A Hold Me Tight®️ Couples Workshop is a One Size Fits All Tool for Couples.

Its beauty lies in its versatility. While no two couples are alike, all couples tend to share similar patterns, preferences and problems. We are all looking for a connection, a safe, dependable bond for a lifetime. A Hold Me Tight®️ workshop based on the bestselling book by Dr. Sue Johnson, helps any couple understand these dynamics better. And that is true for couples of all configurations, including same sex couples. Society has too long focused on the differences between binary and non-binary couples. The politics of fear has instilled suspicion and animosity where it need not be. In truth, couples are far more alike than different, regardless of their sexual orientation. 

A lesbian couple sits on the beach embracing, representing the strengthened bond created by the Hold Me Tight® workshops offered by Couples Workshops of Florida. Couples Retreats, can augment your Marriage Therapy. Serving couples all over the world including Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

Same Sex Couples Face Unique Challenges

Yet and still, same sex couples do face unique challenges and obstacles. These couples often encounter isolation, ostracism and opposition from family, in the workplace and in society at large. Attitudes and norms are changing, but can still be harsh, judgmental and punitive. Same sex couples often face obstacles that binary couples simply don’t. And, while many same sex couples are truly resilient, tenacious and deeply committed, the added pressures they face can be hard and take a toll on a relationship. This is why a HMT®️ workshop can be especially helpful for same sex couples. The bigger the challenges and obstacles, the more couples need a strong bond and safe connection. A HMT®️ workshop offers all that in spades!

Lessons of Attachment Science

We all have needs and desires… to be seen, heard, felt, understood and, most of all, valued. We all need to know that we matter to our special one. We crave that connection. We seek it from cradle to coffin. A HMT®️ workshop teaches the lessons of attachment science. Couples learn to understand better what for so long has seemed a mystery. Love really makes exquisite sense. The more we understand, the more we can manage, shape and strengthen our relationships.


Learn Empathy and Understanding During Couples Retreats

HMT®️ helps partners open up and become more accessible and responsive and engaged with each another. Couples learn to be more vulnerable, to recognize and then express their needs, desires, fears and flaws. Couples learn empathy and understanding; they learn to be there for one another.


A lesbian couple laying on their bed celebrating their pregnancy representing an improved relationship built on the foundation of trust learned in the Hold Me Tight® workshops offered by Couples Workshops of Florida who serves couples in Florida, Alabama. Georgia, North Carolina and all over the world.

Gain a New Perspective

Couples come away with a different perspective, not only on their partner, but on themselves and their relationship. They come away feeling safer with their partner and more able to support one another. They often heal past hurts and find hope they never had (or thought they’d never have again). 

Create a Strong Bond

HMT®️ workshops help couples to connect on a deep, primary level. Skills like these are crucial for any couple. But, for same sex couples facing pervasive pressures and challenges in the real world, the safety and comfort of a strong, dependable bond can make all the difference toward a happy, lifelong loving relationship.

Everyone is Welcome at Our Couples Retreat

In our HMT®️ couples workshops, Vicki and Mark take all comers, all couples, any age, any stage, any configuration. No two are totally alike, but all have so much in common—and that’s what we focus on. Come join us.

A gay couple laughing and working together to apply the skills learned in the Hold Me Tight® workshops presented by Couples Workshops of Florida. They serve couples in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and beyond!

 Begin Strengthening Your Relationship Today with a Hold Me Tight® Couples Retreat in Florida


Are you are a Same Sex Couple and find the challenges of the world overwhelming your relationship? Do you find connecting on a personal level to be more and more challenging? Is it a struggle to feel safe and secure in your relationship? If any of these sound like where you are at in your life, you are not alone. Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshops, offered by Vicki and Mark, offer a safe place to reconnect and learn how to grow in your relationship. This workshop will leave you equipped to continue enriching your relationship long after the weekend is over. Follow the steps below to get started on your empowering journey.



A couple embraces by the water after rekindling the romance in a Couples Retreat in Orlando, FL. Couples Retreats are offered to couples in Florida and throughout the United States.

Have a Safety Plan

We All Need Predictability

By Mark Beck • April 25, 2025
If you are invested in the stock market, it’s been a roller coaster lately. Indeed, perhaps the best short run strategy is to close your eyes and hold on and ride it out—just like on a roller coaster! However you view the market moves we’re seeing—tariffs and the like—one thing is pretty clear: markets don’t like unpredictability. Uncertainty makes markets very nervous. Hence, lots of ups and downs make for tension and trouble. It’s human nature; unpredictability is stressful in any context.

Safety First

By Mark Beck • April 1, 2025
A local factory required all of its employees to attend a safety class. One fellow didn’t really pay attention and when the final exam at the end of the class asked, “In case of a fire, what steps would you take?” the fellow answered, “Large ones!” “Safety First” is a wise strategy, everywhere from the workplace to the highway to healthcare to childcare. Injuries and accidents cost multiplied billions every year and it’s always better to prevent an accident than to treat one. Whatever the setting, people do better when they feel safe.

