The Couple’s Enrichment Retreat, “A Step Together,” is for transplant recipients and their spouses/significant others.
The weekend (Friday afternoon through Sunday noon) takes place in beautiful Saint Simons Island, Georgia, and is open to organ transplant recipients and their spouse/significant other, and the parents of pediatric transplant recipients. The goal is to enable couples to learn skills and to share experiences that help to increase their mutual understanding and commitment to each other.
The retreat is designed for those who value their relationship and want it to be strong and enduring while dealing with the ongoing stress related to transplantation. The facilitator for the weekend is Jackson P. Rainer, PhD, (read bio) a psychologist nationally renowned for his work with couples confronting the challenges of chronic illness. In addition, there is a session called "Caring for the Caregiver" to help parents cope with caring for a chronically ill child. The weekend is planned to include both private “couples” time, as well as shared group discussions.
Whether you have a good relationship with your significant other or are in one that needs improvement, the Couples Retreat helps you re-focus your attention on each other instead of the transplant as the center of discussion. You don’t feel alone or as though you are the only person with these feelings and questions. You meet others that are in the same boat as you and no one is judging you.
-Christine C, Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipient
Previous Couples Enrichment Retreat Attendee
Register The next Couples Enrichment Retreat will be held in Spring 2025. Please note that space is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis – so get on our waiting list asap!
Requirements:
- MUST be a transplant recipient and the spouse/significant other (in a long-term committed relationship) of a transplant recipient, or have a child who is a transplant recipient.
- The transplant recipient must be at least six months post-transplant.
- Commit to attend the entire weekend beginning Friday evening at 6:00 pm.
- Plan travel to and from Saint Simons Island, and must plan to arrive on time.
- The retreat is not open to those who have attended before.
Please fill out the form below to let us know that you are interested in attending the next Couples Enrichment Retreat so we can place you on our waiting list.
Map & Additional Info
About Jackson Rainer, Ph.D., ABPP
Professor of Psychology and Department Chair of the Psychology and Counseling Department, Valdosta State University
Jackson Rainer, Ph.D., ABPP, Board Certified Clinical Psychologist, is nationally known and respected as a psychotherapist, educator, author and expert in the areas of grief and bereavement, and end of life and palliative care. Dr. Rainer is a practicing psychologist at the Care and Counseling Center of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, He has taught, consulted, supervised, and written on issues related to life and loss, death and dying, and grief and bereavement for more than 25 years in multi-disciplinary social service and mental health settings. He maintains an active psychotherapy practice that includes grief counseling, and consultation with individuals and families in the presence of life-threatening, chronic, and debilitating illnesses.
He is the former chair of the Publication Board for Division 29, Psychotherapy, of the American Psychological Association, is on the editorial and publication boards of seven psychology journals, and serves as a Media Representative for the APA. His research appears in such journals as Innovations in Clinical Practice and the Journal of Clinical Psychology. He is the author of Life After Loss: Contemporary Grief Counseling and Therapy.
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