Have tensions mounted between the two of you recently? Has communication turned into fighting or withdrawal?

Does the relationship feel like way too much work—and you don’t see evidence this is going to change?

Does it seem like you can’t stop the cycle of anger, blame, arguments and withdrawal?

Is your relationship starving for affection, romance or passion?

Are you wishing to deepen the relationship, the closeness and the intimacy that once made your relationship so special?

Neil Rosenthal holding a lemur in Madagascar
Neil Rosenthal with a lemur

If any of these describe your relationship, it’s time to make some important changes. A change where the two of you are able to effectively communicate, work through conflicts in a skilled way and be able to be genuinely affectionate with each other.

We will create an environment where you feel listened to, valued and empathized with. A marriage where you are able to talk through conflicts, disagreements and hurt feelings, and come to an agreement that both of you can say “yes” to. A relationship that allows you to right the wrongs of the past and repair breaches of trust. A marriage that values each partner’s happiness and the well-being of the relationship.

Wherever you live, I’d like to invite you to the Denver area for a 3 or 4 day relationship retreat that will likely be the most important step you take to repair your marriage—all against the backdrop of one of the most picturesque spots in North America. Afterwards you are invited to extend your stay to go into the mountains, which are literally 25 minutes away from my office. It might even become a second honeymoon for the two of you.

Create a first-class relationship

Couple looks ahead after successful marriage retreat

One where you feel listened to, understood and respected.

Learn how to…

  • Repair what’s wrong in your relationship
  • Reconnect with each other
  • Communicate effectively
  • Resolve conflicts
  • Reduce anger, arguments, withdrawal and mean-spirited comments
  • Begin to heal trust
  • Put romance and passion back in the relationship
  • Reduce tensions between the two of you
  • Regain closeness and intimacy
  • Learn the skills you need in order to communicate effectively and resolve conflicts on your own

It’s never too late to fall back in love.

It’s never too late to repair what’s wrong and create the close, connected relationship you want.

Call me today at (720) 331-5564 for a complimentary phone consultation.

Unlike other couples therapy enterprises that connect you with less-qualified phone operators and bounce you around, when you call my office, you’ll speak to me. I work directly with couples from start to finish, so you don’t have to repeat your story multiple times, and you can decide right away whether I’m a good fit for you.

This is much quicker than marriage counseling sessions

Maroon bells after a weekend marriage retreat

An intensive weekend or weekday retreat offers you the opportunity to repair hurt, anger, lack of communication, breaches of trust or disconnection much more rapidly than weekly marriage counseling sessions. Each day of the retreat lasts 5 or 6 hours, and we will all decide when we want to break for lunch. A 3–4 day retreat is roughly equivalent to 5–6 months of weekly marriage counseling appointments, and I have found it to be so much more effective because we have the time to get right down to the core of the issues—and then create solutions to those issues. For any relationship in crisis, anger, or hurt, it’s a remarkably quicker way to repair what’s wrong.

Frequently a couple who has been together for years slowly loses their closeness, their friendship, the excitement of being together and their passion for each other. Conflicts, disagreements, hurtful words, angry fights, threats, betrayals of trust and emotional withdrawal begin to damage the closeness and the connection between a couple who was once extremely close and connected.

One of the most positive results of a marriage retreat is the renewal of closeness, the regeneration of connection and the reopening of communication channels. I will guide you to learn and practice powerful ways of effectively communicating with each other, as well as indispensable techniques in how to resolve conflicts, disagreements or hurt feelings. Our goal is for your relationship to regain the connection, trust and closeness you once had, and to strengthen the bond between the two of you.

I have two main goals during your marriage retreat. The first is to help the two of you regain your closeness and connection. The second is to instruct you about what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. As a result, you will be able to take these skills home and use them on your own—so you hopefully won’t need additional professional help in the future.

A marriage retreat (also known as a marriage intensive, marriage counseling retreat, marriage refresh, or marriage boot camp) lasts either 3 or 4 days. The length of your retreat will depend on the severity of the issues in your relationship and how much time you can spend in Colorado.