Curious or Critical

By Mark Beck • March 14, 2025
Somebody said, “Marriage is a never ending conversation.” I think that’s true. It certainly is a never ending education. That’s part of what makes it fun. Everyday I learn something about my wife, Debbie, about how she sees the world and sees me. And I’m often surprised at our different perspectives. We were on the verge of an argument the other day, simply because we both saw the situation very differently. Neither of us were wrong. But, once I realized how Debbie saw things, I understood her actions and reactions much better. And I realized again that a real key to connection lies in understanding, more than being understood. The late Sue Johnson used to say, “People calm down when they feel understood.” I’ve certainly found that to be true.

Love Is a Team Sport

By Mark Beck • January 29, 2025
If you’re a sports fan (specifically, football) this is your favorite time of year. The NFL playoffs showcase the best of the best and even for the non-fanatics out there, some important truths are evident. Football, like many other sports, is a team game. For sure, individual superstars shine, but only because those around them pull together for a common goal. The best teams operate as one. Eleven players, all on the same page: focused, supportive, picking each other up, pursuing the same goal. When they do, they become more than the sum of their parts…highly efficient. They minimize mistakes and overcome them when they happen. When adversity hits, lesser teams slip into fault finding, sniping and looking out for number one. In any sport, if teammates ever become opponents, they can’t win. It’s game over.

Relationship Rescue

By Mark Beck • January 24, 2025
You might remember the cruise ship Costa Concordia that foundered off the coast of Italy in 2012 after her captain carelessly steered her too close to shore. Rocks tore a 175 foot gash in her hull and the ship listed severely to her starboard side, taking on water and running aground. Ultimately, 32 people died and the recovery cost about $2 billion. Perhaps the greatest blunder though, was that the captain waited over an hour to give the order to abandon ship. For such negligence, he was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years. Indeed, he left the ship with 300 passengers still on board! (He said he “fell” into a lifeboat as it was being lowered.)

Help Is Nearby

By Mark Beck • January 17, 2025
I had a close call today. I was almost duped by a very slick hacker. He posed as a security guy from PayPal and I nearly gave him remote access to my computer. (I know, that sounds pretty stupid on my part.) Fortunately for me, when things smelled fishy, I tapped out before any real damage was done. But, I didn’t know what to do from there. I unplugged my PC and called an expert. He knew just what to do and he got me up and running in no time. What a relief! It cost me a few bucks, but most likely saved me a lot more. Computers are a necessary evil in my life. I can’t even imagine managing my home or my business without one. But, they can sure be troublesome. And a cyber wizard, I am not. That’s my problem. I know just enough to be dangerous. It sure eases my mind that help is available when I need it. Because some things I can’t fix. That doesn’t make me stupid…it’s just not my expertise.

Comfort Isn't Always Comfortable

By Mark Beck • January 10, 2025
Intimate relationships are never easy and too many don’t survive. Courtrooms and counselors’ offices are full of couples who didn’t set out to destroy their love; it just looks as if they did. Maybe you’re one of those couples…trying to figure out how you went from newlywed to nearly dead...and you never saw it coming...or you did and you didn't know how to stop it.
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando is a great way to ring in the new year

Happy New Year

By Mark Beck • January 2, 2025
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando is a great new years resolution

When You Hit Turbulence

By Mark Beck • December 16, 2024
Now and then, I travel by air. I enjoy it, for the most part. But, on one trip, seemingly out of nowhere, the plane hit heavy turbulence. Suddenly, the cabin was shuttering and shaking. I looked outside; the wings were visibly bouncing up and down as the plane lurched and pitched. I tried to hide my fear, but (pardon the pun) it really shook me up. My stomach tightened; my breathing got shallow. I couldn’t think straight. Having such little experience with something like that, I feared we would crash. But, then, I noticed the flight attendants. They were cool as the backside of a pillow…no panic or alarm. I wondered how they could be so calm. Soon the pilot came over the intercom and in a steady, measured voice, explained that turbulence is normal, the plane was built for much, much worse and it would all subside in a few moments. The crew had been through this many times. They understood what was happening and what to do. I was so glad that somebody did! Their calm was contagious. Gradually, I was able to relax and realized that it wasn’t the crisis I had feared it was. That was a game changer. I got through it and now, turbulence isn’t the problem it used to be for me when I fly. It still happens, but I know what it’s about when it does and that gets me through. .

In Person Or Online?

By Mark Beck • December 2, 2024
Vicki and I will start something new in March of 2025. We have been leading in person Hold Me Tight®️ couples retreats at least four times a year for six years now. No two are the same; we always see amazing results and we get more than we give every time. And, in addition to our in person workshops, we’ll also begin offering online Hold Me Tight®️ workshops next year. In person and online workshops are definitely different. Each format has its own advantages. So, what’s different about the two and what is the same and which might be best for you? I’m glad you asked.
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