What you get
Program benefits
The numbers, and the outcomes couples actually reported. From people who came through this program before you.
A Proven Track Record
In December 2015, Retrouvaille International surveyed program participants from the previous five years. 5,236 attendees responded, showing remarkable success in helping marriages. For the full methodology, see the success rate page.
To understand the context: an overview of the program, how we're different from counseling and other approaches, what you'll learn on the weekend, and how it fits into our program as a whole.
Survey results
Outcomes, by the people who showed up
The numbers below come from couples who finished the program. Not theory. Not marketing. Each percentage is a real attendee who answered the survey.
- 76% of couples who complete the program are still married five years later.
- 95% of attendees would recommend the program to a struggling couple.
- 95% felt heard, respected, and cared for during registration.
- 97% consider the program to be affordable.
- 96% said the weekend was time well spent.
What couples say changed
The same six things keep coming up when couples describe what was different after they finished.
Communication that works
Connect past the surface, past the static of running a household.
Knowing your spouse again
The hopes, fears, and longings under the everyday. Most of them are still in there.
Knowing yourself
Your patterns, your triggers, what you bring into a fight without realizing it.
Pulling in the same direction
Rebuild a shared direction so you stop waking up on opposite sides of the same problem.
Conflict that doesn't burn the house down
Disagreements happen. The damage is optional. Learn what to do when the temperature climbs.
Spiritual growth, if you want it
Reconnect with the deeper meaning of your marriage. Catholic in origin, open to all.
Communication skills you'll build
The program teaches concrete tools, not advice. Couples leave with a shared vocabulary they can use at home Monday morning.
- Listening to understand, not to win
- Writing about feelings, then reading and dialoguing
- Naming emotions without blame attached
- De-escalating when a conversation starts to slide
- Owning your part of the pattern
- Rebuilding trust after a wound or betrayal
- Making time to connect, on purpose, daily
- Finding tenderness again, on a Tuesday
Wherever you are right now
Hope and healing, on terms that work for your marriage
The program works for couples at any point. Couples in early friction. Couples who believe their marriage may be over. Whatever got you here, the program meets you here.
Common Reasons Couples Come
You don't need a particular kind of crisis to come. Couples arrive with all of these, and many more.
- Constant fighting
- Living as "married singles," together but disconnected
- An affair, recent or in the past
- Verbal abuse
- Sexual problems
- Money strain
- In-laws or extended family in the middle
- You stopped talking, really talking
- Empty nest
- Different values or different goals
- Emotional disconnection
- Long stretches apart for work
- Addiction recovery in the marriage
- Overwork, never home
Ready to begin?
One weekend. The next step is yours.
Continue reading
- What You'll LearnThe specific tools couples leave with. Communication, emotional healing, and the rest.
- The Weekend RetreatWhat happens across the Friday to Sunday intensive. Privacy, format, what couples actually go through.
- Follow-Up SessionsSix weekly sessions that build on the weekend and help couples hold the changes at home.
Need to talk to someone?
Our communities run weekends all year. Call us, email, or look for a program near you.
All conversations are confidential.