Weekend Getaway Couples Retreat

Love Is an Action Verb Retreat

A Refreshing Alternative to Couples Therapy

2 Hours from New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA

Dates: TBD

In This Exclusive Semi-Private Poconos Couples Retreat You Will Discover:

How to gently revive areas of your relationship that have been neglected
How to be vulnerable with each other
How to have productive conversations
How to focus on positivity while remaining authentic
How to respond to criticism and emotional shut-down
How to support each other through stress
How to build intimacy
How to easily add healthy relationship routines to your busy lives
What it’s like to treat yourselves well
An alternative to couples therapy that offers skills, coaching, rest and relaxation

Here is a glimpse of stunning Poconos Resort which will be the venue for the Love Is an Action Verb Couples Retreat:

You Can Transform Your Relationship in Just 3 Days!

The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy is world-renowned for its success in helping couples save their marriages. Traditional weekly couples therapy is ideal for some couples but not necessarily what everyone needs.

A three-day all-inclusive couples therapy retreat might be a better fit for you if you are looking for an approach that is strength-based, fun, and likely to bring faster results.

Retreats are relaxing, romantic, and experiential. You’ll get your skills and strategies while having lots of free time for spa services, fine dining, and outdoor adventures.

The Weekend Getaway Package for 2 Includes:

2 Nights, 3 Days Luxury Accommodations at the elegant Skytop Lodge, Poconos, PA
Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks (Dinner not included)
Private support and individualized attention from a certified Gottman couples therapist and a Ph.D. psychologist
Semi-Private Training Seminars (Small groups of no more than 15 couples)
Break-Out Sessions with Your Partner (Practice exercises with help nearby)
Lots of Free Time to Enjoy Your Romantic Weekend Getaway Escape in the Poconos

٭ All recommendations are backed by scientific research.

Weekend Schedule of Events

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Bonus Amenities on 5,500 Acres in the Mountains

Full Schedule of Free Around the Clock Resort Activities
Golf, Rock-Climbing and Zip-lining Adventures (Additional fees)
Well-marked Hiking Trails for All Levels

Questions? Please email us at [email protected]

Escape The Routine in the Poconos

Long-lasting love is attainable only when you deliberately carve out time to prioritize yourself, your partner, and your relationship.

If you’re beginning to feel more like roommates than romantic partners, a couples therapy retreat in the idyllic Pocono mountains might be precisely what you need.

Laura and Michael met when they were young and fresh out of school. They became instant friends as two psychology nerds wanting to make a difference. They went on to fall in love, raise a family together, and build a couples therapy training program.

Like all couples, they have to manage conflict, find ways to stay connected when life gets out of control and support each other through it all.

In other words, They have to practice what they preach.

They are now teaming up to offer a small group couples therapy retreat in the Poconos.

You and your love can unplug, unwind, and revive your relationship in the breathtaking Pocono Mountains, only a short drive from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Join the thousands of couples who understand that weekend couples retreats are the best short-cut to relationship health.

What: Love Is an Action Verb Couples Retreat in the Poconos

Includes Expert-Led Relationship Wellness Seminars, Couples Exercises, One-on-One Guidance from Licensed Couples Therapists, Lodging, Meals and Plenty of Free Time to Relax and Explore the Grounds

When: TBD

Where: Skytop Lodge (2 hours from Philadelphia, PA and New York, NY)

One Skytop Lodge Road, Skytop, PA 18357

Package Costs (Per Couple, does NOT include dinners)

Standard: $2500

Before January 15th: $2200
Before February 15th $2300

Presenters: Laura and Michael Silverstein

We know how you feel.

We are a couples of couples therapists with 60 years of combined clinical experience and 21 years of marriage. Our goal is to help you deepen your emotional bond, reignite intimacy, and create a solid foundation for a lifetime of love and happiness.

"Loved the positive enthusiasm. The instructors energy is contagious ... like talking to good friends who really care."

We had a lot of "aha moments" throughout the weekend. Our biggest takeaway is that we tend to "listen to respond" instead of "listening to understand."

My husband and I had never done anything like this, and it was the best decision we could have made. The retreat was fun and informative and relaxing. Thank you, Laura and Michael (we'll see you the next one!)

Couples Retreat vs. Couples Therapy

Healthy, long-lasting love is only attainable when you and your partner deliberately carve out time to prioritize your relationship. There are many ways to acheive this. Couples therapy requires weekly or bi-weekly commitment for an hour at a time. Couples retreats require travel time and a completely cleared out weekend.

Signing up for a weekend workshop or couples retreat is a smart alternative to couples therapy for those who want a more immersive experience so they can unplug from the outside world while nurturing their relationship. Traditional couples therapy is a good choice for couples who don’t have the time to get away for an entire weekend, or who need private one on one assessment and intervention. Couples therapy retreats are led by couples therapists, but they do not take the place of individualized assessment and treatment.

If you are already in couples therapy, a retreat can be one of the easiest ways to reinforce what youre learning in a relaxed, luxurious environment. Retreats alone are not indicated if you are in a crisis, managing an active addiction or have had incidents of violence or any kind of abuse. However, if your couples therapist agrees that your relationship would benefit from adding a lighter, more positive addition to your treatment, we encourage you to discuss this with your provider, because it might pair nicely with the deeper work you are doing in the private context.

Many couples who love each other deeply are telling us that they don’t necessarily need couples therapy. They simply want a way to unplug and carve out time for their relationship. And if possible, enjoy a weekend getaway that includes seminars for couples. You’ll be far away from home in a romantic location while you might just fall in love again.

