What’s a Hold Me Tight® Retreat?
Online
Friday 6-9:30pm, Saturday 10am-1:30pm
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!
Online
Friday 6-9:30pm, Saturday 10am-1:30pm
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
Online
Friday 6-9:30pm, Saturday 10am-1:30pm
Online
5 Thursdays, 7-9pm
In Person
Friday 4-7pm, Saturday 9am-3pm, Sunday 10am-3pm
In-Person, Toronto
In-Person, Toronto
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 you. When you return the Lasting Connection™ mat after the retreat (in good condition) you’ll receive your deposit back.
Details for Online Hold Me Tight®
Two weekends, Fridays 6 – 9:30pm and Saturdays 10 – 1:30pm
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 your deposit back.
Details for In-Person Hold Me Tight®
Postponed for now, Friday 2–6pm, Saturday 9:30–4pm, Sunday 1–5pm
Lunch on Saturday: bring your own or delivered via Uber Eats at your expense
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.
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
Limited to 6 couples
| Registration Deadlines | Retreat Fee | Materials* | Total* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before | $624 | $200* | $824* Per Couple |
| $649 | $200* | $849*Per Couple | |
| $689 | $200* | $889* Per Couple | |
| Registration closes Sunday at 11:55 pm |
*Materials cost is refunded with the 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.
Couples currently in couples therapy with another therapist are eligible for a $75 discount/couple. Discount code is MHP75
Mental health professionals/health professionals are eligible for a $50 discount. Discount code is HP50
You are eligible for a $125 discount if you have been or are currently in couples therapy at Couples In Step. Discount code is CP125
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: Friday 6 pm-9:30 pm, Saturday 10 am-1:30 pm
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, 2021
Fees likely to be reduced in a covid environment with reduced food & beverage service
| Registration Deadlines | Retreat Fee | Materials* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before___, 2021 | $715 | $204 | $919 Per Couple |
| ___-___, 2021 | $745 | $204 | $949 Per Couple |
| ___-___, 2021 | $785 | $204 | $989 Per Couple |
| Registration closes Sunday___, 2021 at 11:55 pm |
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, Saturday and Sunday lunch, snacks, beverages. Does not include overnight accommodation.
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, Saturday and Sunday 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.
Couples currently in couples therapy with another therapist are eligible for a $75 discount/couple. Discount code is MHP75
Mental health professionals/health professionals are eligible for a $50 discount. Discount code is HP50
You are eligible for a $125 discount if you have been or are currently in couples therapy at Couples In Step. Discount code is CP125
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.
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). During 2020 (due to Covid) there was only one in-person Hold Me Tight® retreat.
Couples In Step will offer the first online Hold Me Tight® Fall 202o.
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.
Hold Me Tight® is a registered trademark to Sue Johnson. The Hold Me Tight® retreat is based on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Dr. Johnson’s bestseller book, Hold Me Tight®, Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love.
Winter 2021, Toronto, ON fees
| Registration Deadlines | Retreat Fee | Materials* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before ___,2021 | Per Couple | ||
| ___-___, 2021 | Per Couple | ||
| ___-___, 2021 | Per Couple | ||
| Registration closes Sunday ___, 2021 at 11:55 pm |
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, Saturday and Sunday lunch, snacks, beverages. Does not include overnight accommodation.
*Materials cost includes the venue charges, workbooks, Saturday and Sunday 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.
Couples currently in couples therapy with another therapist are eligible for a $75 discount/couple. Discount code is MHP75
Mental health professionals/health professionals are eligible for a $50 discount. Discount code is HP50
You are eligible for a $125 discount if you have been or are currently in couples therapy at Couples In Step. Discount code is CP125
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-6:00 pm, Saturday 9:30am-4:00pm, Sunday 1:00pm-5:00pm.
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.