Five weeks. SYMBIS+ debrief. A Repair Inventory of what's wearing thin. Language, patterns, family map, and stress points — re-aligned. You leave with a written Maintenance Rhythm: the joints and check-ins that keep a working marriage working. Tune-up, not triage. Not therapy, not crisis intervention. Available worldwide via Zoom.
Book a Free Discovery CallMost married couples don't need crisis intervention. They need a tune-up. A structured pause to look at what's wearing thin, what's quietly drifted, what's still working, and what hasn't been talked about in years because life kept moving.
Marriage Renewal Essentials is built for couples who would say: we're not in trouble, we're just due. Due for a real conversation. Due to look at the joints that have been load-bearing without inspection. Due to put a maintenance rhythm in writing so the next stretch doesn't drift the way the last one did.
Tune-up, not triage. Not therapy, not crisis intervention.
In five weeks, we run the SYMBIS+ assessment to give us a current baseline (yes, it works for married couples — the data is just as useful here). We complete a Repair Inventory together. We update the vocabulary you use with each other. We map the families of origin that still shape this season of your marriage, and the stress points that are pressing on you now. And then we build the Rhythm.
At the end, you have a written Maintenance Rhythm document. Weekly check-ins, monthly state-of-the-union, an annual review cadence, and the early signals you've both agreed to honor. The architecture that keeps a working marriage working.
Renewal isn't a watered-down version of pre-engagement work — it's the same architecture, applied to a marriage already in motion.
The SYMBIS+ instrument works just as well for married couples as it does for pre-engaged ones. You'll each complete it again (or for the first time), and we debrief it as a current-state snapshot — where you both are now, in this season, with this many years and these specific things behind you. The baseline is honest.
Gottman's research isn't just predictive of which marriages last — it's prescriptive about which behaviors keep them healthy. In Marriage Renewal Essentials, we use Gottman as maintenance language: the Bids for Connection you've been missing, the antidotes to the patterns you've slipped into, the rituals you've quietly let lapse and the ones worth rebuilding.
Each phase has a job. By Session 5, the Maintenance Rhythm is on paper and the joints are tightened.
We start with the data and the dictionary. SYMBIS+ debrief gives us the current snapshot. The Repair Inventory surfaces what's wearing thin. And the Sound / Workable / Watch / Concern vocabulary gets installed (or refreshed) so both of you have language for what you've been feeling but not naming.
Two sessions on what's actually pressing on the marriage right now — the family-of-origin patterns still active in this season, and the specific stress points the current chapter is producing.
The final session is where the document gets built. Together, in the room, we draft the weekly, monthly, and annual cadence the marriage will run on from here — plus the early signals you've both agreed to honor before anything has to become a crisis.
Every 90-minute session follows the same intentional structure. Run it the same way every time. The structure is the medicine.
| Time | Element | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0—10 min | Check-In | Brief temperature read — how are you both arriving today, separately and together. |
| 10—20 min | Last Week Review | What you applied between sessions. Wins, friction, surprises — all of it goes in the room. |
| 20—55 min | Core Content | Session-specific work: SYMBIS+ debrief, repair inventory, vocabulary, family map, stress points, or rhythm construction. |
| 55—75 min | Couples Practice | Guided exercise completed together in the session, with Andy facilitating and observing in real time. |
| 75—85 min | Synthesis | What are the 2—3 most important things from today? What's the one action between now and next week? |
| 85—90 min | Week Ahead | Specific assignment: a check-in to run, a worksheet to complete, or a small repair to test. |
By Session 5, the rhythm is on paper. The materials don't expire when the program ends.
Your current-state SYMBIS+ personalized assessment report
Completed Repair Inventory — what's wearing thin, named and ranked
Shared Sound / Workable / Watch / Concern vocabulary, installed or refreshed
Updated Family Map for the current season — patterns still active, patterns released
Stress Points document — current-chapter pressures named, addressed, owned
Your written Maintenance Rhythm — weekly, monthly, annual cadence, plus early signals
Gottman maintenance tools you can apply immediately — Bids for Connection, antidotes, and ritual repairs
"By Session 5, you'll have a Maintenance Rhythm — not a hope. A signed cadence, named pressures, and the language to keep the marriage you built in good repair."
— Andy Uhlig, Certified SYMBIS Facilitator
Is this therapy?
No. Marriage Renewal Essentials is a coaching tune-up, not therapy and not crisis intervention. If your marriage is in real distress — active affair recovery, abuse, untreated mental health or addiction issues — that warrants licensed therapy, and I will tell you so honestly and refer you to clinicians I trust.
We're not religious. Is this faith-based?
Spiritual but not religious. Faith-optional. The SYMBIS+ assessment includes a faith and values section because those are real dimensions of a marriage — but how you engage with it is entirely up to you. This program works for couples of all backgrounds, beliefs, and none.
How do sessions work? Are they in-person or virtual?
All sessions are conducted via Zoom, which means Marriage Renewal Essentials is available worldwide. Sessions are 90 minutes, scheduled weekly at a time that works for both of you. You'll need a private space where you can both be present and focused.
What if we discover something bigger than a tune-up?
That's not a failure — that's the program doing its job. If something surfaces in Session 1 or 2 that genuinely warrants therapy or longer-form work, I'll tell you, and I'll help you find the right next step. We can also pause the program and resume later. The point is to do honest work, not finish on schedule.
Thirty minutes with Andy to talk about where the marriage is, what a tune-up could look like, and whether Marriage Renewal Essentials is the right fit. No pressure, no sales pitch — just a real conversation.
Book a Free Discovery Call