Looking for private weekend couples counseling instead of weekend workshops? Click here to learn more about our intensive couples counseling services. Teresa Thompson, Level III Gottman Couples therapist offers intensive couples therapy on Saturdays and and Sundays.

Couples Therapy Retreats Work

You can revive your relationship in 3 days. And the progress can be maintained for as long as you like by implementing the strategies in as little as 10 seconds a day.

The reason couples therapy retreats have up to a 94% success rate is because of the structure they provide. Life is busy and there are so many competing demands for our time and energy.

When you’ve signed up for something and put it in your calendar, you are more likely to actually sit down and do the work together. Cell phones are off, kids are accounted for and finally, you can focus on each other.

Relationship experts aren’t hiding what we know. You can read books and articles and watch YouTube videos. You might hear people claim that their approach is the best. But the truth is that as long as it’s an evidence-based approach, the advice will be the same. (The research all leads back to the same knowledge and recommendations). We like the Gottman approach because it provides the most structure and clarity.

Success comes when you sign up for a reputable program, engage in the content, and complete the homework.

Our Love Story

Michael and I met at UConn in 1995 (Go Huskies!). He was finishing his dissertation and I was getting my MSW at the time.

I had been dating lots of wonderful people, but the problem was that none of them knew how to talk about their feelings. I needed a fellow relational psychology nerd who valued emotional vulnerability and who also liked to have fun.

I found him 😊.

We have been married for twenty-one years, have two amazing kids, and still love each other deeply. But I am not an easy person to be married to. I am passionate and opinionated and stubborn.

We are both Gottman-trained couples therapists who have devoted our lives to helping couples revive their relationships. But, even for us, the advice doesn’t work unless we follow it.

I get critical, he gets defensive, and we both can get distracted by the many demands competing for our time and energy. So even though we have deep love and commitment to each other, our relationship could also be at risk if we’re not careful.

That’s why we make sure we schedule couples retreats for ourselves at least once a year. The magic happens when we escape from our regular routine, go to a romantic location, and focus on why we fell in love in the first place.

Why Now?

You might not need a couples therapy retreat now, but in the future, you might look back and wish you had signed up before things got worse.

Prevention is always better than intervention. It’s cheaper, more effective, and way more pleasant.

If you wait until there are problems to carve out time to prioritize your love, it is still possible to turn the ship around, just more expensive, less fun and less pleasant.

Couples therapy with a specialist is extremely expensive. It’s amost impossible to find a highly trained relationship expert with availabilty, who takes your insurance and is affordable. It is often worth the investment if your relationship is at risk of divorce or separation, but we want to help you avoid getting there in the first place.

Michael and I don’t want you to experience unnecessary pain and expenses that can be avoided. We’re not saying our retreats work for all couples, but they sell out every time and beg us to keep doing more.

Here are your next steps:

Talk to your partner

Share your thoughts about how a weekend getaway might be a great opportunity to have some fun together and learn some healthy relationship habits along the way. Listen to their opinions about the ideasso you can enter the research process together.

2. Consider your specific needs and situation

For some couples, flexibility is highly important, and for others, getting off the grid might be a top priority. Think about what is realistic for you given the constraints of your lifestyle, obligations and learning styles.

3. Schedule a consult with our intake coordinator to ask any additional questions by clicking HERE and choosing “First Time Inquiries”!

A Little Bit of History

Laura Silverstein, LCSW, Certified Gottman Couples Therapist has been a Gottman scholar since 2009 and has helped thousands of couples find happiness and revive their relationships.

Prior to COVID-19, she assisted John and Julie Gottman with Art and Science of Love workshops in Seattle. Their world-renowned weekend workshops for couples have been shown to achieve results similar to 6 months of couples therapy.

These workshops were very powerful, but they were immense (upwards of 1,000 people in a hotel ballroom). She and and Michael are inspired to create their own, more relaxed and intimate version.

A couples retreat includes everything you get at a relationship workshop but in a beautiful, remote location.

During the seminars for couples, you will learn the skills you need, while also enjoying spa treatments, great food, and lots of time for rest, relaxation and fun.

Meet the Presenters

Ms. Laura Silverstein, LCSW, Certified Couples Therapist, and author of the Love Is an Action Verb Series, is a relationship expert with over 30 years of experience helping committed couples revive their relationships and find more happiness.

You can find her action-oriented advice in places like the New York Times, Real Simple Magazine, and Cosmopolitan. As a seasoned couples therapist, speaker, and trainer, she knows how to help people build connections, manage conflict, and have more fun. Silverstein is the founder and co-owner (together with her husband of 21 years) of Main Line Counseling Partners, a private practice outside of Philadelphia specializing in couples therapy. Silverstein writes and educates with an energetic, humorous, and relatable style. She inspires people to be the best partners they can be through couples therapy retreats, youtube trainings and traditional couples therapy.

Laura Silverstein, LCSW

Certified Gottman Therapist

Dr. Michael Silverstein is a licensed psychologist and Level 3 Gottman Method Couples Therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience. He strongly believes that his clients are the experts in their own lives and works with them to set specific, achievable goals. He is very excited to be now adding couples therapy retreats to his long list of services offered.

Silverstein has a unique interest in Systems Theory and is passionate about helping couples feel more loved. He has a BA from Brown University, MA in Counseling from New York University, and MA and Ph.D degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!). He co-owns Main Line Counseling Partners with his life partner in crime, Laura Silverstein.

Michael Silverstein, Ph.D.

Level 3 Gottman-trained Couples Therapist