HOW WE WORK
Our retreats comprise of three methodologies
Art therapy is a powerful tool for those in grief because it addresses and supports both the emotional and sensory impact of loss. It’s common for people to feel intimidated by the art making process, but again and again, our clients report appreciation for, and benefit from, engaging in the experience.
Through creative sensory engagement, art provides a nonverbal outlet to externalize pain, release tension, and build a coherent narrative around the experience of loss. Art making can calm the nervous system and reconnect individuals with their inner strength, resilience and positive emotions, helping transform grief from a passive sense of suffering into an active empowered healing process.
At our retreats, we will be offering art activities that require no previous experience. We will also supply everything that is needed for the project, so that you can relax into the experience knowing there are no expectations beyond you just showing up.
ART
Grief is nonlinear and unpredictable.
One of the challenges is that it is undefined, which can lead the griever to crave structure. Ritual creates an experience where there’s a beginning, a middle and an end. This offers an opportunity for the griever to be proactive and purposeful in their grief.
At our retreats, we gently guide you into practices that honor your grief through ritual. These are non-denominational, intentional acts, that give shape to the unspeakable moments, where your inner experience can be honored and held.
Ritual gives us a way to mark the unremarkable. These simple actions create space for meaning, connection, and healing. They help us remember that grief is not something to “get over,” but something to move with. And in movement, we begin to find our footing again. You don’t have to carry your loss alone. In ritual, we come together. We witness. We remember. We begin to make space for life alongside the love we still carry.
RITUAL
Somatic so.mat.ic
1. Relating to the body, especially as distinct from the mind.
Somatic psychotherapy utilizes the mind body connection and incorporates the body, whether through movement or ‘felt sensation’. Because grief is an emotion which is held in the body, and often has many physical symptoms, it is essential to process our grief physically. Working somatically allows us to go deeper, it engages a part of ourselves which we cannot always access with traditional talk therapy. When we physically move, we also experience psychological movement.
At our retreats, the grief hikes are an opportunity to move our bodies, in community, benefiting from the healing power of our natural environment. As with grieve, we will navigate uneven terrain, putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward, engaging our senses to help us remain in the present moment, in order to be more fully present in our lives.
