The Art of Partnership Weekend · The Bear Ranch
A weekend for men, women, and couples. Four days at the Bear Ranch, inside a nature conservancy in the California foothills, with Vince Chafin and Karen Strassman.
What this room is for.
We are never just in relationship with another person. We are in relationship with our history, our defenses, our desires, our fears, and the parts of ourselves we have learned to hide.
The Art of Partnership is an immersive weekend for singles, individuals, and couples who want relationships with more honesty, intimacy, freedom, and aliveness. Through experiential exercises, embodied practices, honest conversation, and guided work with Karen and me, you will begin to recognize the unconscious patterns shaping how you love, communicate, fight, withdraw, pursue, and connect.
Come alone. Come with a partner. Come curious. You do not need a relationship problem to attend. You need the willingness to look honestly at how you show up in relationship. The relationship changes when the people inside it change.
Modalities in the room.
What you get.
- Four days of facilitated work with Vince and Karen
- Your chosen lodging on the ranch
- All meals by Chef Loghan Call of Planted Cuisine
- Coffee, tea, and snacks throughout each day
- Shared kitchen, indoor and outdoor showers, indoor and outdoor bathrooms
- Shuttle from the scheduled pickup times
How the days move.
Car camping spots on the property. Camping equipment is available, ask us and we will sort it.
- Camping spot on the land
- Shared bathrooms and showers
- All meals included
An indoor cot on the sunporch of the participant house. Bedding is available on request.
- Indoor cot on the sunporch
- Shared bathrooms and showers
- All meals included
A decent sized bedroom in the participant house with a queen mattress and bedding. Sleeps up to two. The bedroom shares doors with the rest of the house.
- Private bedroom, queen bed
- Sleeps up to two
- All meals included
2 left
A canvas glamping tent with a queen mattress and bedside table. Can be reconfigured for up to four people.
- Canvas glamping tent
- Queen bed, sleeps up to four
- All meals included
The always coveted tepee, filled with blankets, pads, and pillows. Sleeps up to four. A very unique way to be on this land.
- The tepee
- Blankets, pads, pillows, sleeps up to four
- All meals included
Sunday evening through Tuesday noon, April 25 – 27, 2027. The post-weekend intensive for facilitators, coaches, therapists, practitioners, and leaders who want to learn how to hold this work, not only sit inside it. Twelve seats. $750 through December 31, 2026, then $850. You must also book and attend the weekend above.
- Sunday evening through Tuesday noon with Vince and Karen
- Twelve seats, so you get real practice and real feedback
- Teaching, demonstration, live facilitation, and feedback on your own work
- Three months of the Chafin Method SKOOL class included
- Your fee applies to the Inner Mastery school deposit if you enroll within 90 days
- Lodging and meals through Tuesday
Want an hour with us alone?
For singles and couples. An hour with Vince, with Karen, or with both of us in the room, the day before the Art of Partnership weekend opens at the Bear Ranch.
Your facilitators.
After years of respective trial and error, Vince and Karen have come together to create a partnership far beyond what either of them dared to imagine. They create containers where people are seen, heard, and loved, and where trust is built through personal responsibility. Their work invites humans into a form of partnership where security, intimacy, and mutual respect are not ideals, but practiced skills.
Is this your room?
- Couples who want to stop repeating the same argument
- Singles who want to be more available for the love they say they want
- Anyone ready to take responsibility for the relationships they create
- Practitioners who want to feel this work from the inside before they hold it
- Anyone in acute clinical crisis. Get stable care first and come to this when you are ready
- Anyone looking for spectacle. This is a working room, not a performance
Before you reserve.
Do I need a partner to come?
No. Come alone, come with a partner, come curious. The room holds singles, individuals, and couples, and the work lands either way.
How do I get there?
The Bear Ranch sits in the California foothills inside a large nature conservancy. The nearest city is Bakersfield. If you are flying, we recommend Burbank or LAX, and it is worth checking Bakersfield even though flights are limited. We shuttle people up at scheduled times, so tell us your arrival when you register.
What are the hours?
We begin Thursday at 6 PM and ask that everyone is present by then. We finish by noon on Sunday. The optional Facilitator Intensive runs Sunday evening to Tuesday noon.
What is the food like?
Lunches and dinners family style, a simple breakfast spread each morning, coffee, tea, and snacks all day, cooked on site by Chef Loghan Call of Planted Cuisine. Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated with advance notice.
What is the Facilitator Intensive?
An advanced add-on for people who want to learn how to hold this work rather than only participate in it. Sunday evening through Monday and a half day Tuesday, working directly with Vince and Karen. Reading what is beneath the words, tracking group dynamics, working with resistance and activation, knowing when to intervene and when to stay out of the way. Less performance. More presence. Better facilitation.
What is the refund policy?
Full refund up to 60 days before the start date. 50% refund between 60 and 30 days. Inside 30 days the spot is yours and we cannot refund, but you can transfer it to someone else with our approval.
April 22 – 25, 2027. Bakersfield, California, USA.
Take the seat. Or send the question. Either one moves something.
