Do you have a vision of sharing a more intimate and more loving relationship? Do you know what you need to do to make that vision a reality? Here's what a commitment to couples counseling can do for you: You will learn to speak openly and honestly You will begin to express yourself clearly and confidently You'll feel strong by standing for what you believe You will be able to tolerate your own anxieties in the face of your partner's reactions, and You will begin to know a deeper kind of intimacy than you have ever known before. Couples Counselling Counselling Approach Separation Counselling Reconciliation Counselling Telephone Counselling Refer a Friend How to Contact Us Testimonials CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE to our FREE monthly newsletter "Heart of the Matter" Read Past Articles Our Couple-to-Couple Approach™ to Counselling In our 37 years together as partners, and as a husband-and-wife co-therapy team, we have witnessed on a personal as well as a professional level the challenges that couples face daily. In our counseling sessions, we draw upon many years of experience to create a dynamic and positive learning environment. Let's talk about our approach to counseling. While many therapists see couples both together and individually, we feel that the best work is done when you attend each session as a couple. This way everything is out in the open, and you have an opportunity to learn more about each other right from the get go. If your partner is willing to join you in the this process, you will both benefit from it greatly. Laying the Foundation: 3-Day Intensive Counselling Retreat During our 11 years working together as couples co-therapists, we have noticed that couples learn more and progress faster in a more intensive counseling environment. Clients who begin therapy by attending sessions weekly, or bi-weekly, can easily lose the momentum that naturally occurs during a Retreat. There is a greater tendency at the outset to continue old habits, avoid connection, feel discouraged and even cancel appointments. If you feel "stuck" and want to kick start the couples counseling process, if you both have busy work schedules, or if you are overwhelmed with elder-parent or child care responsibilities, or if you just want to experience a weekend of renewal and personal growth, the Couple Intensive Retreat is by far the best way to move your relationship forward. This Intensive Retreat experience will help you work through areas of disconnect and enrich an already emotionally-committed relationship. The Couples Retreat will give your relationship a jump start and the opportunity to move forward with more understanding, new skills, and renewed hope. What Happens during the Retreat? The Retreat is just for the two of you. It is not a group experience. Think of it as intensive therapy, designed specifically to address your particular needs. We will meet with you for four hours each day. The benefit of being away for a few days, away from the responsibilities of work and family life, will give you the space and time to experience a deeper level of connection. When we are not meeting with you, you will have time together to integrate some of the ideas and practice some of the skills that we will be introducing to you in the counseling sessions. Our focus is on helping each of you explore the dynamic that is unique to your relationship. We will help you understand more about yourselves as individuals, and we will help you come to terms with the similarities and differences in your personalities and worldviews. With new understandings, you will be able to work as a united team to create the life you have always wanted to have together. You will be more hopeful, more caring and more respectful of each others' needs. You will have a deeper understanding of what it takes to be in an emotionally committed relationship. And you will begin to develop a greater capacity to handle disagreements, knowing that neither of you is right nor wrong. The Retreat will help you experience more emotional intimacy and a deeper sense of connection, which will inevitably lead to a more satisfying sexual life for you both. Most clients find that the four counseling hours each day go by very quickly. The remainder of the day will give you an opportunity to spend time together as actively or as quietly as you like. Our home office is located in a conservation area that is well known for its hiking trails, skiing, horseback riding, golfing, and biking. We are only a short drive to the world-famous Bruce Hiking Trail, Mono Cliffs Conservation Area, the Hockley Valley Nature Reserve, Ecology Retreat, Tai Chi Centre, and several equestrian centres. If you feel adventurous, a short drive will lead you to quaint country shops, antique stores, artist studios, apiaries, rock climbing and caves. In some of the nearby towns you will find live theatre, live music, and everything from cafes and family restaurants to the best in fine dining. Once you are ready to schedule your Retreat, we will send you a list of nearby Bed and Breakfasts and resort hotels. There are several to choose from that will enhance your stay. We will discuss counseling fees and accommodations options with you when you call. Follow-Up Sessions: "Deepening the Connection" Our three-day Couple Intensive Retreat will begin the process of renewal. Typically, Retreat couples leave feeling more hopeful and capable of change. But change doesn't happen overnight. You will need time to put your new learning experiences into practice. After the Retreat, we will meet briefly (or speak by telephone or video conference) to see how you are doing and to support you as you move forward. At that time we might arrange a follow-up session, typically a month or two later, to help deepen your connection. We recommend several follow-up sessions to give you renewed energy and a deeper understanding about yourself and your partner. But these would be arranged on an as-needs basis. Our goal is to help you know how to meet any challenges that may come your way. (And life will certainly find a way of presenting them to you!) Scheduling a Consult: If you live within driving distance of our Hockley home office, and you are unsure if the Retreat is for you, we would suggest meeting us for an initial consultation. During this one-and-a-half hour session you will have an opportunity to see for yourselves how we work as husband-and-wife co-therapists. The Consult will give you a forum to speak freely and be heard in