Tune Up, Repair, Rekindle Your Relationship
Next Hold Me Tight®
Online over 2 weekends: Sept. 17,18, 24,25, 2021
Friday 5:45-9:15pm, Saturday 9:30am-1pm
In-Person October 22-24, 2021
Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 9:30-4pm, Sunday 1-5pm
If a 4th covid wave, this event will move online.
A Hold Me Tight® couples experience is designed to deepen your engagement and connection with each other. You’ll learn from lectures, video examples of other couples & YouTube clips. Private conversations with your partner will help you to gently and safely explore your unique destructive relationship patterns and you’ll practice new communication patterns that build trust, love, and intimacy.
This retreat is based on the science of love (yes love and science go hand in hand) and Emotionally Focused Therapy. You’ll learn alongside other couples, without sharing the specifics of your relationship with the other couples and no requirement to participate in group sharing!
Next Hold Me Tight®
Online over 2 weekends: Sept. 17,18, 24,25, 2021
Friday 5:45-9:15pm, Saturday 9:30am-1pm
In-Person October 22-24, 2021
Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 9:30-4pm, Sunday 1-5pm
If a 4th covid wave, this event will move online.
Who Attends Hold Me Tight® Retreats?
This retreat is for you if:
You want to take a deep dive into the workings of your relationship.
You want to spend quality & focused time with your partner.
You find yourself in the same disagreement over and over again.
You feel like you spend more time in conflict than in good times.
You are worried your relationship is slipping away.
You want to have a stronger relationship.
Most couples are committed and looking to deepen, rekindle or heal their relationship. Some are at the beginning of their relationship, some ten years in, some many more years in.
A few couples come uncertain about the future of their relationship. Some come wondering if their relationship could benefit from the deeper work of couple’s therapy.
Same sex couples come, dating couples come, couples in their second or third relationship come, married or un-married couples come, therapists wondering about couples counselling come… get the picture?
Hold Me Tight® retreats help couples with virtually every concern, and whatever place they are at in their relationship. Amazing, and certainly not what Irene expected when she started doing these retreats, but that’s what she (and her colleagues across the world) have found!
And yes, the group nature of Hold Me Tight®couples retreats is anxiety provoking. Rest assured, there is a lot of private couple time at a Hold Me Tight® retreat and you will not be required to be an active participant in the larger group times. You can learn more about the structure of a Hold Me Tight® on the retreats FAQ’s page.
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what others have said about their experience at a Couples In Step Hold Me Tight® retreat.
Upcoming Retreats
Over 2 weekends Sept. 17, 18, 24, 25 2021
Friday 5:45-9:15pm, Saturday 9:30am-1:00pm
October 22-24, 2021 Toronto
Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 9:30am-4:00pm, Sunday 1-5pm
If the event of a 4th covid wave this event will move online.
Touch & Physical Intimacy In-person
November 2021 exact dates to be determined
Friday 4-7pm, Saturday 9am-3pm, Sunday 10am-3pm
Spring 2022 exact dates TBD
5 Thursdays, 7-9pm
Details for Online Hold Me Tight®
Takes place over 2 weekends, Fridays 5:45 – 9:15pm and Saturdays 9:30am – 1:00pm
You’ll each need to be in the same location
You’ll each receive a zoom invite to your email prior to the scheduled start time. Please sign into zoom on one device (laptop works best!)
Further information related to technical requirements
Plan on having empty floor space behind you on which you can lay down your 8×4’Lasting Connection™ mat
You will put down a deposit on the Lasting Connection™ mat when you register. The Lasting Connection™ mat will be mailed to you. When you return the Lasting Connection™ mat after the retreat (in good condition) you’ll receive most of your deposit back.
Details for In-Person Hold Me Tight®
Friday 2–6pm, Saturday 9:30–4pm, Sunday 1–5pm
Saturday lunch: onsite. Bring your own or delivered via Uber Eats at your expense. Lunch will be 30 minutes so no time to leave venue to pick up food.
Location: Lawrence Park Community Church, 2180 Bayview, Toronto (just south of Lawrence, across from Sunnybrook Hospital). Though this is a church there is not a religious focus at this retreat.
Covid considerations: Public health and provincial directives/guidelines in place at the time of event will guide proof of vaccination requirements, use of masks and other covid safety protocols. The venue for this retreat is large. Physical distancing is easily accommodated.
Communication Tool — The Lasting Connection™ Mat
At the Hold Me Tight® retreat you’ll use the circles on the Lasting Connection™ mat to clarify and deepen the messages you’re sending your partner. Your partner, also on the mat, will use the mat’s rectangles as prompts to tune into what you’re trying to communicate. The Lasting Connection™ mat will help you practice communication tools for when communication breaks down.
You will put down a deposit on the Lasting Connection™ mat when you register. The Lasting Connection™ mat will be mailed to those of you who attend an online retreat and those of you who attend an in person retreat will have a mat available to you when you arrive. Online participants will receive a $200 refund when you return the Lasting Connection™ mat after the retreat (in good condition).
