Couples Retreats in Colorado–for Relationships That Need More Than a Weekend Away

If your relationship is struggling, you may be searching for a couples retreat because you know that something needs to change—and an occasional hour of couples counseling may not feel like enough.

Perhaps you keep having the same arguments. You’ve become distant or feel more like roommates. Resentment has accumulated. Trust has been damaged. One of you has withdrawn. You may have tried couples therapy before without making enough progress. Or your relationship may have reached the point where one or both of you are wondering whether to stay together.

Colorado Marriage Retreats offers something different from a typical couples getaway or group relationship workshop.

I work privately with one couple at a time for 5–6 hours a day over 2–5 consecutive days.

There are no groups and no other couples participating in your therapy. The time is devoted entirely to the two of you and the problems that have brought you here.

What Is a Private Couples Retreat?

A private couples retreat combines the concentrated time of a multi-day retreat with serious, individualized couples therapy.

Instead of attending a seminar, listening to lectures or working through a standardized program with a group of couples, you work directly with me on your relationship.

Having several consecutive days allows us to go considerably deeper than is often possible in a weekly 50-minute appointment.

We can identify the patterns that repeatedly get you into trouble, explore the hurts and resentments beneath those patterns, work through unresolved conflicts, and help you begin responding to each other differently.

This is not primarily a vacation or romantic getaway.

It is an opportunity to step away from everyday demands and devote several uninterrupted days to a relationship that matters enormously to you.

Who Comes to a Couples Retreat?

Couples come for many different reasons, but the people I work with are often dealing with significant relationship distress.

You may recognize your relationship in some of these:

• You have the same arguments over and over without resolving anything.

• Conversations quickly become defensive, angry or hurtful.

• One or both of you have emotionally withdrawn.

• You love each other but no longer feel close.

• Years of unresolved hurt or resentment stand between you.

• Trust has been damaged.

• You’ve tried couples counseling but remain stuck.

• One partner is unsure about continuing the relationship.

• Separation or divorce has begun to enter the conversation.

• You want to make one serious attempt to repair the relationship before making a permanent decision.

You don’t have to wait until your relationship is on the brink of ending. But my work is particularly suited to couples who know they need more than a pleasant weekend away or a few communication exercises.

What Happens During a Couples Retreat?

There is no generic curriculum because no two relationships have exactly the same problems.

Before we begin, I want to understand what has happened between the two of you, where you’re stuck, and what each of you hopes might change.

During our days together, we work directly with the problems affecting your relationship.

We may focus on recurring conflict, defensiveness, anger, emotional withdrawal, resentment, betrayal, loss of trust, difficulty expressing needs, or painful events from the past that have never been adequately resolved.

I also help you practice different ways of talking, listening and responding to each other. When an old pattern emerges in the room, we can slow it down, understand what is happening and work on changing it in real time.

The goal is not simply to leave with a better understanding of your problems. It is to begin changing the way the two of you relate to each other.

Why Several Consecutive Days?

Weekly couples therapy can be very helpful, and many relationships don’t require an intensive.

But couples who are deeply stuck sometimes find that 50 minutes isn’t enough time to reach the underlying problem, work through it and create meaningful change before the session ends.

A private couples retreat gives us something weekly therapy cannot easily provide: time and continuity.

We can continue working when something important emerges instead of stopping and waiting another week. The following day, we can pick up from what happened the day before rather than starting over.

For couples dealing with years of accumulated problems—or facing important decisions about the future of their relationship—that concentrated time can make an enormous difference in what we’re able to address.

This Is Not a Group Couples Retreat

Many people searching for a couples retreat imagine a resort program where several couples attend workshops, exercises and group activities together.

That is not what I offer.

At Colorado Marriage Retreats:

There are no groups.
There are no workshops.
There are no other couples in your sessions.

I work with one couple at a time, privately, for approximately 5–6 hours each day.

Your time is spent working on your relationship rather than participating in a program designed for everyone.

What if One of Us Isn’t Sure About the Relationship?

This is more common than you might imagine.

Couples don’t always arrive equally committed or equally hopeful. Sometimes one partner desperately wants to repair the relationship while the other isn’t sure whether enough can change.

I don’t require you to pretend that you’re both equally optimistic.

Nor is my job to pressure either of you to remain in a relationship regardless of what has happened.

Our work is to understand what brought your relationship to this point, what would genuinely have to change, and whether meaningful repair is still possible.

For some couples, the important question isn’t simply, “How do we improve our marriage?”

It is:

“Before we give up, have we really done everything we can?”

Who Will We Work With?

You will work directly with me, Neil Rosenthal.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and have been working with individuals and couples for 46 years. I am the author of a #1 bestselling relationship book and more than 1,000 relationship articles published in newspapers around the world.

My practice is devoted to private couples intensives.

Over the years, I have worked with couples facing severe conflict, emotional disconnection, longstanding resentment, broken trust and the possibility of separation or divorce.

When you come to Colorado Marriage Retreats, you don’t get assigned to another therapist.

You work with me.

How Long Is a Couples Retreat?

Private couples retreats are generally 2–5 days, with 5–6 hours of therapy each day.

Couples come to Colorado from across North America, so we can arrange the intensive on consecutive days and help you understand what to expect before making travel plans.

During a complimentary telephone consultation, I can learn about your situation and help you determine what length of intensive would be most appropriate.

Is a Couples Retreat Right for Us?

A couples retreat isn’t appropriate for every relationship, and no ethical therapist can promise that every relationship can or should be saved.

But being seriously stuck doesn’t necessarily mean your relationship is beyond repair.

If the two of you are willing to devote several days to understanding what has gone wrong and seriously exploring what can change, a private intensive may give you an opportunity that ordinary weekly counseling has not.

Not Sure? Talk With Me Before Deciding.

You don’t need to know whether you want to book a retreat before contacting me.

I offer a complimentary telephone consultation. Tell me a little about what is happening between the two of you, and I’ll answer your questions and help you determine whether a private couples retreat makes sense for your situation.

Call Neil Rosenthal at 720-331-5564.

Not ready to call? Send me a private message describing briefly what is happening in your relationship. I will personally respond.