Choosing the right marriage retreat in California: Is a couples therapy retreat right for us?

You’re ready to see big change in your relationship. Whether it’s because you’re just excited and motivated about healing or because you’re desperate to get out of being miserable, it feels like help can’t come fast enough. You kind of know that you’d do well in an intensive retreat format. But how do you know if a marriage retreat is right for you? And which is the right one? 

We’ve written a few guides for you. See here for how to choose the right marriage retreat for you and here for common questions about couples therapy retreats. We’ve outlined what to expect from a couples therapy retreat at Inland Empire Couples Counseling here and in this guide we’re outlining how to know if you’re a good fit for one of the couples therapy retreats at IECC. 

A couples therapy retreat is right for you if . . . 

You are ready to see change in your relationship

Change is hard. Even when it’s welcome, making and adjusting to changes in your life takes work. Think about getting your dream job. You want it, you work for it, you interview, you land the job. And it’s still stressful to go through that process and then to adjust to your amazing new dream job. 

Relationship change is no different. If you’ve got the available time and energy to work on relationship improvement, a couples therapy retreat might be a good fit for you. Or if your relationship problems have become so bad that you just can’t ignore them anymore and you’re ready to devote yourselves to your marriage, a couples therapy retreat can help.

The intensive format works for you

A couples therapy retreat at Inland Empire Couples Counseling is the equivalent of two months of weekly therapy in a weekend. For some people, this is PERFECT. Maybe intensive work suits your personality or schedule.

And we’ve also seen clients over the years who know that intensive pace of a couples therapy retreat doesn’t work for them. One of our clients with a lot of childhood trauma and struggles with dissociation knew they couldn’t maintain stability during a retreat and elected to do weekly therapy instead.

And we’ve seen people who have ADHD really struggle with attention in the retreat format, while we’ve had other people with ADHD love the retreat format because it works with their ability to hyperfocus. You know yourselves and can decide what’s right for you, and you can also consult with one of our therapists to determine if the format will work for you. 

You need help fast

There is an amazing window when people are aware of the need to change, motivated to do the work and have the available time and energy required--and maybe even financial resources if you’re wanting professional help. And to make relationship change through therapy, we need both partners’ windows for change open at the same time! 

Whether you’re in the midst of a crisis you can’t ignore or you and your partner are both just ready to improve your relationship at the same time, a couples therapy retreat can help you get the help you want fast. 

You are realistic about what we can and can’t offer

We’ve been talking very positively here about what a marriage retreat can do for you. And we also need to be realistic that this isn’t a miracle drug or magic wand kind of situation. Everything in your relationship won’t change in just one weekend. We can’t fundamentally change who you are. And we can’t do the work for you. 

We can make some change in the weekend we are together. And we can lay the groundwork for continued change after you leave. And it’s up to you to carry that forward after you leave us. 

In your pre-retreat phone call, you and your therapist(s) will talk about the scope of what you’re trying to accomplish or heal and help you have realistic expectations for what we can do in our time together.

You are in California or able to travel to California

Our therapists are licensed and registered with the state board in California. We aren’t able to provide therapy in other places. If you don’t live in California and would like to work with one of our therapists because of our unique specializations, you can travel to California and work with us here.

You want to work with one of our therapists and don’t live close enough for regular weekly sessions

We have some amazing therapists with unique specialties. If you’d like to work with one of our therapists in person but our offices are too far away for regular weekly sessions to be practical, a couples therapy retreat is a fantastic way to benefit from our expertise without the need for a lengthy weekly drive. Or, if you’re in California and would like to do remote sessions with one of our therapists, we can set up online couples counseling sessions as well.

Weekly couples therapy sessions just don’t work for your relationship

If your work, family, or school schedules simply don’t allow you to attend weekly therapy sessions, a couples therapy retreat might be a great fit for you. Or If you know you and your partner do better diving deep into problems intensely rather than chipping away at them a little at a time, the retreat format may be a better fit for you than weekly sessions. 

If a marriage retreat is right for you for any of these reasons or any other reason we didn’t mention, take the first step and schedule your free consultation today. 

At Inland Empire Couples Counseling we offer the best marriage counseling we can! Our couples therapists are trained in helping couples heal from infidelity, substance use in relationships, childhood trauma, communication skills, as well as providing the LGBTQIA+ community with pride counseling. We have online couples counseling in California. We have couples therapy in Riverside, CA. We also have marriage counseling in Murrieta CA or the Temecula Valley. Please reach out for help by clicking the button below to schedule a free 15 minute consultation with our Intake Coordinator.

Have questions about couples counseling? Visit our FAQs page to find out more.