Most other programs
Will decline you if:
- One spouse doesn't want to be there
- There is an active affair
- You are already separated
- Divorce papers have been filed
- You're coming alone, without your spouse
- You've already tried therapy and it didn't work
Most programs won't take your marriage. We will.
Active affair. Divorce papers filed. One spouse already mentally gone. The marriages other programs decline are the ones we built the Couples Workshop for. 6 to 9 months of marriage work, in 3 days. 70% of graduates are still together at two-year follow-up.
Online or in-person. Solo Path if your spouse won't come. We screen every application.
Is this for you? If any of these apply, the answer is yes.
The Workshop is built for the marriages most programs decline. If any one of the following describes where you are right now, you are exactly who we built this for.
- One spouse has emotionally checked out, or already said the word divorce.
- There is an active affair, or one that "ended" but didn't really end.
- You are separated, or one of you has moved out.
- Divorce papers have been filed or threatened.
- You've tried therapy, once, twice, or with multiple counselors, and it did not work.
- You are the only one trying to save the marriage.
- Your spouse will come, but they're pissed off about it.
- Your spouse refuses to come, and you're considering coming alone.
Come as you are. Come with your divorce papers in hand. It doesn't scare us.
Why we work on the marriages most programs decline.
Almost every other marriage program has the same fine print. Both spouses must be fully committed, and there can be no active affair. The exact two conditions that describe most marriages in real crisis.
The Marriage Helper Workshop
Will work with you when:
- One spouse is pissed off about being there
- There is an active affair, or one that "ended"
- You are separated or living apart
- Divorce papers are filed or threatened
- You come alone, on the Solo Path
- You've tried therapy multiple times
The plan. The 7 Steps. Three days.
The 7 Steps are Marriage Helper's structured intervention. The specific sequence we've refined since 1999 through 25,000+ couples. The Workshop walks both spouses through all seven across three days. Tap each step to see what's inside.
Step 01Calm down.
Marriage crisis runs on chaos. You can't think, you can't sleep, you're reactive, you're walking on eggshells. Step one is regulating the nervous system, both yours and the marriage's, so the work that follows can actually land.
Frameworks introduced: Nervous system regulation · "Calm Down" protocol
Step 02Situational clarity.
Most spouses in crisis are looking at the wrong thing. You think it's the affair, the communication, the finances. Step two is naming what's actually happening, including the mechanics underneath you couldn't see from inside it.
Frameworks introduced: The Wall · Why People Divorce (Gottman research) · The Three R's (Like · Love · Respect)
Step 03Stop the pushes. Start the pulls.
Every interaction either pushes your spouse away or pulls them toward you. And whether it's a push or a pull is decided by them, not by your intentions. Step three is the behavior-level reset that changes the marriage from your side, immediately.
Frameworks introduced: Push & Pull · The Four Horsemen (Gottman) · The Triangulation of Love (Sternberg)
Step 04Forgive and reconcile. The 5 E's.
Reconciliation is not "I forgive you" said out loud. It's a sequence. Expose, Express, Empathize, Establish, Engage. Step four is the actual mechanics of moving past what happened, including affairs, betrayals, and years of accumulated hurt.
Frameworks introduced: The 5 E's of Reconciliation · Dealing with Hurt · Anger work
Step 05Rebuild trust.
Trust is not a feeling. It's the result of consistent, observable behavior over time. Step five is the specific work of rebuilding trust after it's been broken: what each spouse does, in what order, on what timeline.
Frameworks introduced: Attachment Styles & the ECR-R · Moving to the Secure Quadrant
Step 06Reignite passion and intimacy.
Most marriages in crisis lose intimacy long before they lose connection. Step six is the mechanics of attraction. What creates it, what kills it, and how to bring it back without it feeling forced or performative.
Frameworks introduced: The LovePath · Limerence · The mechanics of attraction
Step 07Create the marriage you actually want.
You don't just want the marriage back to what it was. What it was got you here. Step seven is building the marriage you actually want: shared direction, shared decisions, a vision both spouses are pulling toward.
