I'm working on a story partially set at a marriage counselling retreat. It's a murder mystery/romance set in the present day, and the clinic/retreat would be run by a therapeutic team and would have approximately 8 couples. The setting is an acreage in the wine country of Northern California, and it's going to be fairly therapeutic in physical layout and practical activities, rather than being a fun 'B&B'-type retreat. There will be gender segregation, group activity rooms, communal recreation rooms, private therapy rooms, etc, like a private therapeutic clinic.
I was wondering if anyone has experience of - or knows where I could go to find out - what specific activities and exercises the couples would do.
Websites of individual clinics have general information, such as "group and individual therapy, group recreational activities, experiential exercises, homework" etc, but I'm hoping to get more specific information on the exact exercises, activities, therapeutic techniques, such as: "Trust exercise, tell your partner three things you've never told them", "Intimacy exercise, describe in detail three of your best memories of time you spent with your partner", "Group therapy focusing on taking responsibility for unconstructive communication techniques", etc. I'm trying to get a picture of how exactly a couple staying at the retreat for 10 days say, would be spending all their time. Would there be a progression of therapeutic activities? How much unstructured time would they have? Would they do individual or group activities off-site? What exactly would their homework be from day to day? That kind of thing.
Thanks and appreciation in advance for any help.
E2A: I know that marriage counselling is a very specific segment of therapy; if anyone has personal experience or insights into other types of clinical retreats, be they for eating disorders, addiction, OCD, or other issues, that would be helpful as well.
Search terms: marriage counselling, couples counselling retreat, institutional couples therapy, inpatient couples therapy, group couples counselling retreat
