When your relationship needs more than a weekend away.
Ellington, Connecticut Couples Retreats
Couples from across the entire region come here to do the work—together.
Our Retreat
When the Distance Feels Too Wide to Bridge
There was a time when connection came naturally.
Now, even the simplest conversations feel fragile—like every word might come out wrong.
You’re managing life together, but not really living it together.
Eventually, an hour a week just isn’t enough.
What you need isn’t more time—it’s time held differently.
With structure. With privacy. With someone who knows how to guide you back from the brink.
Our private couples retreats in Ellington, Connecticut, are designed for that kind of deep, deliberate repair.
Quiet. Grounded. Unrushed.
In a town where barns outlast decades and covered bridges still span creeks and rivers, you’ll find the stillness to feel—and the courage to try again.
This isn’t a getaway.
It’s a turning point.
That’s what our private couples retreats in Ellington, CT offer:
Time. Focus. Privacy.
A way to begin again—together.
These intensives aren’t just about talking differently.
They’re about living differently—right there in the room, while it still matters.
You’ll explore the deeper roots of conflict, rebuild trust where it’s cracked, and practice new ways of relating in real time.
It’s immersive. It’s effective.
And it’s built for couples who want change now—not someday.
Reconnect through a private therapy intensive just outside one of the world’s busiest cities.
Ellington, Connecticut is just two hours from Manhattan—but it feels a world away. Quiet. Private. Deeply restorative.
Do the deeper work—with the space to feel it, or the distance to finally breathe.
In either case, experience deeper healing—in less time.
Why a Retreat?
Because some problems can’t be solved in fifty minutes.
In traditional therapy, the clock is always ticking.
Just as you’re getting to the heart of it, the session ends—and you’re back in traffic.
But a retreat gives you uninterrupted time to go deeper, faster.
No schedule conflicts. No surface-level check-ins.
Just skilled, focused guidance—and space to actually feel something shift.
You don’t need more sessions.
You need more truth.
More time = deeper work.
More focus = faster insight.
More privacy = fewer defenses.
This isn’t therapy as usual. It’s a reset.
One designed for couples who are ready to stop spiraling—and start rebuilding.
Meet Your Connecticut Therapist
Havi Kligfeld
Deep work deserves a steady guide.
Havi is a seasoned couples therapist known for her calm, clear presence and her ability to name what others shy away from—with care, not judgment.
Trained at the prominent Ackerman Institute for the Family in Manhattan, and grounded in both science and soul, Havi brings over two decades of experience helping couples navigate infidelity, disconnection, and long-standing conflict. She is one of the few Gottman Method Couples Therapists worldwide, and also draws from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Discernment Counseling to guide each couple with clarity and depth.
Now offering private intensives in Ellington, Connecticut, Havi works with couples ready to get honest, go deeper, and change the way they relate—not just talk about it.
Ellington, Connecticut
Pastoral. Grounded. Just Far Enough.
If you’ve ever dreamed of hitting pause without flying cross-country, Ellington delivers.
Nestled among old red barns and winding country roads, this quiet New England town offers the reset your relationship needs—with none of the Manhattan noise, and all of the realness.
It’s a place where your nervous system exhales.
Where therapy doesn’t just happen in an office—but while walking past weathered silos, sipping coffee in still air, and sitting across from each other without a single buzz or ding.
Ellington is just over two hours from the city—but feels a world away.
Leave the pace behind. Come do the deeper work—without the pressure to perform.
Stay at the historic Daniel Rust House, or retreat to a charming Airbnb where you can laugh, cry, and reconnect without an audience.
Because sometimes the most radical thing you can do… is slow all the way down.
The Unseen Cost of Relationship Distress
When your relationship is struggling, it doesn’t stay in its lane.
It spills—into your sleep, your work, your body, your peace.
You feel it in the silence at dinner.
In the way you hold your breath before speaking.
In the bone-deep ache of being next to someone and still feeling alone.
Conflict doesn’t just make life harder.
It makes you harder—less open, less hopeful, less like yourself.
And when well-meaning friends offer shallow advice—or worse, blame—
you’re left more isolated than before.
You don’t need more opinions.
You need clarity.
You need space.
You need someone who won’t flinch when things get hard.
You can survive next to someone for years without ever being seen.
But that’s not marriage.
That’s a life sentence with nicer furniture.
— Dr. Kathy McMahon, Founder, Couples Therapy Inc.
Is a Connecticut Intensive Retreat Right for You?
Not every couple needs a retreat.
But if you’ve been circling the same argument for months…
If you’ve tried traditional therapy and still feel stuck…
If time, distance, or pressure are pulling you apart…
This might be the reset you’ve been looking for.
Our Connecticut retreats are designed for couples who are:
We’re not for everyone—and we won’t pretend to be.
If you’re managing untreated mental illness, active addiction, or domestic violence, those deserve specialized care—and we’ll help you find it.
But if you’re ready to do the real work—with heart, courage, and honesty—we’re here.
This is for the ones who won’t settle for surviving.
This is for the ones who want to really live.
You’ve been holding your breath for a decade.
It’s time to exhale.
After the Retreat: Carrying It Forward
The breakthroughs don’t end when your retreat does.
We offer structured follow-up to help you maintain the gains you’ve made, including:
We’re here for your growth.
We’re not just here for your crisis.
How is all of this done?
How is all of this done?
We don’t expect you to know. That’s our job.
That’s why we’ve mapped the path—step by step, human to human.
No guessing. No scrolling through a list of strangers.
Just a clear, guided process that starts with real listening—and ends with a clinician that actually fits.
We’ll walk you through what it’s like to work with us:
Whether you’re nervous, hopeful, or somewhere in between, you’ll come away knowing exactly where to start.
Let’s Begin
You built a beautiful life.
But not the part worth waking up for.