Why Wellness Retreats? Improve your mental health and reset & recharge with us in Tulum Mexico 🌴 this April 2024
(Note: this retreat was originally scheduled for January 7-14th 2024 but has since been rescheduled to April 21-28th 2024).
Sometimes, traditional methods like yoga, therapy, self-care tips and travel can only take us so far on our healing journey. What if there was an immersive mental wellness retreat that encompassed all these elements? A retreat where you can dive deep into evidence-based skills taught by certified therapists, surrounded by nature, in a safe and non-judgmental environment.
Learn valuable techniques to effectively manage burnout, stress, worry, and anxiety symptoms, even long after the retreat ends. You'll also discover the power of a supportive community that understands and uplifts you, even after you've returned home.
If you're curious or passionate about self discovery, personal growth and sustainable healing, this retreat is for you.
05:00: Why we started a business of hosting mental health retreats
11:00: What is a mental health retreat, what does it entail, and how can it help you?
15:00: Upcoming retreat for professionals & entrepreneurs in Tulum Mexico on January 7th 2024 for 7 nights
19:15: Introducing Laurie, the therapist and co-facilitator for the Tulum Mexico retreat
40:00: Upcoming webinar & events featuring various mental health topics
41:20: Extra early bird special! Only 2 spots available, first come first served, register here today to get this offer: https://www.thehealingjourneyretreats...
Hi everyone, welcome to today’s webinar on Why Mental Health Retreats, we’re so glad you’re here for the meet & greet! We’ll be sharing the story of why we started a mental health retreats business, what is a mental health retreat, if it’s right for you and how you may benefit from going on one.
Think of it as a casual conversation to get to know each other, so grab a cup of tea of coffee, sit back and let your shoulders drop, relax your jaw, take a deep breath in, and let it gooooo. We have some exciting news and a special offer to share at the end, so be sure to stay until then or check back on the replay.
Today we’ll be introducing myself and my retreat co-facilitator, Laurie. We also would love to get to know you folks, so feel free to type in the chat, your name, where you live, what you do and/or what you’re passionate about, and what’s on your heart and mind lately. I’ll kick it off first, then I’ll pass it on to Laurie.
My name is Anna and I live in Toronto Canada. I’m an entrepreneur and the founder of Healing Journey Retreats, I’m passionate about traveling, mental health, neuroscience, hosting and creating the space and experiences that connect people deeply; I love being authentic — I’m passionate about sharing the behind the scenes of entrepreneurship and life.
What’s on my heart and mind lately is the upcoming retreat in Tulum Mexico in January 2024, it’s our first mental health retreat and I’m super excited about making it happen, attracting the right people, people who would really benefit from it, and help them kickstart their healing journey in 2024.
My name is Laurie and I live in St-Basile-le-Grand, I little suburb 20 minutes from Montreal.
I’m a clinical counselor and the founder of LJB and Associates Counseling Services. I also write for Brainz online magazine, the Psych Prof Blog and will have a multi-authored book called Broken released at the end of the summer. I’m passionate about helping people find solutions to and manage mental health challenges. My writing is mostly non-fiction and my aim is to raise awareness about all things mental well-being and psychology. I am also passionate my family and spending time outside.
What’s on my heart and mind lately is finding creative solutions to common and widespread challenges in the world of mental health and the mental health industry. I am excited and preparing for the retreat in January and focused on delivering impactful, insightful and educational workshops.
So why mental health retreats? I started this business based on my own journey with mental health recovery. In the last decade, I worked in the tech industry at both startups and corporations, and struggled with multiple cycles of burnout, anxiety and depression. I was really affected by toxic work situations at first, and even when I finally had a great job, great boss and great pay, I still felt unfulfilled. So it went from “why do I let things or people get to me” to “what’s wrong with me”, “is this all there is to life” and all kinds of questions. I’ve been in therapy for many years and I often semi-joke about how everyone needs a therapist, preferably assigned to us at birth cuz we’re not taught at school, at home or at work how to deal with our emotions and how to process things properly.
Then about 6 months ago I was laid off from my job. In hindsight I’m glad the universe put this fire under me so I finally took the leap into entrepreneurship which is something I’ve always wanted to do. So during the deep introspection that followed the layoff, I slowly started to find my way and purpose.
