As we age and our lives get busier and busier, it’s often easy to fall into the trap of neglecting the most important relationship in our life – our marriage. Many couples work so hard on creating their lives and building their relationship up to their marriage before life gets in the way and they begin to drift apart. This can cause some couples to give up on their relationship and separate and others to make the decision that they want to restore their marriage and aren’t quite ready to give up just yet.
But the process of getting your marriage back to where you want it to be can be a daunting and challenging task. Between our daily responsibilities to communication issues, there are so many barriers that tend to get in the way. However, there is one highly successful option for couples who are looking for a jump start towards restoring their marriage – a Couples Counseling Retreat. This multi-day process involves intensive one-on-one work with a counselor or licensed therapist to identify the root issues causing damage to your relationship and solutions to help you work together to overcome them.
If you’re considering looking into an intensive marriage retreat and not sure how to best prepare, we’re happy to help. Keep reading to read a brief overview of what goes into this type of intensive marriage counseling and to discover our suggestions for how to get ready for your first couples counseling retreat.
What is a Couples Counseling Retreat?
While we all may be familiar with the concept of ‘couples counseling,’ not as many of us are as versed in the idea of a Couples Counseling Retreat. This intensive marriage counseling workshop takes the concept of couples counseling sessions and amplifies it, condensing months of therapy sessions into two days of intensive, one-on-one work. Oftentimes, the 90 minutes a week couples may spend with their counselor is not enough to get their marriage back to a place of true clarity and connection. With a couples therapy retreat, couples experience ongoing private counseling over two days with their licensed relationship therapist.
At the Marriage Restoration Project, we utilize a form of private marriage intensives, known as the “No Blame, No Shame” Marriage Restoration Retreat. This couples therapy retreat involves two days of intensive work with a professional counselor or Certified Imago Relationship Therapist to create hope, understanding and compassion for one another. This process involves a calm, clear and safe no-blame, no shame communication process that works to cut down on fighting and reactivity that couples may be experiencing. The result is a more clarifying and compassionate environment in which couples feel that they can freely communicate with one another about the important things in life.
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of a Couples Counseling Retreat, it’s time to talk about how to best prepare for your first one. Here’s what we would recommend doing to set you and your partner up for success.
Free Up Your Schedule
The first step in preparing for any couples therapy retreat involves clearing your schedule. When we’re busy or overwhelmed with work, family and other responsibilities, our mind will be tempted to focus on this rather than on the retreat itself. Plan your couples retreat carefully to ensure that there are no big work or travel events happening just before or after. In addition, we’d recommend ensuring that you have adequate support at home if you have children to ensure that they are taken care of while you and your partner work on your marriage.
Acknowledge Your Feelings
The idea of taking the plunge on intensive marriage counseling or a couples therapy retreat can be daunting if not downright intimidating. If you’re feeling anxious or defeated, it’s important to take a step back and acknowledge these feelings and understand that they are okay to feel. Working on something as important as a declining marriage can be stressful and embarrassing, and it’s understandable if you have any of these feelings leading up to your retreat. Always remember, simply attending this retreat is a fantastic step in repairing this valuable relationship and should be celebrated.
Open Your Mind and Understand That the Process May Be Uncomfortable
While we may not admit it, all of us have internal biases, including a bias towards ourselves. When attending an intensive marriage counseling retreat, it’s critical to recognize these biases and work to push past them, opening your mind to the idea that you may be part of the problem rather than a victim of it. This idea and process may be uncomfortable to experience, as we tend to protect ourselves rather than confront an issue at hand. However, by working together with a “no shame, no blame” attitude, you and your partner can help support one another as you identify areas of improvement and change to restore your relationship.
Remember That Good Things Take Time
In today’s day and age, we’re all searching for the ultimate five minute fix to any of our problems. Unfortunately, there isn’t necessarily a “one size fits all” solution to restoring marriage. This process takes time, energy and emotion in order to truly succeed. While an intensive two-day couples therapy retreat can help put you on the right path, keep in mind that good things take time and you’ll both need to continue to work together to restore and maintain your relationship and marriage.
Consider Your Future Together
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember the reason why you decided to go on a Couples Counseling Retreat – to restore your marriage. This process is about fixing the present to preserve the future and rekindle the loving, compassionate and understanding relationship you have with your partner. No matter how difficult things get along the way, always remember that you’re in it together.
When it comes to taking control of the future of your marriage, an essential first step is to acknowledge that you may need help to recover your relationship. With a private intensive couples retreat, you can receive the one-on-one counseling and attention that you and your partner need to identify the underlying issues in your relationship and work together to correct them.
Ready to take the first step in renewing your relationship and rekindling your marriage with a Couples Counseling Retreat? Speak to a Marriage Counselor at the Marriage Restoration Project to set up your private, intensive “No Blame, No Shame” Marriage Restoration Retreat. We’ll be happy to help set up your 2-day experience, whether in-person or online, and assist you on your journey to restoring your marriage.