Frameworks introduced: The Four Behavioral Styles · Communication processes · Shared-vision planning · PIES (Physical · Intellectual · Emotional · Spiritual)
Want the full list of frameworks taught? 12 in total, with brief descriptions.
Grounded in peer-reviewed marriage research (Gottman, Sternberg, Fisher, Johnson) and refined through 25,000+ couples since 1994.
Push & Pull
Why control destroys marriages.Every interaction either pushes a spouse away or pulls them in, judged by them, not by you.
The Wall
The barrier most marriages can't get back over.The emotional structure that builds over years of unresolved hurt. We teach how to take it down.
The Triangulation of Love
Intimacy · Passion · Commitment.Sternberg's three components, and what happens to a marriage when one or two collapse.
The Four Horsemen
Gottman's predictors of divorce.Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling, and how to replace each.
The Three R's
Like · Love · Respect.People leave because they don't feel one of these. The framework for restoring each one.
The 5 E's of Reconciliation
Expose · Express · Empathize · Establish · Engage.The actual mechanics of moving past an affair, betrayal, or years of accumulated hurt.
The LovePath
The mechanics of falling in love.Falling in love is a process. Run it and you fall. Vacate it and you fall out. We teach the map.
Limerence
What's underneath "I'm in love with someone else."The neurochemistry behind the affair partner your spouse "can't get over."
Attachment Styles & the ECR-R
Why your spouse reacts the way they do.A validated assessment plus the framework for moving toward Secure attachment.
The Four Behavioral Styles
How you process conflict, and they don't.Most fights are two behavioral styles colliding. Stop fighting the surface.
Communication Processes
Specific sentences. Specific moments.Not abstractions. Actual sentences you can use Monday morning.
PIES
Physical · Intellectual · Emotional · Spiritual.The four domains of self-work. Marriage crisis touches all four; recovery has to, too.
What you walk out with. Five specific shifts. Measured.
Couples who finish the Workshop don't just leave with hope. They leave with specific, observable change. Most report the following within the first month.
Freedom
No more anger running you. The chronic emotional charge that was eating you alive actually shifts.
Clarity
You stop guessing. You stop checking their face for clues. You know what's going on.
Behavior change
Pulls instead of pushes. Friends notice. Family notices. The change is real and visible.
Calm
Not anxious. Not chronically guilty. The constant low-grade panic actually subsides. You sleep again.
Almost unstoppable
Both spouses, same direction. When the "why" is bigger than the next argument, the marriage holds.
A note from Kimberly
If you've made it this far, I want to talk to you directly.
I know what brought you here. Maybe you've been awake at 2 AM searching for the next answer. Maybe your spouse just told you they're done. Maybe you're the one who isn't sure anymore, and the guilt is eating you alive.
I'm not going to promise you that the Workshop will fix everything. What I can tell you is that we have spent 32 years working with the marriages other people gave up on, and we have watched 70% of them come back.
My team and I have been married. We have been through hard. We know what it's like to be where you are right now. We aren't theorists.
If you're lacking hope, you can borrow some of mine. I believe in your marriage even when you don't.
Please fight for it. Apply when you're ready.
Dr. Kimberly Beam Holmes
CEO, Marriage Helper
Tuition. About 12% of the average contested divorce.
Tuition is paid only after your application is approved and our team has confirmed the Workshop is your right next step. Payment plans available (Klarna, Afterpay).
Solo Workshop
$1,997For one spouse. When your partner won't come, or when you're the only one ready right now.
- Three full days of curriculum
- Solo Path materials and plays
- Written take-home plan
- Online or in-person
Couples Workshop
$2,997Both spouses, walking through the 7 Steps together. The format the 70% is measured on.
- Three full days for both spouses
- Couple-specific materials and plays
- Written plan you build together
- Online or in-person
For reference. The average contested divorce in the U.S. costs $25,000+ in legal fees alone, not counting what divorce costs afterward.
Online
From home, live, smaller cohorts.
Same curriculum, same outcome data. Best when travel or childcare isn't possible.
In-Person
3 days at our TN headquarters.
Most immersive option. The room dynamic is something you can't recreate.
Solo Path
When your spouse won't come yet.
About 30% of attendees come alone. Same curriculum, Solo Path plays.