Bringing together what I’m good at, what I love to do — in the last decade I also had a side hustle of hosting on Airbnb, this was before people knew about Airbnb and I’d bring guests out to hang out with my friends, have picnics and go sailing in Lake Ontario. And from that, I also travelled the world and stayed in hostels, which I loved more than hotels and Airbnb’s as you meet people through their daily activities like free walking tours, going to sightsee and eat together etc. Hostels also have common area spaces that really bring people together and bond them for years to come. In fact I wanted to start my own hostel and I stayed and worked at the best hostels in the world for 9 months, learning the business and documenting that journey on instagram as “The Hostel Journey.” Basically almost 5 years and 200+ hostels later, I was very close to opening one in Montreal. But then the pandemic hit and I was back working in the 9-6 or 9-7 grind. Part of me mourned the loss of this dream, and I got quite depressed and just lost. So the hostel journey became the healing journey, because I started sharing my thoughts through writing, which was one of my therapeutic outlets, and people would DM me and say, “thank you for being so open and talking about mental health, and I don’t feel so alone reading about your journey.”
So right after I was laid off, there was this non-profit organization in Toronto offering a women’s entrepreneurship course for people who struggle with mental health, and when the application form asked “what’s your business idea” I put down “hostel for depressed people.” I just thought that given where I was in life, during that darkest time, I wanted to go somewhere, but I didn’t want to stay in an all-inclusive resort and drink all day per se, or be around strangers or even friends. I wanted to be surrounded by people who get me, who’s been through similar things, and feel ok to cry and not judged. I wanted to option to have a nudge to go do things and talk with like-hearted people but also to relax and be on my own when I wanted.
I love this instagram Reel by the introverted attorney, guys says “I feel so burnt out, I really need a vacation, then he’s on the beach and says actually I needed therapy.”
During my dark times, when I googled “mental health retreats” I found a lot of yoga, meditation and spiritual retreats, but not everyone wants to do yoga everyday, and then the other side was clinical rehab centres for people with severe mental illnesses where they’d stay for months. So I thought to create something in between, for people looking for an evidence-based approach, but still be immersed in nature, surrounded by jungle and ocean, or mountains and lakes, and still have certified professionals to guide us especially when emotions come up.
All memes aside,
Did you know that 1 in 4 Canadians experience depression at some point in their life?
Globally, 280 million people suffer from depression. Similar stats for anxiety
And with the pandemic, the prevalence for both depression and anxiety has increased by 25% worldwide.
The mental health market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8% and it’s the 3rd Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations.
I’m a true believer of therapy and sometimes I’ve plateaued and that’s normal, cuz once you leave the session, life comes at you with responsibilities and endless to-do’s. A retreat is where you get to go somewhere away from your usual environment, and truly immerse yourself in nature, in time, and in healing.
Coming from a science family and with a background in neuroscience, even though knowing why we get depressed and how the brain works was helpful when I was anxious and depressed, it still took therapy, introspection, yoga, dance, art, writing, taking time off work and joining support groups as pillars that supported my mental health in a holistic way.
In recent years there are a lot of life coaches that offer wellness retreats based on their personal life experiences, which I understand because I’ve learned a lot from my own healing journey, but I want to partner with therapists, psychologists, career coaches, nutritionists and other certified professionals who have years of trained experience and expertise in mental health topics, who are truly qualified to share the knowledge that’s rooted in science and research.
And retreats are not just workshops in a pretty place. We’ve chosen Mexico for its healing culture, nourishing environment, and delicious food.
When I arrived in Mexico last winter and came out of the airport, just feeling the warm air, sun on my face, seeing the lush green everywhere and flowers blooming in full colour, I felt my anxiety flew away by at least 50%. And swimming in the ocean, floating in cenotes (natural freshwater swimming holes), being in the sun, it nourished my body in ways that Canadian winters couldn’t; and I’m ok with 1-2 months of winter, getting into the holiday spirit in November, fresh snow in December, but I can’t with the 6 more months of slush and grey.
Besides the neuroscience workshops and guided discussions by clinical mental health therapists, we will also incorporate yoga, meditation, and other activities. I also got my yoga teacher training after doing yoga on and off for 10 years, so I’ll be teaching yoga at the retreats. And together we can explore alternative healing modalities: massages, sound healing baths, spiritual and cultural experiences, where you get to try things, and take what resonates with you and leave the rest.
Lastly, we all know how amazing a trip or vacation can be, but once you come home to the winter, you feel that life is tough again. So we want to offer aftercare programs where we help you bridge that gap and transition back to your life, to continue say in group or 1:1 check-ins, to apply and integrate what you’re learned from the retreat into your everyday life and support each other as a community.
