Dr. M.P. Wylie’s Amore Retreat has been a part of Idyllwild’s therapeutic tourism community for 11 years now. Amore’s website calls their couple’s retreats “A journey of renewed connection and lasting intimacy.” The Crier spoke with Dr. Wylie about her innovative approach to couples therapy this week.

Wylie works out of a spacious yet cozy home office, and only sees one couple at a time. “The original home living room is my office and where I hold the retreats. It has its own entrance, deck, and rock fireplace, and is a very warm and welcoming environment; with the original knotty pine walls and ceiling and wood flooring.”

The retreats last five days, with daily three-hour sessions in which she “guides them through some of the challenges in the relationship. We usually cover four or five personal challenges; each gets to pick two things they would like to discuss and work on.” Mixing vacation and inner work and removed from the routine and stress of daily life, couples reconnect and find their path forward. “It’s so rewarding to see them transform before my very eyes.”

To complete the retreat experience, Wylie partners with local businesses. “I have an Idyllwild page on my website, they pick from lodging I have listed.” Amore has partnered with two local inns, The Creekstone and the Grand Idyllwild Lodge, with other options on the list. The site also lists local restaurants with an emphasis on the romantic. “I am so delighted that I live here in beautiful Idyllwild, and the couples find it delightful too. The restaurants, they go to, they say ‘that was the best meal I’ve ever had.’ Some have done a lot of traveling, and say this is one of their favorite places.”

Dr. Wylie shared a bit of her own back story. She has a double Master’s Degree in Counseling and Healing Resources, and when she finished her PhD in Psychology in 1999, she moved from Phoenix to Southern California. In Orange County, she started a nonprofit organization that provided workshops, seminars and sessions for couples, funded by federal grants.

She moved to Idyllwild in 2013, a few years after her first visit. “I came to Spirit Mountain for a personal, private retreat, for a couple of days. Before I left, my inner voice said, ‘Someday you’re going to live here and provide marriage retreats.’ I needed to figure how that would work or look. It sort of unfolded in the process, day to day, week to week, month to month.” Wylie added a note of gratitude for her husband Jim Billman and how “extraordinarily supportive Jim is in the retreat work I do and how very helpful he is in assisting in setting up for each retreat.”

https://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2024/08/15/enhancing-relationships-at-amore-retreat/