict, disconnection or cold withdrawal.
    • Couples who wish to move from relational distress and disconnection to safer and more connected bond.
    • Couples of any sexual orientation.
    • Professionals who want to learn more about the new science of love based on about 40 years of research.

Do you want to move from relational distress and disconnection to safer and more connected bond?

Some of the couples we have worked with found the sessions useful in improving the following areas of their lives:

      • becoming aware of unhelpful patterns, i.e. blaming, shutting down or demanding
      • changing negative relational patterns and experiencing the relationship as emotionally safe
      • dealing with your feelings together and embracing more open styles of communication
      • improved emotional and sexual intimacy
      • bonding through sex and touch
      • greater understanding of how their own and their partners’ past experiences impact on them now
      • finding balance between being partners and parents
      • working through traumatic wounds.

Dates and location

We are intending to resume offering retreats on the island of Sicily, Italy in the spring of 2024. Exact dates to be confirmed. Please email us to express interest.

Fee

£3,500 per couple, inclusive of accommodation and all meals.