Three-Day Marriage Clinic™

There are 25 Essential Marriage Skills for marriage satisfaction.

Following them = Thriving marriage
Rejecting them = Dying marriage

Though couples experience different symptoms, such as anger, resentment, and withdrawal, the root of these issues is almost always the same: violation of these 25 Essential Marriage Skills.

Instruction and training sessions are presented in a group format. Then break out into private sessions (just you and your spouse) for discussion, private experiential counseling, and activities and resolution of marital issues. (Selected clinics are held using secure videoconferencing.)

 

Concentrated Format

Unfortunately one-hour couples counseling sessions just don’t offer enough time to develop the essential marriage skills or heal the damage done from violating them. When couples bring painful issues to the surface without enough time to resolve them, these couples actually re-activate these old wounds and go away feeling worse than when they came! Leaving a counseling session with unresolved agitation tends to create more conflict among couples—not less.

Photo of happy couple
The Three-Day Marriage Clinic™, facilitated by Karl Elkins, eliminates this problem by addressing issues in a concentrated, three-day format. It’s equivalent to receiving 18 weeks of marriage counseling in just three days. This format allows time for each partner to be heard and to actually resolve each issue that rises to the surface.

A heart surgeon would never open you up once a week for 18 weeks. He would instead address all of the relevant issues during a single operation. Wouldn’t it be great if you could open up all the hurtful events of your emotional heart, and resolve them over three days? Through the Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ you can!

 

Key Benefits

  • Prevents new hurts. Weekly one-hour sessions leave you more sensitive and vulnerable to new hurts that are raised but not completely resolved. This format allows for plenty of time to completely resolve the issues.
     
  • Cost effective. The Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ costs about $22 an hour per couple—much less than hourly rates of $90 to $200 for individual and couples counseling. Those who feel the need to follow-up with individual or couples counseling will require far fewer sessions.
     
  • It works! Ample time is provided to resolve each issue that surfaces as both parties are able to address “their side of the story” and contributing factors.
     
  • Addresses root problems. With enough time, the surface issues can be peeled back and the root problems can be addressed.
     
  • Allows for the “how my partner influenced me to do what I did” factor. If you are influencing your partner’s “bad” behavior, wouldn’t you want to know? The Three-Day Marriage Clinic allows time to discover this.
     
  • Fluid. It is much easier for couples (and counselors) to flow from one issue to the next whenever sessions are provided back-to-back, rather than on a weekly basis.
     
  • Fast. Experience the equivalent of 4-5 months of counseling in only three days. In three days most couples can successfully resolve all of their conflicts—or at least master the process to resolve these conflicts on their own.
     
  • Distraction free. This format allows you to escape the distractions of chores, children, TV, e-mail, phone, and work so you can get your partner’s full, undivided attention. This is especially true if you choose to stay in a hotel, which we highly recommend.
     
  • Agreeable. Partners who will not commit to weekly counseling for six months, are often much more open to our three-day approach.
     
  • More effective with partners having affairs. Often when one person wants out of a marriage it is because they are involved with another person. In these difficult cases, it is important to get them out of their harmful environment (away from the other person) and allow enough time to pierce through their calloused heart. Rarely will this person commit to the typical six months of weekly sessions—because they usually just want out. However, they will often consider three days of counseling.
     
  • Eight to 17 percent more actual counseling time. In weekly counseling, counselors take five to ten minutes each hour to document the session, receive payment and schedule future sessions. The Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ avoids this administrative time completely because all of the charting, scheduling, and payment for all 18 hours is taken care of at one time.
     
  • May be reimbursed by your insurance company. If your policy covers educational group counseling, you could be reimbursed (more insurance information). If not, at $22 an hour, the Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ is still an excellent value.
     
  • Can be easily followed up with individual/couples counseling as needed. Many want the security of ongoing follow-up marriage counseling to guard against relapse or to deal more thoroughly with difficult and issues. The Monthly Marriage Enrichment Group offers support, encouragement, and accountability through the counselor and other couples.

What Will You Learn?

