Couples retreats
Katina and Nick

After an initial exploratory conversation with a couple, we design the retreat for anything from a half-day to several days.

Our hopes for couples we work with are that they will understand more about how they show up in their relationships, what they can do as individuals to self-regulate, what they can do to minimise and work with repetitive dynamics, and how they can have more honest and skilful conversations with each other about what they need, how they feel, and how they can respond to each other in helpful, compassionate ways.

Nick and I bring ourselves and our relationship to our couples sessions in ways we hope role-model an imperfect, strong relationship; inspire honesty and courage; and normalise the patterns, themes and challenges of what being in a loving relationship involves.

We share many similar premises and frameworks but also bring our individuality, unique perspectives, and our different genders to how we work together.

We like to say that our arguments are just as ugly as any other couples but our post-mortems are hopefully, shorter and with more insight, empathy, and ownership on both sides!

We met in 1984 in Sydney, Australia, married in 1987 and are very grateful to continue to share our lives over the last 40 years.

We've had many adventures together including moving to Greece in 2006 as we both have Greek heritage. One of the most consistent values in our relationship is learning and growing as individuals and as a couple. We have always prioritised our own development as people and therapists, and have decades of experience working with individuals and couples in various settings.

We offer Couples retreats on the beautiful island of Kithira where we live. Retreats are for couples who are at the point of breaking up to couples who want to deepen their already good relationship - and everything in between. We also see work colleagues, siblings, parents and children, friends: any kind of relationship that needs attention and space for in-depth understanding and better communication.

When we work with couples, we listen deeply, identify patterns and stuck points, help each person understand their contribution to the relationship's dynamics, guide more direct and connecting communication, work with individuals, and explore difficult topics - all within an open, supportive and sometimes challenging environment.

Kithira

Katina visited Kithira for the first time in 1982 on her first trip to Greece. Her maternal grandparents are from Kithira and she suggested that we both visit after we'd seen many beautiful Greek islands over the years.

We have been holidaying on Kithira since 2008 and living here since 2020.

It is one of those secret, less-travelled islands that is still under-stated, under-developed and attracts interesting foreigners and Greeks.

There are great places to eat, beaches, boat cruises around the island, organised walks, an acupuncturist, herbalist, artists, musicians, yoga teachers, writers, and unique, restorative places to explore.

It's a perfect place for a couple to reconnect, talk, walk, eat meals together, swim, rest, continue the work from our sessions and reflect on what they first fell in love with in each other, how they co-create their relationship dynamics, what they can do to have better quality conversations, and what they might want now...

More about Kithira and getting there