Whether you are a new couple who needs to prepare or a couple who has been together and now needs to repair, at the Koumidou Retreat Center we offer unique one-, two-, or three-day private couples retreats that provide an experience equivalent to six months in the therapist’s office. During our retreats, we work together to expand, deepen and transform your self-awareness and relationship, enabling you to move forward with greater clarity.
These changes are inevitable when you have the focused attention, intuition, psycho-spiritual wisdom, and 30+ years of experience of licensed psychotherapist Yolanda Koumidou. Your experience is enhanced by the luxury of unlimited time, since the work is scheduled with no clocks running.
Through the work performed, you gain new perspectives into how and when a problematic habit pattern was formed, discover the adjustments it needs, and walk away with immediate new skills to make the necessary changes that bring harmony in your relationship and inner peace in your mind and heart.
You will experience all this in a private setting, one couple or one individual at a time, working outdoors. Spending time in forests has been scientifically proven to alter key body functions, resulting in a more relaxed body and mind. At the 70-acre Koumidou Retreat Center, all retreats are offered outdoors surrounded by woods, mountains, streams, and valleys. To get an idea of Yolanda’s approach to the work, you may tune in to any of her Awareness Sucks podcast episodes.
Yolanda Koumidou, LCSW, BCD, CHt, has been sharing her natural talents and skills with couples, individuals, and groups for more than 30 years.
Yolanda’s unique retreats are rooted in her deep conviction to honor both the psychological and spiritual aspects of all human beings. She does this by integrating age-old teachings with cutting-edge psychological methodologies. All her retreats intertwine theories and practices such as Bonding Patterns,
Voice Dialogue, ecopsychology, quantum physics, energy clearing, and hypnotherapy. Her respect for the common message in all esoteric traditions manifests as the thread
that runs through all her work.
The retreats are for couples who are starting out as well as for couples who have been together for years but are now feeling stuck or feel they need a boost in their journey together. Prior individual therapy is a plus, but not required.
You have a choice of a one-, two- or three- day retreat.
Retreats begin in the morning at the time most convenient for you and continue for a full day. Yolanda utilizes an array of therapeutic methods as needed. These might include, but are not limited to, Bonding Patterns, Voice Dialogue Facilitations, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Educational Information, Spiral Meditation, Hypnotherapy, Energy and Dream Work, and more.
The goal is to have you walk away with a deeper understanding of your personalities and needs and an actual map in hand, illustrating relational patterns that allow you to see each other through a new lens, providing guidance for the next steps in your relationship.
For couples who are starting out, the focus is more on preparing for the journey ahead. This entails uncovering the intricate current “dance” between you, which helps predict and address patterns that may require future attention.
For couples in longer relationships who are feeling stuck, we find the root causes of current problems, identify the areas that may need change, adjustment, or acceptance, and introduce new knowledge and specific skills in working on those areas.
For couples who are ready for a boost, the focus is directed on building on the existing strengths and further expanding to embrace new phases in the relationship, rekindle joy, and emotional and sexual connection.
Our retreats are unique because: You work one-on-one with Yolanda Koumidou, LCSW, BCD, CHt, a seasoned couples therapist working with couples for over 30 years. Yolanda is also a popular podcast host, whose podcast has over 100 episodes focusing on harmony within relationships.
Koumidou Retreats hosts one couple at a time, ensuring personalized attention.The sessions are not timed by a clock, allowing us to work together throughout the day, with breaks as needed. You’ll participate in sessions both individually and as a couple.
Weather permitting, the retreat activities take place outdoors surrounded by the serene beauty of woods, streams, valleys, and mountains in absolute privacy. The experience these retreats provide is equivalent to at least six months in a therapist’s office. No couple leaves the same at the end of this kind of retreat.
The 70-acre Center is on the outskirts of Schoharie village, located at the foothills of New York’s Catskill Mountains.
You can:
1. Drive
2. Fly to the Albany International Airport
3. Take Amtrak to the Albany-Rensselaer train station
From the airport or train station you may take an Uber/Lyft for the 35-minute drive to the Center.
The retreats are offered only in-person. If you are unable to travel, Yolanda Koumidou will travel to your location to offer this retreat in the comfort of your own home from November to March.
After your registration is completed, a list of recommended B&Bs and Airbnbs close to the Center will be sent so you can make your own overnight arrangements. It is highly suggested that you arrive the night before the start of the retreat and depart the day after the retreat conclusion. The fee paid to the Center includes the retreat sessions and lunch only. It does not include overnight accommodations.
Refund Policy
Full refunds, minus a $100 administrative fee, will be provided until two weeks (fourteen days) prior to the date of the retreat. 50% refunds will be provided until one week (seven days) prior to the first day of the retreat.
Under no circumstances, including illness, will a refund be provided if participants cancel in less than seven days prior to the date of the retreat. Payments are not transferable to other dates, or programs.
Cancellations
The Koumidou Retreat Center reserves the right to cancel any retreat. Full refunds will be issued to the participants.
The registration process begins with a 15–20-minute free phone consultation. If it’s agreed that you are ready for the retreat, you will proceed with the registration and scheduling. However, if further clarification is needed for your presenting concerns, then a 1-2 hour couples meeting with Yolanda, in-person or virtual, is arranged in preparation for the retreat.
To inquire about retreats, kindly complete the form on our contact page or text us at 516.297.8811. If you prefer to call, you can reach us at 516.568.0306.