a safe environment while benefiting from our professional experience. Having seen how we work, you can decide more knowledgeably whether our approach will be right for you. Our Consult fee is in addition to the cost of the Retreat, and is charged on an hourly fee basis. Please call us to discuss the cost of the Retreat as well as cost of an hour-and-a-half Consult. Who Typically Attends the Retreat? Couples who seek our counseling services are often at various stages of disconnect in their relationships. Some are in the midst of having more difficulty than others. One or both partners may be holding on to just the slightest hope that counseling can turn things around. Even couples who feel more compatible, and who still feel a closeness and love for each other, something may seem to be missing in their relationship. Perhaps work and family challenges or personal life choices have kept them from expressing their love fully. Whatever brings you to couples or marriage counseling, you will be glad you made the decision to get your relationship back on track. Separation and Reconciliation Counselling If you are in the throws of divorce or separation, we would concentrate on helping you individually to adjust to the new realities that you are now facing. On the other hand, if you are about to separate, or have already separated, but you are considering reconciliation, and would like to find a way to stay together, our Couples Retreat will help you begin the healing process. You will learn how to begin life together anew from a healthier, calmer, and more knowledgeable perspective. If you have already made the decision to separate or divorce, we will work with you to help you with the challenging process of moving forward -- with kindness and mutual respect. This is particularly important if you have children. You will want to be able to convey to them the love and security that they still need. Back to Top Still Wondering if the Retreat is for You? Our intensive counseling approach is intended to give you the opportunity to speak honestly and openly with each other in a private, nonjudgmental setting. We will encourage you to become less reactive, and more responsive to each other, without losing your "selves" in the process. We will work with you on becoming more emotionally separate, i.e. less caught up in what your partner is feeling. You will learn to maintain a balance between remaining separate and staying connected. (Pre-order your copy of our soon-to-published e-Book,  The Paradox of Love: How to Stay Separate and Still Be Connected) What areas do we most commonly address? the feeling of drifting apart or being disconnected the desire for more meaningful communication a lack of passion and sexual intimacy issues of trust (e.g. extramarital affairs) persistent arguments and power struggles We help couples of all ages face the challenges associated with: the decision to get married raising children, from tots to teens the demands of a double income family empty nesting post-retirement lifestyle change Back to Top
	If you cannot attend face-to-face couples counseling sessions - if you have pressing work and family time commitments, or live outside the Greater Toronto area and cannot travel for a while - you will benefit from our prearranged telephone counseling (or video conferencing) services. Call us to assess whether this approach would work for you. Counselling sessions by telephone are one hour in length and follow the same fee structure as face-to-face counseling sessions. Payments are accepted only by VISA, MasterCard, AMEX; or, a bank draft received one week prior to the initial TeleConsult. Client(s) usually pay the long distance charges for each session. If you would like to tell a friend about The Couple Enrichment Approach™, just fill out the form below. We will send out a short note about our services and upcoming events, with a link to our site. Friend's First Name*: Friend's Last Name*: Friend's Email Address*: Write a personal message that you would like to send to your friend. (Don't forget to sign your name so that he or she knows who the message is from): Your E-mail Address*:   We appreciate your assistance in referring friends, colleagues and family to our site. We will be happy to answer any questions about our programs and services. Click here for the The Kingston Life article (March 8, 2008): “Creating Love” by Patricia Casson Henderson. Click here for the The Orangeville Banner article (February 28, 2006): “A Natural Setting for Enriching Lives”. Click here for the Toronto Sun article (August 13, 2001 - Lifestyle Section): “Enriching Experience: Husband and wife specialists offer unique relationship therapy for couples.”   Back to Top  Couple Enrichment Inc. 308022 Hockley Road, RR1 (Mono) Orangeville, ON L9W 2Y8 Canada Contact us by email Telephone: (Toll Free) 1-877-897-2333 Orangeville Local Line: 519-942-3338 Fax: 519-942-3305 We are located one hour north of Toronto in the beautiful Hockley Valley, Ontario CANADA We serve the entire GTA. Our Greater Toronto Area clients have come to us from Ajax, East York, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Markham, Newmarket, North York, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Thornhill, Toronto, Alliston, Amaranth, Aurora, Ballinafad, Barrie, Bolton, Brampton, Burlington, Cambridge, Caledon, Caledon East, Collingwood, Erin, Fergus, Georgetown, Guelph, Grimsby, Hamilton, Hockley Valley, Ilderton, Kanata, Kingston, London, Mono, North Bay, Oakville, Orangeville, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catherines, St. Thomas, Sault Ste. Marie, Shelburne, Sudbury, Tottenham, Winchester, and Waterloo. Easily accessible to the Toronto International Airport, clients have come from as far away as Australia, Dubai, Great Britain, Jamaica, and the United States (Alaska , Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennesee and Texas). In Canada, we have counselled clients from the east to west coast. They have come from Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and even the North West Territories. Back to Top © Copyright 2000-2010 Couple Enrichment Inc. Link to other pages on this site to find information on: Couples Retreats :: Couples Intensive Retreats :: Marriage Retreats :: Couples Counseling Retreats :: Couples Counseling :: Marriage Enrichment Retreats :: Marriage Counseling :: Marriage Preparation :: Relationship Counseling :: Marriage Enrichment :: Online Self-Help Articles :: Toronto & Hockley Valley Ontario offices