MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT EXPERIENCE

FOR CLERGY COUPLES

Studies indicate that clergy families and spouses face unique stresses. The clergy partner is often on call 24/7 and personal, family time is hard to maintain.  Clergy spouses and children often feel that they live under a congregational microscope

and are expected to perform in certain prescribed ways.  In other cases they are expected to be invisible – keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves lest they reflect badly on their Reverend Father or Mother. In some cases, both partners are clergy which may further intensify and complicate the stresses.

With special consideration for the particular needs and challenges of clergy couples Clergy Care Services offers a unique Marriage Enhancement Experience for Clergy Couples. This is a private and confidential 5 day focused opportunity to refresh, redirect and restore a couple’s relationship through an integrative experience employing a variety of tools which promote personal awareness and develop a couple’s unique communication and connecting skills.  The program emphasizes the sometimes seemingly mundane, but always critical, behaviors necessary to develop relationship practices which become the virtues (habits) of a spiritually enriching marriage.

This program is available to individual couples at their convenience. It normally begins on a Monday evening and concludes by Friday afternoon. The experience combines 6 to 8 hours of structured sessions employing the administration and interpretation of various personality, temperament and relationship inventories.

These provide the foundation for personal discussions and explorations during the week as the couple enjoys leisure time together exploring historic (400 years)

Santa Fe, NM (The Land of Enchantment).  During the final day the couple again works with the leadership team to refine and refocus their relationship skills. As a

part of the program the team is available for two telephone consultations over the following two months.

The Marriage Enhancement Experience is conducted by the male/female therapeutic team of Jim and Melissa Leehan.  Jim is a retired Episcopal priest and Marriage and Family Therapist and Melissa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  As a clergy couple they have “been there, done that.”  For further information contact them at 505-424-3949 or jimleehan@msn.com or mjleehan@msn.com. Endorsements from previous clergy couple participants available upon request.

Accommodations for the Marriage Enhancement Experience for Clergy Couples are available through various facilities in Santa Fe.  Special rates have been arranged

at conference centers, B&Bs and hotels depending on the “romance index” you

desire and the “budget index” you require.  We can advise.