Date: 3 Days: Friday, March 9 – Sunday, March 11; 10:00am – 4:30pm
Cost: Sliding Scale $225 – 600. Code LG1M18.

“Trauma is a fact of life. It doesn’t have to be a life sentence.” — Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing trauma therapy

People do learn and grow from meeting the challenges and adversities of the human condition when they have enough support, resources, and skills to do so.

This retreat will explore how people can learn to cope resiliently with the trials, even tragedies, of their lives, and find a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment through their process of recovery.

We will apply practices of mindfulness, self-compassion, mindful empathy and conscious reflection to five factors that predict genuine post-traumatic growth: acceptance of reality; resourcing with family, friends, and community; recognizing the positive in the midst of the difficult, writing a new story of the event within the larger life story, and appreciating the new life that emerges because of the difficulties, not just in spite of them.

Students should bring: pen/paper or journal for written reflections.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• List the five factors that contribute to post-traumatic growth;
• Implement at least three practices of mindfulness that support post-traumatic growth;
• Implement at least three practices of self-compassion that support post-traumatic growth;
• Identify blocks that might preclude people from accessing resources among family, friends and community;
• Identify at least three other practices that contribute to post-traumatic growth;
• Describe three mechanisms of brain change to install new, more resilient patterns of behavior into implicit memory;
• Describe the differences between stressors (external events) and stress (internal reactions to external events) and the differences between stress and trauma (an overwhelm of defenses against stress or external events);
• Teach clients to use five body-based tools to regulate automatic survival responses and return the body-brain to its natural physiological equilibrium;
• Implement memory de-consolidation/re-consolidation to help clients rewire dysfunctional patterns of response;
• Identify three exercises that can reverse toxic shame and change the relationship of self to the inner critic;
• Identify 7 steps of mindfulness practice that allow clients to monitor and modify their responses to experience.

Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited income) are invited to attend this program for $135 ($45/day).