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Heart Healing Retreats
Why retreats?
When I first started coming to terms with my childhood trauma in my 30s, I was regularly seeing psychologists for one-on-one sessions. They helped me so much, but it wasn't until I started going to retreats - where I was able to dedicate consecutive days to healing - when I felt my healing journey progress really took off.
This is why I'm so passionate about facilitating retreats, and why they've been a focus of mine for the last 15 years. Creative Heart Healing Retreats are designed for adult survivors of childhood trauma wanting to process and heal the unresolved psychological and emotional wounds of traumatic or difficult events that have occurred in their lives. The retreats focus on healing childhood wounds such as attachment difficulties, family dysfunction, abuse, and bullying as well as adult traumas such as domestic violence and work-related traumas. These traumas are often the root cause of many mental health issues including but not limited to Complex-PTSD, anxiety, depression and addictions.
This is why I'm so passionate about facilitating retreats, and why they've been a focus of mine for the last 15 years. Creative Heart Healing Retreats are designed for adult survivors of childhood trauma wanting to process and heal the unresolved psychological and emotional wounds of traumatic or difficult events that have occurred in their lives. The retreats focus on healing childhood wounds such as attachment difficulties, family dysfunction, abuse, and bullying as well as adult traumas such as domestic violence and work-related traumas. These traumas are often the root cause of many mental health issues including but not limited to Complex-PTSD, anxiety, depression and addictions.
How the retreats work
- Trauma memories and emotions can remain "stuck" in the right hemisphere of the brain and require right brain processes (such as creativity) to heal them. Creative Heart Healing retreats utilise creative, right-brained processes such as painting, drawing, writing and clay work to:
- • Develop and strengthen a sense of emotional safety • Connect to our inner wounded child • Process and express our emotions through creative arts therapies • Empower ourselves to re-imagine a new ending to the difficult stories of the past
- You will essentially learn how to rewire your brain and learn the strategies to do it yourself at home, thereby speeding up the process of recovery and healing.
Therapies
The retreat process is gentle and utilises strategies from a range of evidence-based therapies such as Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems Therapy, EMDR, Somatic Therapy and Creative Art and Writing Therapies.
Group Format
I have found the group program to be one of the most beneficial aspects of retreats, and participants often remark at the end of a retreat that it is one of their main highlights. Survivors meet other surviviors and there is always empowerment in knowing we are not alone, and that there are others who are feeling and experiencing the same thing as us.
At the very beginning of the retreat we create a safe and confidential community where everyone's privacy is respected. While the retreat is presented in a group format, we frequently break off and complete therapeutic activities on an individual basis. There are opportunities to share experiences with the other group members if you wish but there is no pressure or expectation to do so.
The facilitators are available to guide and support participants but to ensure safety for the group as a whole, participants need to be largely independent and able to manage their own emotions. This retreat is suitable for survivors wanting to learn tools to help themselves on their healing journey, it is not designed for survivors in a current mental health crisis.
Tools you will learn
The healing process is empowering and comes from the stance that participants are the experts in their own lives. Participants learn healing processes during the retreat that can be applied to their own lives and continue to be used at home after the retreat.
This means you will speed up the process of recovery and healing.
Healing unresolved trauma is an important step towards inner peace for ourselves, our families, our communities and the world.
Spiritual Resources
The retreat does not have a particular religious base but participants are encouraged to utilise spiritual resources that they feel comfortable with. Spiritual activities such as meditation, connecting to nature, mindfulness, music and reflection can be helpful supports on the healing journey.
What people say
Details for Upcoming Heart Healing Retreats 2025
Cost
$880 ($220/day includes all materials, sessions, morning and afternoon teas, and lunches). A Medicare rebate of $273.90 is available with a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP (out of pocket cost is $606.10). Medicare provide 10 individual sessions and 10 group therapy sessions per calendar year so claiming the Medicare rebate for the retreat workshops will not interfere with receiving the Medicare rebate for individual sessions with your psychologist.
Accommodation
Participants need to organise their own accommodation. There are a range of motels and caravan parks available in Kempsey. The retreat venue is 20 minutes from Kempsey.
Schedule
Dates and Bookings
- Kempsy, Mid-North Coast NSW - 4 Day Heart Healing Retreats
- Monday 24th March to Thursday 27th March inclusive, 8.30am-4pm each day. BOOKINGS NOW CLOSED.
- Monday 26th May to Thursday 29th May inclusive, 8.30am-4pm each day. To go on the waiting list please email difrost@creativehearthealing.com.au
- Monday 20th October to Thursday 23rd October inclusive, 8.30am-4pm each day. To go on the waiting list please email difrost@creativehearthealing.com.au
- Max number of participants: 10
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The Facilitator
Di is a registered psychologist, trainer and author who works with adult survivors of childhood trauma. She holds specialised retreats for small groups which enables deeper exploration of childhood wounds and healing processes through writing and creative arts.
Di also facilitates face-to-face and online trauma workshops for health professionals and support workers so they can deepen their understanding of the impacts of trauma and utilise creative right brain strategies to better support client recovery.
Di has worked with individual survivors of sexual abuse accessing the Royal Commission, and also in Non-Government Organisations, schools, Alcohol and Other Drug programs, Corrective Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Di has been working in the trauma field for over 15 years and has presented at several international trauma conferences.
Di is a survivor of childhood trauma which allows her to have deep insight and experiential knowledge of what is needed to recover from the impacts of childhood trauma. She is dedicated to her own healing and passionate about supporting others on their journey of healing.