Bridging Tantra and The Science of Relationship
Join us on a private retreat, designed just for your couple, and ripen your capacity for pleasure and deep connection. Become the lovers you have longed to be.
Our professional experience in couple and sex therapy allows us to understand your history as individuals and as a couple to help you develop an erotic vision for the future. We draw upon decades of training in tantra, yoga and meditation to guide you through sensually rich exercises and unique conversations that will inspire you towards your full erotic potential.
Participants will step out of time,
into a sacred space engaging
Eye to eye,
belly to belly,
pelvis to pelvis,
and heart to heart,
new erotic possibilities will emerge.
The experience will be transformational.
Who is this for?
Who comes on Ripening Retreats?
Couples come to us longing for great sex. Often they are focused on sexual functioning and ask questions like: “Why won’t my body do what I want it to do?” “Why don’t I feel enough desire?” “Are we having enough or the right kind of sex?”
For some of our couples this is a first step. Others have already been to couple therapy. Some have even been in sex therapy or tantric training and may have felt a glimmer of what’s possible, but they come to us because they know they have only begun to explore what’s possible.
How it works
Preparing for your Retreat
Step One: A free 15-minute consultation by phone
Ask us lots of questions and tell us what you are looking for! Together we will decide if you are ready to set up an intensive assessment over Zoom.
Step Two: 3-Hour Assessment over Zoom
Our intensive 3-hour conversation is an assessment and a launching pad all in one. You will get a sense of who we are and what it will be like to work together. You deserve to know that we are the right guides for your couple and that we will support and challenge you in the best ways possible. The conversation allows us to ensure that this is the right time for your couple to attend the retreat. You will find that the assessment alone inspires changes in your couple.
At the end of our 3-hour conversation we will know whether your couple is ready to proceed. If your couple needs some additional preparation, we will talk about how best to do that. If you are ready to schedule a Ripening Retreat, we will spend the last portion of our time discussing the various retreat options. The question to consider regarding selecting the right duration for you will be how much intimacy are you ready to pursue?
Step Three: Attend your Ripening Retreat
We host your retreat at Dr. Berry’s home sanctuary in Warwick, NY. We will recommend local accommodations as you will be staying off-site and enjoying breakfast and dinner on your own. We will provide lunch and snacks on retreat days.
Step Four: Follow-up Conversation
Two months after your retreat we will meet again on Zoom to celebrate changes that have occurred in your couple and highlight areas for future erotic and relational growth.
Welcome to your sanctuary
What to Expect
Your Ripening Retreat will be completely private and safe.
Your couple will have our full attention and care. You will always be fully clothed in our presence and our interventions with you will never involve sexual contact.
Your Ripening Retreat will be personally tailored to your relationship.
This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Our assessment process allows us to meet you right where you are in your development as individuals and as a couple.
Your Ripening Retreat will be challenging and exciting.
Whether you spend two, three or four days with us, our time together will be paced for optimal learning. You will move between guided experiences with us and time in your own private space to explore what you are learning. There will be breaks for lunch, for rest and for time outside. Everything that happens is for your sensual awakening!
You will learn how to:
- Create safety in your relationship that fosters playfulness and ease
- Enhance intimacy using eye gazing, breathwork, touch and movement
- Understand the secrets of arousal
- Develop a personal owners manual for yourself and your partner
- Explore the erotic terrain beyond mutually satisfying sexual experiences
Your Ripening Retreat will lead to lasting change.
The skills you learn with us will be practical and yours to keep. You will marvel at how your erotic transformation extends beyond your time with us and far beyond the bedroom.
Meet Your Guides
Dr. Karen Berry
Karen is a psychologist, trainer, master clinician and coach. She has extensive training in many disciplines, including PACT (the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy), sex therapy, Short-Term Strategic Therapy, yoga and yoga therapy, tantra and other embodiment practices. For 35 years it has been her greatest pleasure to witness people take their pain and disappointment, their anxiety and depression, their disabilities and failures and turn them into gold. Her work is always about giving people tools to be their best self with their most important others.
For the last 20 years, Karen has been on a quest to integrate sacred sexuality practices with the science of healthy relationships. Finally, Ripening Retreats are the way!
Caroline Russell Smith, LCSW
Caroline Russell Smith is a clinical social worker who has dedicated her career to complex trauma recovery, sexual justice and erotic liberation. Her sex therapy work with couples is heavily influenced by her training in the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy. She is currently developing the Ripening Model of Secure Erotic Functioning with her colleague Dr. Karen Berry and together they are offering professional trainings as well as retreats for couples. Widening access to clinical knowledge is a guiding principle for Caroline. She has facilitated a free LGBTQ+ support group for the last 15 years and offers sexuality and gender workshops for colleagues, parents, teens and college students in her community. Caroline’s goal as a white, queer, cis, middle-aged, married human is to meet every encounter with an abundance of tender humility and open-hearted curiosity. And some laughs for sure.
Read more about Caroline
How to Start
- Before embarking on your journey, we’ll begin with a free 15-minute phone consultation.
- The Ripening Retreat process will begin with a Three-Hour Zoom Assessment: $1,500
- For each retreat option, a suite with a private bathroom will be provided for your use for each day of the retreat. We also provide a workbook.
Option 1:
2-day Retreat (8 hours) $5,800
Day 1: Afternoon Orientation (2 hours)
Day 2: 10am-4pm (6 hours)
Post Retreat Check-In: via Zoom ~2 months after Retreat (2 hours billed at the $500/hr. rate (this is in addition to the above option pricing))
Option 2:
3-day Retreat (14 hours) $10,000
Day 1: Afternoon Orientation (2 hours)
Day 2: 10am-4pm (6 hours)
Day 3: 10am-4pm (6 hours)
Post Retreat Check-In: via Zoom ~2 months after Retreat (2 hours billed at the $500/hr. rate (this is in addition to the above option pricing))
Option 3:
4-day Retreat (18 hours) $13,000
Day 1: Afternoon Orientation (2 hours)
Day 2: 10am-4pm (6 hours)
Day 3: 10am-4pm (6 hours)
Day 4: 10am-2pm (4 hours)
Post Retreat Check-In: via Zoom ~2 months after Retreat (2 hours billed at the $500/hr. rate (this is in addition to the above option pricing))
Have Questions? Get in Touch
Please reach out to learn more about Ripening Retreats.