The Couples Intensive at Mallory Creek is not a retreat in the conventional sense. It is a structured, multi-day clinical program specifically designed for couples experiencing:
✓ Entrenched conflict
✓ Emotional disconnection
✓ Intimacy disruption
✓ Patterns that have persisted despite prior treatment
Led by Dr. Mike Abrams and Dr. Lidia Abrams, who both trained directly with Albert Ellis, the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the program brings a level of clinical depth, scholarly authority, and specialized expertise rarely available in intensive couples treatment.
Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and one of the most influential figures in the history of sex and couples treatment, is not a distant historical reference on this site.
Dr. Mike Abrams and Dr. Lidia Abrams trained and worked directly with Ellis for more than fifteen years. The clinical philosophy, the treatment structure, and the theoretical framework underlying the Couples Intensive emerged from that direct collaboration and continued to evolve through decades of advanced clinical practice, scholarly publication, and clinician training. Very few practitioners today can claim a direct professional lineage to Ellis. That lineage is not a credential to be listed in a biography. It is the foundation of everything offered here.
Dr. Mike Abrams and Dr. Lidia Abrams are not generalist therapists offering a retreat experience. They are clinician-scholars whose careers each span more than three decades of advanced clinical practice, scholarly publication, clinician training, and direct intellectual lineage to one of the founders of modern cognitive and sex therapy. Together, they bring a combined 65 years of clinical experience.
✓Dr. Mike is ABPP board-certified (one of only 13 National CBT Board Certifications in NJ), the author of multiple books and scholarly publications, an NYU professor, and an international lecturer in cognitive-behavioral therapy, sexuality, and evolutionary psychology.
✓Dr. Lidia is a Fellow and Supervisor of the Albert Ellis Institute (holding Diplomate status), with over 30 years of clinical experience specializing in high-conflict couples. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of a licensed nonprofit mental health agency.
Your intensive takes place in the complete privacy of our 180-acre private property. This serene sanctuary provides an ideal environment for a private retreat dedicated entirely to your relationship, with all lodging, meals, and amenities fully provided.
The program is particularly well-suited for couples experiencing:
Weekly therapy has real limitations. Sessions are separated by days of unresolved conflict, avoidance, and emotional disengagement. Momentum is difficult to sustain.
Deeper cognitive and emotional patterns, the ones that actually drive chronic relational distress, often remain untouched beneath surface-level communication work. The Couples Intensive is designed to interrupt those patterns. Its immersive, multi-day structure creates the therapeutic continuity that weekly treatment cannot.
Couples work intensively across:
✓ Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions.
✓ Intimacy-focused interventions.
✓Structured daily sessions with a treatment plan built specifically around their relationship.
Designed exclusively for one couple at a time, our private intensive offers a deeply transformative experience tailored entirely to your needs. All lodging, gourmet meals, and resort amenities are fully provided on our 180-acre private property.
“Working with both Dr. Mike and Dr. Lidia Abrams completely transformed our dynamic. Having two seasoned clinicians in the room meant nothing was missed, and their balanced, direct approach gave us breakthroughs we never thought possible.”
— M. & S. (Couples Intensive)
“Dr. Lidia Abrams and Dr. Mike Abrams bring an incredible depth of combined experience. They don’t just listen together, they challenged our old patterns with razor-sharp clarity and deep compassion, giving us concrete tools that changed how we communicate.”
— J.K. & A.K. (Intensive Therapy Clients)
“We had tried multiple therapists before with very little progress. Working with both Dr. Abrams gave us immediate insights into our core relational dynamics that years of traditional counseling missed.”
— A. & D. (Relationship Intensive)
“Their expertise in cognitive-behavioral and relational therapy is unmatched. Dr. Mike and Dr. Lidia created a space of absolute safety where we could finally dismantle our defenses and rebuild trust.”
— R.V. & N.V. (Private Practice Patients)
“The two-clinician format is a complete game-changer. Dr. Lidia and Dr. Mike immediately understood the complexity of our situation from both perspectives, guiding us through a breakthrough we desperately needed.”
— T.L. & K.L. (Couples Therapy)
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