Couples Workshops in Pasadena

Tsoline Kouyoumjian, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist (EFT) based in Pasadena, California. She specializes in helping couples break free from painful relationship patterns and build secure, lasting emotional connections using attachment-based, research-supported approaches. Tsoline brings a warm, compassionate, and grounded presence to her work, creating a supportive space where couples can deepen understanding, trust, and connection. Learn More About EFT-Certified Couples Therapist & Facilitator Tsoline Kouyoumjian

A Hold Me Tight® workshop is a structured, two-day relationship retreat based on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), one of the most research-supported approaches for couples. Through short teaching segments, guided private conversations, and structured exercises, couples learn how to identify negative cycles, express deeper emotional needs, and strengthen secure attachment — the foundation of lasting closeness.

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) typically unfolds across weekly sessions, allowing space to integrate insights over time. A Hold Me Tight® weekend condenses the core components of the EFCT change process into a structured, experiential format. For couples who are new to EFCT, the workshop provides foundational psychoeducation about attachment, negative cycles, emotional safety, and core relational needs. For couples who are actively engaged in EFCT, the weekend offers an intensive opportunity to reinforce themes from therapy, deepen emotional conversations, and complete guided exercises that may take longer to reach in weekly work. All personal work happens privately with your partner, not in a group format. Many couples find the combination of therapy + workshop to be particularly powerful.

This retreat is ideal for couples/ relationships who:

• Feel stuck in recurring arguments or communication patterns

• Want a deeper emotional connection

• Are longing for more closeness, trust, and understanding

• Are in couples therapy and want to enhance the work

• Are interested in beginning EFT but haven’t started therapy yet

• Have been feeling like “roommates” and want to reconnect
  Whether your relationship is strong but longing for deeper intimacy or struggling and needing a path forward, this workshop meets you where you are.

Many couples who attend are experiencing significant disconnection, high conflict, or painful cycles that feel hard to break. The Hold Me Tight® model is specifically designed to help repair emotional injuries, reduce reactivity, and increase safety. If your relationship is in acute crisis (e.g., ongoing affairs, recent separation, active violence, or untreated severe mental health concerns), we encourage you to reach out so we can help determine whether this workshop or a different form of support is the best next step.

Not at all. This workshop is helpful both for:

• Couples currently in therapy, who want to accelerate progress

• Couples new to therapy, who want a powerful introduction to EFT
  Many partners attend as a way of strengthening connection before beginning regular therapy—while others attend mid-therapy as a transformative reset.

No. The workshop includes group teaching, but all emotional conversations and vulnerable work happen privately between you and your partner. You can relax knowing you will not be asked to disclose anything personal with others in the room.

It’s extremely common for one partner to feel unsure, overwhelmed, or anxious. This workshop is gentle, structured, supportive, and not confrontational. There’s no public sharing, no forced vulnerability, and no surprises. Many hesitant partners end up reporting that the workshop felt safer, calmer, and more grounding than they expected. If helpful, we can provide a short call or written overview to help your partner feel more comfortable.

Yes. The workshop is fully inclusive of LGBTQ+, queer, non-monogomous, poly, and gender-diverse partners. EFT is an attachment-based model relevant to all relationships, and our approach is affirming, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive.

Not necessarily, they’re just different! Both have their own benefits, and they can even work beautifully together.

This Hold Me Tight® couples retreat offers a focused, immersive experience designed to help you and your partner reconnect, understand each other more deeply, and begin shifting unhelpful patterns. It can be a powerful catalyst, especially if you’re feeling stuck or need a jumpstart.

However, lasting relationship change often takes time. Weekly therapy allows for ongoing support, integration, and the kind of consistent emotional rewiring that helps new patterns really stick. Many couples use the retreat to complement their therapy, to gain momentum, or to reconnect after hitting a rough patch. It’s not a replacement, but it can absolutely be a turning point.