What does a Marriage Retreat include?

Couple skiing after marriage therapy retreatThe specifics of your marriage therapy retreat will be customized to the issues or conflicts in your relationship, and as a result, every retreat is unique. This is a private retreat only for the two of you—I do not do group therapy sessions. We might work on communication, conflict resolution, trust, learning more effective ways of expressing anger or hurt, affection and romance—to name a few. But a marriage retreat will also include intensive assistance with specific problems or emotions unique to your relationship. The goal is to eliminate or reduce the power of those issues, and to forge agreements between the two of you so that those issues are reduced or extinguished entirely. Food and lodging are not included. See schedule for some of the activities that are often included in the retreat.

Each person will also receive a complimentary copy of my nationwide #1 bestselling book that has become the definitive marriage do-it-yourself manual on improving your relationship: Love, Sex and Staying Warm: Creating A Vital Relationship. This book has become like a bible for people interested in improving their relationship skills, or who seek relationship assistance or advice. There is also a working lunch built into the retreat, where all three of us go out (or order in) and get something to eat.

Why not go to regular Marriage Counseling?

1. You need more intensive counseling in order to help stabilize your relationship.

There may be several reasons for this. It may be that you’re trying to recover from an affair or any other betrayal of trust. It may be that you’re caught in repetitive arguing or conflict that you can’t get out of. It may be that there is so much anger in your relationship that you can’t talk about and resolve issues anymore. It may feel that you are headed toward a divorce/break-up if you don’t do something fast, effective and in-depth.

2. You don’t live in the Denver area and repeated sessions over time would be too difficult or expensive.

More than 50% of the couples who do my marriage counseling retreat come from out of town, and most typically stay at one of the nearby hotels.

3. One (or both) of you are not sure you want to remain together, but you need to co-parent or work together.

In this case, you must learn how to talk, negotiate and deal effectively with each other.

4. Trust has been ruptured and you need it repaired quickly.

You may not have the luxury of going to couples counseling for months on end to fix what’s wrong. You may need a more intensive marital therapy retreat in order to more quickly repair what’s broken.

How is this different from a Marriage Workshop or Marriage Conference?

Happy marriage after couples therapy intensive weekend

Private, personalized attention

In a marriage workshop or couples workshop, you have 5, 10 or more couples attending at the same time. Everyone gets the same approach and the same exercises, regardless of what issues brought you in there, and it could be very embarrassing to talk openly about the issues in your relationship in a large group of people. In a Colorado Marriage Retreat, it will only be the two of you—there will not be any other couples present—and you will receive my personal, undivided attention the entire time. All the skill-building activities will be hand-tailored to you. This will be your own private retreat, exclusively for the two of you. This kind of couples retreat will enable you to repair major issues, disputes or conflicts quickly, effectively and privately.

Master instruction in effective relationship skills and/or how to repair your relationship

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I have been in practice since 1980. My relationship advice has appeared in newspapers around the world. Learn more about my experience and qualifications →

Research shows the techniques are effective

The techniques I use from Imago Therapy have been scientifically shown to be effective. You don’t want to leave your relationship to chance.

What if we’re getting along well—or not married?

A couples retreat is not always centered around conflicts or disagreements. Frequently couples come because they want to deepen the connection and intimacy in their relationship, and an intensive couples therapy retreat offers the opportunity for closeness far more quickly than weekly couples counseling appointments can.

A couples retreat also makes a perfect gift for pre-marital couples, for newlyweds, or for long-married couples desiring to strengthen the connection, closeness and intimacy in their relationship. For non-married couples, a couples counseling retreat offers the same benefits as it does for married couples—if not more—since the best time to prevent any issue is before it starts.

This is equally effective for same-sex couples.

What does it cost?

You get your choice of either 3 or 4 days, with 5 or 6 hours per day. If you’re just trying to strengthen your relationship, 3 days at 5 hours per day is probably sufficient. If on the other hand your relationship is in trouble–or there are trust issues–if you can afford it, choose the extra day and/or the longer days, because you don’t want this retreat to end until we’re completely finished.