Next Hold Me Tight®
Online over 2 weekends: Sept. 17,18, 24,25, 2021
Friday 5:45-9:15pm, Saturday 9:30am-1pm
In-Person October 22-24, 2021
Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 9:30-4pm, Sunday 1-5pm
If a 4th covid wave, this event will move online.
What a Hold Me Tight® Retreat Meant to this Couple
Here’s what others have said about their experience at a Couples In Step retreat.
Online – September 17, 18, 24, 25, 2021
Limited to 8 couples
| Registration Deadlines | Retreat Fee | Materials* | Total* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before Aug. 22nd, 2021 | $649 | $250* | $899* Per Couple |
| Aug. 23rd – Aug. 29th, 2021 | $674 | $250* | $924*Per Couple |
| Aug. 30th – Sept. 5th, 2021 | $699 | $250* | $949* Per Couple |
| Registration closes Sunday Sept. 5th at 11:55 pm |
*$200 for materials will be refunded upon return of the Lasting Connection™ mat (in good condition) to Couples In Step
Discounts
Please note that discounts cannot be combined. You will have an opportunity to add in the discount code as you conclude the registration process. The discount amount will be subtracted from your final amount due.
You are eligible for a $75 discount if you have been or are currently in couples therapy at Couples In Step. Discount code is CIS75
Couples currently in couples therapy with another therapist are eligible for a $50 discount/couple. Discount code is CTO50
Mental health professionals/health professionals are eligible for a $25 discount. Discount code is HP25
For couples residing in Ontario a medical receipt will be distributed at the conclusion of the retreat and may be submitted to your insurance for reimbursement. The materials cost is not included in the medical receipt you receive.
Times and Other Details
Times: Over 2 weekends: Friday 5:45-9:15pm, Saturday 9:30am-1:00pm
Internet: You’ll need to be in the same location. You will need access to a laptop or a desktop, an internet connection with good bandwidth and a private location. You’ll each receive a zoom invite to your email prior to the scheduled start time. Please sign into zoom on one device (laptop or desktop is best). Check out additional technical requirements
In addition to the technical considerations plan on having empty floor space behind you on which you can lay down your 8×4’Lasting Connection™ mat
In-Person Toronto, October 22-24, 2021
Limited to 12 couples. If this event is moved online due to a 4th covid wave, fees will be adjusted downwards.
| Registration Deadlines | Retreat Fee | Materials* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before Sept. 26, 2021 | $749 | $250 | $999 Per Couple |
| Sept. 27 – Oct. 3, 2021 | $774 | $250 | $1024 Per Couple |
| Oct. 4 – Oct. 17 , 2021 | $799 | $250 | $1049 Per Couple |
| Registration closes Sunday Oct. 17, 2021 at 11:55 pm |
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, snacks, beverages. Does not include overnight accommodation.
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, Saturday lunch, snacks, beverages. Does not include overnight accommodation.
Discounts
Please note that discounts cannot be combined. You will have an opportunity to add in the discount code as you conclude the registration process. The discount amount will be subtracted from your final amount due.
You are eligible for a $75 discount if you have been or are currently in couples therapy at Couples In Step. Discount code is CIS75
Couples currently in couples therapy with another therapist are eligible for a $50 discount/couple. Discount code is CTO50
Mental health professionals/health professionals are eligible for a $25 discount. Discount code is HP25
Please note that discounts cannot be combined. You will have an opportunity to add in the discount code as you conclude the registration process. The discount amount will be subtracted from your final amount due.
A medical receipt will be distributed at the conclusion of the retreat and may be submitted to your insurance for reimbursement. Materials cost is not included on the medical receipt.
Times and location
Times: Friday 2:00pm-6:00pm, Saturday 9:30am-4:00pm, Sunday 1:00pm-5:00 pm.
Location: Lawrence Park Community Church, 2180 Bayview, Toronto (just south of Lawrence, across from Sunnybrook Hospital). Though this is a church there is not a religious focus at this retreat.
History of Hold Me Tight® Retreats at Couples In Step
Since 2012 Couples In Step has hosted more than 250 couples in more than 20 Hold Me Tight® retreats in the Toronto area.
Couples In Step offers in-person Hold Me Tight® retreats twice a year, in the spring and the fall. They begin on Friday afternoon at 2 pm and conclude late Sunday afternoon. You’ll stay in a nearby hotel or bed and breakfast (accommodation costs are not included in the retreat fee).
Couples In Step offered the first online Hold Me Tight® in Fall 2020. Hold Me Tight® online is also offered twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
Irene Oudyk-Suk, MSW, RSW RP, is the facilitator of this weekend retreat for couples. Irene and her husband first experienced a Hold Me Tight® retreat as participants in early 2012. A few months later Irene facilitated her first Hold Me Tight®.
Hold Me Tight® registrants have come from all over the United States and Canada. In Ontario couples come from places such as Toronto, GTA, Hamilton, Windsor, London, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Kingston, Ottawa, Waterloo, Mississauga, Brampton, New Market and other places in between. Couples have also come from other provinces such as Quebec, Alberta, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Hold Me Tight® retreats are held at many other locations in North America.