Evoking Wholeness: Healing addictive patterns in Nature

This ecotherapy workshop is designed to support a whole-hearted exploration of the avoidant or addicted aspect of ourselves. Through compassionate inward inquiry, supportive dialogue with others and the expansive mirroring of the natural world we explore the deeper personal, interpersonal and cultural challenges creating the urge to escape our experience, thereby growing our capacity to stay in wholeness.

Course Content:

- Nature-based mindfulness & grounding

- Healing through embodied & imaginal nature connection practices

- Exploration of your personal current addictive patterns

- Introduction to the concept of the ecological self & psychological wholeness

- Facilitated & co-created respectful sharing spaces

- Dialogue exploring the intersection of personal recovery & collective trauma

Venue:

- “Tranquil, beautiful, magical, green, glowing…” Retreatant, June 2021

- Situated in an accessible, yet secluded, south Devon valley, rich with wildlife

- Providing lovingly prepared, delicious, local, organic, plant-based food

- An array of accommodation options from camping to beautifully appointed cabins

Facilitators:

- Highly experienced, trauma-informed holding

- Decades of experience working in the addiction field

- Supervising, training & working in the emerging field of ecopsychology

Potential Outcomes:

- Deeper connection to yourself, nature and a group of likeminded souls

- Insight into and compassion for your current avoidance strategies

- Nature-based practices to work with your addictive patterns

- An enhanced sense of embodiment and belonging

- Enhanced awareness of the impact of current cultural & systemic pressures on our individual & collective escapism

“The Hearth is a stunning and magical spot to be, come back to yourself, connect to others and the land. There is a warm welcome here!” - Hearth Retreat participant

“They break down an enormous and complex subject into something that is manageable and meaningful for all of us and they do it with heart and humour. I would highly recommend attending”. - Natural Academy student feedback

Location: The Hearth Retreat, Totnes, Devon

- 15mins drive from mainline rail station @ Totnes (3 hrs direct from London, 1.5 from Bristol) .

- 15mins drive into the South Hams from the A38 dual carriageway between Exeter and Plymouth.

Cost: £340 – facilitation, venue, local organic meals, camping all included.

"Soulful stay" accommodation options available separately - contact The Hearth Retreat directly at contact@thehearthdevon.com

We hope to make this event accessible to everyone who is interested, although bursary places will be dependent on numbers. If you are unable to afford the cost but feel called to join us please get in touch.

Facilitators:

Rhonda Brandrick is a nature based practitioner, supervisor, therapist, teacher and guide. She brings a wealth of experience and deep curiosity to our human-nature reciprocal relationship with wild earth and our ongoing personal and collective development within this. Rhonda has a deep understanding and compassion for our addictive patterns, having worked for many years in addiction services and knows what it means to be in an ongoing relationship with her own addictive patterns. She is co-founder and Director of Natural Academy, offering accredited Ecopsychology training. She has worked with individuals, couples and groups for over 25 years. Rhonda loves dancing, drumming, dream working and is a Mother and Grandmother.

Freddy Weaver has been working as an Integrative Counsellor since he completed his Masters in Addiction Psychology & Counselling over a decade ago. As his professional and personal recovery experience has grown so has his curiosity about what it means to recover from addictive ways of being within the context of our culture which, it could be argued, is showing many hallmarks of addiction in its attitude towards resource consumption and the natural world - the ground of its own wellbeing. This interest, coupled with his own quest for wholeness, has lead him to study indigenous wisdom at Schumacher College, ecopsychology at the Natural Academy and Animas Valley Institute, and to work with Rite to Freedom, a pioneering charity offering recovering addicts transformational experiences on Dartmoor. He is a husband and father of two lively boys, and lucky enough to live with them all at The Hearth Retreat.

Who is this for?

This retreat is for those with some familiarity of their personal addictive patterns and underlying dynamics who want to deepen their recovery. We welcome all with an authentic engagement to their growth and respect the many different pathways towards “recovery”. To ensure that we are able to provide the support that is needed for each participant we will ask everyone to fill out a registration form and let us know where along the journey of self-development you are. Sadly in this limited context we cannot support those in the process of ending a chronic substance addiction or life-threatening behavioural addiction. We would be happy to signpost you towards a service that can. If you are uncertain if this event would be suitable for you please feel free to contact us.