A RENEWAL RETREAT FOR WOMEN THERAPISTS
With Carolyn Foster and Becky Wright

NOVEMBER 20-22, 2009
Santa Sabina Center, San Rafael

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts…

From “The Fountain” – Denise Levertov

I trust there is a healing process
going on in my unconscious.
If I can keep in touch with it,
my life flows forward;
I constantly open to what
I could never have imagined.

Marion Woodman

As helping professionals we hold our clients’ stories, their problems and their pain.  Through empathic attunement we open ourselves and become filled and sometimes overwhelmed with the trauma of others.  At this retreat we will begin to empty ourselves of what we are carrying to make room for our own healing and for our authentic selves to emerge.  We can trust the springs of renewal to provide deep solace for the “dryness at our hearts.”  Our heart-thirst can be quenched as we step away from giving to others, from routine and responsibility, into the shelter of retreat.

 Through writing, sharing, guided meditation, art, and ritual, we will create space for replenishment.  Come rest in the beauty of Santa Sabina’s rooms and gardens.  From a place of renewed clarity, we will be well-equipped to enjoy the end of this year and to begin afresh past the holidays.  Come to let go and to be held, nurtured, and refreshed by the retreat experience!

Registration information to come.

Carolyn Foster, M.A. leads writing-based workshops and contemplative retreats that guide people to their own depths and to clarity of purpose.  In her coaching and consulting private practice, she works with clients in areas of professional and personal development.  Trained as a family therapist, Carolyn wrote a national bestseller on family patterns of attitudes and behavior that landed her on Oprah.  She was on the faculty of California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco for 10 years and now teaches for Stanford Continuing Education and the Graduate Theological Union. 

Becky Wright, M.S., has been a Marriage and Family Therapist for 15 years and the clinical supervisor of a community counseling and addiction recovery center.  She has supervised staff and interns and led psycho-educational groups for men, women and teens.  Her true passion is leading spiritual journey groups and retreats.  Currently she is coaching religious professionals through the Lloyd Center’s Coaching for Leadership program.  She also has a private therapy and coaching practice in Berkeley. 

Santa Sabina Center offers retreatants gracious hospitality, beauty, and a refuge for contemplation and renewal.  On the grounds of Dominican University, but away from the main campus bustle, the retreat center draws people, birds, and deer.  Whether you want to be cozy inside or clear your mind outside, the house, built around a central courtyard and fountain, and the gardens offer dozens of places for letting go into serenity.  Retreats here alternate scheduled program times with free time for hiking, napping, playing in the art center, reading, or lying by a fire and drifting.  The silences and conversations are as healing a diet as the good food.

To receive email or regular mail notification of details of this retreat and how to register, go to the contact page and call or email Carolyn with your request.

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