Hold Me Tight® Workshop for Couples
With Michael Moran, LCSW, CST-S and Zoya Simakhodskaya, PhD
Saturday & Sunday November 1-2, 2025
The Balance Arts Center
151 W. 30th St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Join us for a weekend in New York City. Hold Me Tight® Couples Workshop is based on the research and practices of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT). The Hold MeTight®program for couples, developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, is an experiential, educational workshop designed to help you strengthen your emotional and physical connection with your romantic partner. The workshop is based on the international best-selling book "Hold Me Tight: 7 Conversations for a Lifetime of Love" by Dr. Sue Johnson.
This educational and experiential workshop teaches you the core concepts of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT). The Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples, which has demonstrated its effectiveness in over 25 years of peer-reviewed clinical research. The workshop helps you and your partner form deeper connections, repair past hurts, and increase emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy opportunities.
In addition to practicing new ways of communicating emotionally with your partner, you will see video examples of other couples and how they learned to improve their communication and strengthen their relationship.
You Will Experience Together How to:
While sharing comments and questions in a large group is usually fun and beneficial, you only share if you want to. You will have lots of time to have conversations with yourself and your partner to feel comfortable and maintain your privacy.
Zoya and Mike often present together and enjoy creating a safe, fun, meaningful experience where we'll encourage you to go as deep as is comfortable. "Stretch – don't strain" is our motto here.
"Hold Me Tight®" is a registered trademark to Sue Johnson.
In preparation for the workshop, we recommend you purchase and begin reading the best-selling book "Hold Me Tight: 7 Conversations for a Lifetime of Love" by Dr. Sue Johnson. We have found that couples who have read at least part of the book (the first four chapters are a good start) feel like they are stepping into the workshop with some helpful background and can dig into the material that much more readily.
Space is Limited – Reserve your spot now. Registration will close November 1-2, 2025.
Registration fees for the workshop:
What is the general schedule?
The workshop begins on Saturday morning 11/16 and will end on Sunday at 5pm. If you're coming from out of town, you may wish to consider whether you and your partner are able to add an extra day either before or after the workshop so you can explore the many facets of New York City at your leisure.
About one week prior to the workshop, we will send out an email providing you with all the important details of the workshop.
Your workshop fee includes breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Light refreshments and beverages will be provided during workshop hours. Lunches and dinners are on your own to be enjoyed at one of the many restaurants NYC has to offer. We strongly recommend making reservations in advance. Yelp, Trip Advisor, Google, etc. are good sources for restaurant recommendations.
What does my registration fee include? Registration includes the workshop fee for two, all materials, expert guided assistance during the workshop from therapists and facilitators, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, and snacks and beverages throughout the weekend. Lunches and dinners are arranged on your own.
Cancellation Policy
Life happens, and the best laid plans sometimes are not possible to follow through on. Please read our cancellation policy carefully. Your registration fee is non-refundable, but transferable to a future workshop (Hold Me Tight or our workshop on cultivating greater sexual intimacy, Hold Me Tight, Hold Me Just Right) if you can notify us of your inability to come at least one week before the workshop. There are no transfers of workshop fees for cancellations within 7 calendar days of the workshop. This policy is the most generous that we can offer as we invest significantly in your experience at the workshop with a lovely meeting space, food and beverages, supplies, and a team of trained therapists to support you if needed. We aim to give you the most valuable workshop experience with the most support, and your cancellation means loss of our financial investment without chance of recuperation of that investment.
Should you choose to cancel your workshop with us, we cannot be responsible for any ancillary costs incurred - including but not limited to airline tickets, rental cars, accommodations, etc. Exceptions will not be made for cancellations due to illness, travel-related delays, or life circumstances. We are aware that there are uncontrollable elements in life, and we strongly recommend Travel Protection Insurance with a registered agent to cover any travel-related risks.
If you have additional questions or any special needs, do not hesitate to contact us at 646-298-5227 or [email protected] so that we can help to make your workshop experience with us most comfortable.
We have sliding scale pricing opportunities for those in financial need for up to 3 couples per workshop.
In particular, we want to make sure that our workshop is available to members of historically marginalized communities.
We strive to make the workshop a safe space for everyone, including people of color, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. And we will prioritize sliding scale opportunities for members of these communities.
YOUR FACILITATORS
Michael Moran, LCSW, CST-S
is the Founder and Director of The Center for Relational Fulfillment in New York, NY where he specializes at the intersection of relational and sexual challenges. He is a Certified Emotionally Focused (EFT) Couples Therapist & Supervisor as well as an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor. He has taught graduate courses in Marriage and Family therapy at Rutgers University and was Sr. Faculty in the Sex Therapy division at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy (ICP). Additionally, he was filmed with Esther Perel on her “Sessions” platform where she interviews leading psychotherapists regarding the theory and application of their clinical work. Mike presents nationally and internationally training therapists to effectively address sexual issues in couples therapy and gives weekend workshops to couples geared to generate greater emotional, relational and sexual gratification. He is currently a PhD candidate in Clinical Sexology at Modern Sex Therapy Institutes and his book chapter which focuses on utilizing EFT to address sex and disability will be included in the forthcoming 3rd edition of “New Dimensions in Sex Therapy.” Mike views erotic energy as chi (life-force, creative vitality) and loves helping people remove the barriers to creating authentic, passionate connection, both emotionally and sexually. His website is www.fulfilledcouples.com.
Zoya Simakhodskaya, Ph.D.
is a licensed psychologist and certified EFT Therapist, Supervisor, and Trainer. She is a founding member and is on the Board of Directors of NYCEFT. Zoya has a full-time practice in Chelsea, NY, with adults and couples, specializing in cross-cultural and bilingual populations. In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Zoya has many years of experience providing crisis intervention in a psychiatric emergency service. She continues as a voluntary faculty member at NYU School of Medicine, CUNY Graduate Center, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Zoya enjoys helping therapists learn EFT (for couples and for individuals) and teaches nationally and internationally, now bringing EFT to Russian and Ukrainian speaking therapists around the world. She has a particular interest in the intersection of sexuality and couples therapy. Zoya is passionate about Argentinian tango as an expression of connection, presence, and play. You can learn more about her by visiting www.cpidnyc.com