"The best way out is through" Robert Frost
About our Retreats
Grief and loss affect all of us at some point in our lives and emotionally it is an individual experience. Traditionally, we have viewed grief in terms of going through stages, generally 5 or 7 stages have been used. However, not everyone will go through all of these stages , with some only experiencing one or two, and some experiencing them at different points, in different ways and with different intensity.
Time may easy feelings, but if you do not take the time to sit with and work through those feelings as they arise, they have the potential to hang around for a long time after your loss. We have seen this over and over again with clients still suffering with grief many years after the loss of a loved one. The pain of loss is immense, and although distraction and 'keeping busy' may be helpful in some ways and for short periods of time, if we do not take the time to acknowledge and be with our grief, the pain may stay with us and moving forward in life can be difficult.
All of our retreats are designed to offer you support and creative ways to help you with your loss. They are a safe space to explore your thoughts and feelings within loss and to take time out to truly honour your grieving journey. Our intention for these retreats is not only to provide the space, but also to offer tools and techniques which you can then take forward with you into the world to help during those difficult times. Within all of our retreats and sessions, we focus on guiding you through the emotions of grief and loss, as well as working towards integration and moving from pain to love, in a heartfelt and safe way.
We focus on honouring your loss and the associated emotions in a way that can help you to integrate your grief into your life and move forward. It is not about moving on, or curing your grief, it is about taking it with you in a healthy and healing way.
We started offering these retreats in 2021, to provide help to those grieving in a communal setting. Community was a huge part of the grieving process for our ancestors, and continues to be so for many different cultures around the world. By having this space to be with others who can understand and relate, as well as having your own time to process your grief, you can learn a new way to be with your grief, to integrate your loss into your life and eventually, move to a space of growth and love.
Due to the popularity of our retreats in the past few years, we have now decided to extend our offerings to day retreats and also online sessions as well, in the hope that we can provide support to you, wherever you are in your grief journey.
Much love,
Janice and Catherine x
Facilitators
Janice Thompson
Having gained two Masters degrees, one in Exercise Physiology and one in Research Psychology, I spent a few years lecturing before running a successful business as a personal trainer for 20 years. After the sudden death of my husband in 2002 my life took a new path of healing and self- discovery and subsequently, I have developed a new career from that experience.
Since 2006 I have worked with hundreds of individual clients specialising in working with all forms of loss. I regularly run training courses in all the energy therapies I use. Along with specialised grief training courses for practitioners.
I am an EFT Master Trainer, Matrix Reimprinting practitioner and trainer, META-Health coach and trainer, crystal therapist and meditation teacher. I am writing a book to help those grieving. I also, speak regularly on the physical, psychological, emotional and social aspects of loss.
Catherine Banks
Following the death of my mum in 2016, I embarked on a journey of self discovery and growth through my own grief. Following a career in the legal sector, after my loss I began training in different holistic modalities, focussing on those which had helped me in her most challenging times, in order to offer support to those in grief. I have also conducted research in this area too.
Over the past 6 years I have worked with with clients on an individual basis through meditation, coaching and therapy and within these retreats, now specialising in working with grief.
I am an accredited meditation and mindfulness practitioner and trainer, EFT practitioner, Reiki Master and Grief Coach.I have experience in helping many clients in their own grief journey as well as conducting research into this area, holding an MSC. in Psychology.
