Really, does every break up require a relationship rescue? We must think that they do, because we grow so attached to them. Everybody treats breaking up like a tragedy, when really most relationships are better off ended. For instance, some of those lemons you dated in college, like the hipster who ran around taking Polaroids of the ground, hated Starbucks after it went mainstream, insisted on playing no music recorded after the death of the 8-track, and burped in your face during sex with no sense of awareness whatsoever. You don't still want to pick back up with them, do you?
Right, but you do want to rescue a relationship that's worth it. Now, in this day and age, it's no longer a question of whether you can find a sane person, but rather finding one whose mental illnesses are compatible with yours. The Internet seems to have changed the game; on the one hand, it's easier for people to text message each other, but on the other, it seems to prove more difficult for them to meet face to face. And meeting face to face - this is crucial - is how you have a relationship. There is no known method of online procreation.
Don't let your friends declare it to be time for doing a relationship rescue for you. Contrary to what the movies show, your friends make lousy matchmakers and at least one of them probably wants one of you for themselves in the first place. No, if this relationship is to be patched, it's between you and your ex.
Open, honest communication is the way to go. First off, you have to ascertain whether your partner is as interested in getting back together as you are. If you go to visit them and they're with their new mate, in silk bathrobes sipping their Mai Tais and giving you pitying looks, this is the worst of timings. Don't let them see you miserable.
If, however, you're both open to giving it a second chance, then just take your time. A counselor may or may not help here; people swear by a counselor, but it may just be the case that the sort of couples who are together today thanks to a counselor are the sort of people who would have been happily together even without counsel.
Whatever you do, don't think that there's one hard and fast path to reconciliation. Be open to experimentation. The relationship just might turn out to be the one that rescues you.