Whenever couples experience marital distress and other issues, they never know where to turn for help. With the availability of different intensive marriage retreats across the nation, couples may be confused about which one to choose. Intensive marriage retreats are more neurologically effective compared to weekly therapy sessions.
There are key elements you must comprehend first to find the most effective Marriage Retreat for you and your spouse. Before enrolling in an intensive marriage retreat, there are varying points you must consider.
Research the Therapists of the Intensive Marriage Retreat
It is vital to look for an intensive marriage retreat with therapists who avoid a neutral stance. A qualified therapist avoids taking sides altogether and aligns himself with a third party. It is important to attend an intensive marriage retreat with a counselor that always seeks out the good in every marriage over the perceived good of you or your spouse.
Such therapists view every interaction through the view of what is best for your relationship and the strength of your marriage. As a result, the therapist can challenge you and your spouse to do better.
Seek Out a Retreat That Doesn’t Glamorize Certain Issues
There is a tendency to label certain relationship behaviors as worse than others. For instance, having an affair is considered worse than coming home late. The issue is that there are different ways spouses betray each other on a daily basis. Some of these are worse than affairs. For instance, keeping financial secrets in a marriage could ruin the entire relationship.
Attending a retreat that sees all marital issues as equally damaging is important. This will ensure that all issues affecting your marriage are given the same attention when addressing them.
Choose a Retreat That Utilizes Research-Based Methods
Most likely, by the time you are interested in attending an intensive marriage retreat, you are in need of real, expert intervention. This is why it is important to get the best out of your investment. Look for an Intensive Marriage Retreats that uses evidence-based methodologies such as emotionally-focused therapy. Make sure that the therapists in the retreat focus solely on couples.
You can check their past experience to ensure they have the expertise to handle diverse marriage issues. Make sure you choose a retreat that hosts sessions for their therapists to understand and apply new advances in couple’s therapy research.
Choose a Retreat That Offers Follow-Up Care
The true success of couples’ therapy is determined by what the couple does after the Marriage Therapy Retreat is done. Look for an intensive marriage retreat that has a real plan for follow-up care. This can be by means of online sessions, weekly couples’ therapy, or homework. Marriage counseling is not supposed to end with the retreat.
You are supposed to be sent home with books to read, worksheets, tools, and new skills. You should be able to access your licensed therapist through phone calls and regular sessions. You can even go back to the retreat for mini-intensives once the retreat is over. This allows you and your spouse to revisit the tools and strategies you learned every day.
Ensure the Marriage Retreat Honors Your Relationship Goals
The vision of a relationship is a decision unique to each couple. If you want to enjoy maximum benefits from your intensive marriage retreat, look for a retreat with therapists who don’t impose their values and opinions on you. Instead, find a practice that can encourage you to invest in the counseling process and leave all issues that affect personal development addressed.
Ensure you choose Relationship Retreats with a well-thought protocol. This may include meetings with each couple to assess the history of their relationship. The expert can observe how the couple interacts with one another during the meeting. The protocol may also involve working with each person in the marriage individually.
A good retreat is one that works on understanding the personal histories, childhood, and prior relationships of both spouses. This helps the experts identify the individual changes they may need to make for personal growth. With this form of counseling, couples are able to focus on changing themselves instead of changing their partners. This enhances the potential for healing more deeply.