  • Three 5-hour days: $6,000
  • Three 6-hour days: $7,200
  • Four 5-hour days: $8,000
  • Four 6-hour days: $9,600

If you’re unsure how many days and/or hours you need, I will be happy to offer you a recommendation based on what you tell me.

Can I expect lasting positive change from a Marriage Retreat?

That’s my intent. One way the two of you can help yourselves achieve that end is to create a list of goals you would like me to assist you in fixing, changing or resolving. Bring these goals into the first session, so that I can address your intentions throughout the entire marriage retreat. I may also guide the two of you to create a shared vision for the future of your relationship.

Not sure if a marriage retreat is right for you?

Call me for a complimentary consultation:

(720) 331-5564

  • We were separated, and I had filed for divorce, but we put the divorce on hold so we could attend Neil Rosenthal’s marriage counseling retreat in Colorado. We both considered this our one last final hope. If this didn’t work, we were not going to stay together.

    We don’t fight like many other couples do. Our house just turned cold. We quit sharing feelings with each other. Then we quit hugging or kissing in the mornings and evenings—or in bed. Soon we would be on our devices when in the same room with each other. Eventually we just grew very far apart. There was no fight, but we were no longer a close couple. So I moved out.

    When Neil first asked us why we were there and what we were hoping to achieve, I was unable to answer. I was not sure if I wanted to reinvest in the relationship and open myself up again. But through the course of the long weekend, we reunited as a couple. The turning point was when Neil gave us an exercise in creating a vision of our future, and that’s when I realized that I really want this woman and this relationship.

    This was priceless to me. There will be no divorce. Thank you Neil.

  • I was afraid we were going to divorce.

    We had an ongoing trust issue related to my husband’s infidelity. Nothing we tried succeeded in repairing us, and the issue dragged on forever. We were a broken couple, fighting a lot, and our fights could get ugly. As a last ditched effort, we signed up for a 3-day marriage retreat with Neil Rosenthal, whose book we both found very useful.

    The first thing we learned was to talk and listen effectively. Beyond doubt that was the most valuable thing of all. My husband finally heard how hurt and fearful I was, and with Neil’s help he was able to empathize with my pain, which allowed me to finally begin to let go of the grievances I had been carrying around for months.

    We are back on track. Healing takes time, but our marriage has finally stabilized. I can’t thank Neil enough for the highly skilled way he got us to reconnect.

  • I was resistant to opening up to someone I had never met.

    I have always been a private person, and the idea of opening up to a stranger was hard for me to accept. But Neil was easy to talk with, and our time flew by quickly as we did a variety of communication and intimacy enhancing exercises.

    We are now better at addressing an issue when we don’t agree with each other, or where she feels one way and I feel another way. Perhaps the most valuable was being able to talk respectfully and civilly with each other after years of not being able to.

    And best of all, my wife and I are making love again, after 2+ years of enduring the cold silent treatment. I would highly recommend Neil Rosenthal to any struggling couple who hasn’t been able to fix things on their own.

  • I had called off our engagement because my fiancé didn’t want sex as often as I did. I told her if we don’t make love more often, there will be no wedding.

    Turns out, we had an underlying problem of not being able to effectively talk about and resolve important issues. We didn’t have the right skill set. But Neil taught us how to work through disagreements rather seamlessly. Better yet, he taught us his method and gave us a handout about the different steps involved, so we could do the advanced skills at home. (Hint—it’s in his book.)

    Neil was very direct with us, and easy to talk with. We went right after the problem, and we solved it. Then he led us to strengthen our connection so we could be closer. Problem solved.

  • First of all, Thank you.

    There is a True, mutual desire to be the couple we once were, and so much more. We both feel a loss that you are not a permanent part of our lives. For you to have had such a profound role in our healing, and your kind ability to draw out the path to our healing, has not only opened the door to our love, but given us both a great appreciation for the love you showed us. We are newly committed to a lifetime of understanding, growth, and love.

    With sincere love and thanks from Alaska.