Intensive retreats are offered throughout the year.  

Customized Retreats:

Retreats can be an intensive therapeutic weekend for one couple, or offered to a group as a condensed workshop. Some take place locally, some take place abroad. They can be offered as a week-long retreat in a warm destination. Or it could be a yurt somewhere remote. You pick the destination! I can guide you with the customized retreat virtually or in-person. Please inquire for further information.

To learn more about Melissa, please refer to her bio.

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"7 Principles for Making Marriage Work In-Person Mississauga Weekend Couples Retreat!"

• What: This weekend retreat is based on John Gottman's book, "The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work." 
• Based on 40+ years of John Gottman's research and world-renowned Gottman Method for couples. 
• Through the longitudinal study of the masters and disasters of marriage, we know what predicts lifelong commitment and happiness within marriage. Their Love is deconstructed into understandable components that have specific skill sets. The love experienced and expressed by the masters of marriage can be applied to all friendships and family relationships. 
• This retreat will be offered in 1-3 seminars per day over 3 days. 
• When: Friday May 2nd-4th, 2025. Please contact me to get on the wait list for this while registration is pending.
• Where: Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, 1617 Blythe Rd., Mississauga, Ontario L5H 2C3 (This is a Christian retreat centre, and this 7 Principles retreat will be offered in a secular format. All are welcome)
• Watch a tour of the retreat centre here. You can see the rooms, dining hall, meeting room, and some of the grounds.
• Who: This retreat is appropriate for couples who are pre-engaged, premarital, newlyweds to long-time married. It is great for couples who want to enhance their relationship and are seeking better conflict management tools. 
• This retreat is not appropriate for couples who are experiencing severe relationship distress, emotional abuse, domestic violence, active addictions (alcohol, drug, sexual, gambling, etc), or serious mental health problems in one or both partners.
• Topics: Improving your friendship/ fondness/ admiration; enhancing romance/ intimacy; managing conflict constructively; gaining skills to address perpetual and solvable problems; and creating shared meaning
• Format: There will be lectures/presentations, class exercises, couple exercises and homework activities. You will not be asked to share personal problems in front of others. This is a psycho-educational skill-building retreat, and not a couple therapy support group.
• What is included: Gottman Connect questionnaire, the 7 Principles Couples Set, and customized journals for each individual. 
• Please check with your benefits provider to see what may be covered through them for psycho-educational workshops. Melissa is a Registered Social Worker and will be providing receipts for each day of the retreat
• 50% non-refundable deposit due upon booking. 
• Please message Melissa to register!

• Disclaimer: if you are an existing client and chose to participate in this retreat, it is possible that your participation in couples therapy may become evident through participation in this retreat. Please be mindful and cautious in sharing in the group. Please know that I make every effort to respect your privacy and confidentiality around our work. You would not be identified as a client or asked to talk about our couple work in class.  

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Past Retreats:

The March 2024 Couples Retreat was a great success! Six couples from engaged to married over 30 years! The participants were enthusiastic with the exercises, appreciated the role plays/videos demonstrating the Gottman techniques, involved with the discussions and gave encouraging feedback! Couples reported feeling closer at the end of the weekend retreat together.

Thank you again to Mike Fidler, my Gottman Mentor, who came to support me in hosting my first retreat! Also, thank you to Kristen Parselias, my University of Toronto MSW intern, who was a great help through the weekend. In addition, thank you to Susan Netterfield, MDiv Tyndale Student, who came quite spontaneously last minute and was a lovely help as well!

Pictured here is me with Mike and Kristen :)

Pictured here is me with the door prize winners (posted with their permission)! Congratulations P and J! Thank you again for coming and for all your input in the class discussions! They won a Gottman Love Maps/Open-Ended Questions Card Deck and some other goodies!