Essential Relationship Concepts

  • One Concept that Stops All Arguing
  • Six Warm-Up Steps that Guarantee Successful Conflict Resolution
  • Avoiding the Number One Reason Relationships Struggle and Fail
  • 14 Aspects of Successful Communication
  • Eliminating Worry, Fear, and Anxiety that Prevents Abundant Life
  • Getting to the Root of Addictions
  • Discovering True Freedom by Gaining Powerful Self-Control
  • Conquering Impure Thoughts and Habits
  • Understanding Unique Gender Issues and Roles
  • Getting to the Root of Your Children’s Bad Behavior

Relating to Your Spouse

  • What Does a Happy Marriage Really Look Like?
  • Discovering Twelve Needs of Your Spouse
  • Meeting 91 Percent of your Partner’s Needs in 30 Seconds
  • Three Barriers to Intimacy
  • Getting Your Partner to Share More Heartfelt Emotions
  • How Problems and Emotional Distance Develop
  • How to Stop Fighting over Money
  • Why Meeting Needs with Good Intentions Is Not Enough
  • Protecting Your Marriage from Infidelity
  • Communicating Desires, Needs, and Hurts Without Provoking Anger
  • Eliminating Your Partner’s Anger
  • Helping Your Partner Resolve Childhood Hurts that Can Hinder Present Relationships
  • Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts and How They Predict Certain Marital Conflicts
  • Alleviating Your Partner’s Feelings of Loneliness
  • Discovering Your Partner’s Need of the Moment
  • How Misapplying Boundaries Destroys Your Marriage
  • How Misapplying the “God Is All We Need” Concept Damages Marriages and Families

Reconciliation and Recovery

  • Helping Your Partner Discover Ways They Hurt You
  • Why “Coping” with Problems Is Not Biblical
  • Why “Just Choosing to Forgive” Doesn’t Fully Work
  • Experiencing Six Steps to True Forgiveness
  • Recover from Adultery
  • Regaining Trust after Adultery
  • 15 Consequences when a Man Initiates Divorce
  • 17 Consequences when a Women Initiates Divorce
Photo of happy couple
 

Key Differences

Still trying to decide which marital counseling solution is best for you? Check out our comparison chart below. (Both Three-Day solutions include similar instructional material and topics, but in different formats.)

  Three-Day
Accelerated Marriage
Counseling (AMC)™
Three-Day
Marriage Clinic™
Individual/Couples
Counseling
Teaching and sessions Private (you, spouse, counselor) Group Private (you, spouse, counselor)
Discussion Private (you, spouse, counselor) Private (you and spouse only) Private (you, spouse, counselor)
Experiential counseling,
activities, resolution of issues    
Private (you, spouse, counselor) Private (you and spouse only) Private (you, spouse, counselor)
Meeting location Christway offices, videoconference Church, hotel conference room, or videoconference Christway offices or videoconference
Videoconference option Available Selected clinics Available
Hours 18 18 Multiple one-hour appointments
Days 3 (flexible) 3
Insurance coverage More likely Less likely More likely
Cost $3420/couple $25-190/person ($50-380/couple) $190/hour
 
 

Dates, Locations & Details

The Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ typically follows this schedule (with some exceptions noted below):

  • Friday 1:00pm–7:00pm
  • Saturday 8:30am–2:30pm
  • Sunday 1:00pm–7:00pm

Teaching and sessions are in a group format. Discussion, experiential counseling, and activities and resolution of issues are conducted privately. We currently hold the Three-Day Marriage Clinic™ in the Houston area, Austin, and other locations. Upcoming dates and detailed location information are shown below.

January 10-12, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

February 7-9, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

March 21-23, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

April 25-27, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

May 23-25, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

June 20-22, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register

July 18-20, 2025

Zoom Videoconference
Register


Cost

The cost to register for the Three-Day Marriage Clinic is $190 per person ($380 per couple), non-refundable. (If, due to an emergency, you cannot attend, you may contact us to attend another scheduled clinic.)

A church has generously offered to subsidize the fee for the first 20 people (10 couples), allowing registration for a reduced cost of $25 per person ($50 per couple), non-refundable. To register at this discounted rate, you must be one of the first 20 people (10 couples) to submit prep packet paperwork.

All payments are non-refundable.

Some health insurance plans may cover group counseling (more insurance information).

Register Online

 

Videoconference Clinics

Selected clinics are provided by secure, private videoconferencing. This option can be especially desirable for couples located outside of the Houston and Austin areas.

  • No need to travel or drive
  • No hotel needed
  • Counseling in the comfort of your own home
  • Child care not necessary (though may still be helpful)
  • Experiential activities (you and your spouse) happen in the complete privacy of your home
  • Some visual presentations may be easier to view on your own personal devices
  • HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing options offer industry-standard privacy during your counseling sessions
 

How Do I Get Started?

Do you have questions about the Three-Day Marriage Clinic™? View our FAQ page for a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive. Or just contact us by phone or e-mail.

Ready to sign up for the Three-Day Marriage Clinic™? You’ve got two options:

Online FormOnline Registration Form
PDFPrintable Registration Form

 

Want to try a few introductory sessions first? Or just need follow-up counseling? »