Add-on bundles for continued support. 3 months of Coaching + Marriage Helper Community for an additional $649, or 6 months for $1,299.
Upcoming workshop dates. Pick a format. Apply for the date that fits.
Multiple cohorts each year across all four formats. If a date doesn't fit your schedule, the next one usually does.
In-Person Couples
Spring Hill, TN
- June 12–14
- July 10–12
- August 7–9
- September 11–13
In-Person Solo
Spring Hill, TN
- June 26–28 Men only
- September 25–27 Men only
Online Couples
Live, via video
- May 29–31
- June 26–28
- July 24–26
- August 14–16
- September 25–27
Online Solo
Live, via video
- May 15–17
- June 5–7
- July 10–12
- August 7–9
- September 18–20
Ready to pick a date? Apply, and our team confirms fit before tuition is paid.
Apply for the Workshop →Couples who walked in expecting to walk out divorced.
Real Workshop graduates, two years after their three days with us.
I'm so blown away by the information I was given that led to a peace I've been fighting for.
This workshop gives you the tools for marriage you wish you would have had 10 years ago.
He would flinch when I touched him. Thank God for Marriage Helper. We reconciled.
The Solo Workshop helped me navigate my marriage crisis and gave me so much hope. A year later we attended the Couples Workshop. The process works. Do it for you, no matter what.
My wife said it was "too late." After the workshop it migrated to "I'm just scared to come back."
Still married two and a half years post workshop. We did in-person and it was great.
Questions before you apply.
If your question isn't here, you'll have a chance to ask it when you talk with our team.
My spouse won't come. Should I still apply?
Yes. Apply for the Solo Path. About 30% of our attendees come alone, and a remarkable number of those marriages still come back. Many start solo and finish with the spouse joining a future cohort.
My spouse will come, but they're pissed off about it.
Totally fine. Even if they're pissed off, as long as they're willingly coming, we can work with that. The group setting does something one-on-one therapy can't. Your spouse isn't being singled out. They're learning alongside 20+ other couples with no one putting them on the spot.
There's an active affair. Will this still work?
Yes. The Workshop was, in part, built for this. Come as you are. The day-two limerence framework is specifically designed for affair-stage marriages.
Divorce papers have been filed. Are we too late?
Usually not. We've seen marriages with filed divorce papers come back. The window narrows when papers are filed; it does not close. Apply quickly. We'll tell you honestly whether your situation has a realistic shot.
We've already tried therapy. How is this different?
Therapy explores patterns over months. The Workshop is a structured 3-day intervention with a defined curriculum (the 7 Steps) and a measured outcome (the 70%). We don't dig through your childhood, force confessions, or rehash every past argument. Information doesn't equal transformation without proper application. So we give you the application, not just the information.
I can't afford it.
The average contested divorce is $25,000+ in legal costs alone. Workshop tuition is roughly 12% of that. We also offer payment plans (Klarna, Afterpay) so you don't need the full amount up front. If financing genuinely isn't possible, ask us when you apply. We have options.
I can't take three days off work.
Honest question to consider: can you take three days off for your marriage? The Workshop is live for a reason. Watching it on your own schedule destroys the effect. We run multiple cohorts a year, so if these dates don't work, others will.
Why is this an application, not just a purchase?
Because we screen for fit. A few situations call for a different starting place. Active domestic violence, untreated severe mental illness, or a spouse being coerced. The application includes a real conversation with our team. We hear your situation, you hear our honest recommendation, and we decide together.
Will the Workshop be religious?
No. The Workshop is grounded in peer-reviewed social science research. Some team members are Christians and don't hide it, but the curriculum is not religious. Couples of every faith, and no faith, attend regularly.
Can I add coaching or membership after?
Yes, and we recommend most couples do. 3 months of Coaching + Marriage Helper Community for an additional $649, or 6 months for $1,299. The Workshop opens the door. The months following are where new patterns either solidify or fall back.
If anything works, this will.
Apply and talk with our team. We hear your situation, you hear our honest recommendation, and we decide together whether the Workshop is your right next step. No pressure.
Most applications get a call back within one business day.