If this resonating with you, we have great news, because our upcoming retreat is taking place in Tulum Mexico on January 7 to 14th, Sunday to Sunday, where you can join us for 7 nights to kickoff your new year by prioritizing your mental health/putting yourself first.
This retreat is for professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, burnt out, been the over-thinker, had dips in the mood and felt that tightness in your heart, had sleepless nights feeling lost and in pain, or waking up with a piano-on-your-chest-feeling — I’ve been there. This retreat is for you if you want to take action, you want to be proactive and manage your mental health in a practical and sustainable way. Sure, some problems in life go away on their own. But for me, I’ve relapsed with depression and anxiety, because life as we know it, will always have ebbs and flows, and we still have to learn and practice how to change our reaction to stress, how to change our thought patterns, change the way we talk to ourselves and others.
One thing to mention here is that sometimes our loved ones, like our partner, family, etc. might not know how to be with us or what to say to us when we’re going through a rough time, again cuz no one taught them that saying “Oh just look on the bright side, focus on the positive” isn’t that helpful, so on this retreat for example we’ll be talking about first knowing who you are and what works for you, and come up with mini scripts or talking points to have those difficult conversations that can help them help you, and to practice that, act it out with peers and have the support, so you can be ready when you leave the retreat and back in your life, ready to handle all kinds of situations.
And we know this is hard work, and it takes time. That’s why we have workshops in the mornings, and the afternoons are reserved for relaxation, time to yourself, introspection, fun activities like snorkelling with turtles, going to the beach, a cenotes bike tour, trying art therapy, journaling, sharing circles by the fire, visiting an architectural museum, trying a cacao ceremony, trying a local sauna healing experience, getting a massage, making ceramics, or just relaxing by the pool. Only the first couple of workshops are (mandatory or) strongly recommended just to get everyone on the same page, the rest you can opt in or out, as we encourage you to take the time for yourself. I think we can all agree that it’s easier to do hard work when you’re rewarded and taking care of yourself.
When I was going through my own mental health struggles, I’m not saying that a 7-day retreat would’ve just healed me, (cuz healing is a journey, not a destination), but a mental health retreat definitely would’ve shortened that tunnel of darkness by months, and lessened the severity of those symptoms, and gotten back to my normal quicker and then started thriving sooner. Mexico for me gave me the space, time, and nourishing environment for my self discovery, mental clarity, mental resilience, and courage to pursue what I’m passionate about.
And it led me to Laurie. I was talking with my own therapist in a session and talked about this travel experience designed for people who struggle with mental health, and the lack of mental health retreats in the world, and she said a lot of therapists would love to facilitate retreats and share their knowledge, and I was introduced to Laurie.
When I spoke with Laurie for the first time, we were both in Mexico but in different cities, and she told me that she has 25 years of teaching experience, is a certified clinical counsellor and a professor of psychology, who did a masters thesis on wilderness therapy, has worked at rehab centres for people with psychosis and schizophrenia, is trained in crisis intervention, goes to Mexico every winter, and has a dream of owning a ranch with farm animals as a retreat centre for trauma and healing. I thanked that layoff because when one door closes, another opens. And I’m so grateful to introduce Laurie as the co-facilitator for this Tulum Mexico retreat. Laurie, please tell us about yourself, your journey on becoming a therapist, and your approach.
Thank you Anna. Aside from my professional goals and passion, I am the mom of 5 grown men and 2 adorable dogs. I have worked long and hard to get work through childhood trauma which resulted in years of anxiety and depression. I have been able to slowly build myself back up piece by piece, and that backstory is a part of what has placed me on my professional journey.
I began my professional career as a teacher where my number one priority was to try to make sure that no child suffered the way I did as a child. I soon learned that when children or people or experienced trauma or suffered from anxiety or depression, learning is very difficult. I was curious about the mental health issues many of my students were suffering from and decided to return to school to get my MA in counselling and psychology.
When I graduated in 2009 I open my practice. My approach as a therapist is client centered and humanistic. I draw from the teachings of Victor Frankl, Abraham Maslowe and Carl Rogers. I am trained in EMDR therapy and often use CBT and other modes of therapy. I consider myself to be eclectic and view my relationships with my clients as partnerships.
Love it, thank you for sharing. Tell us first about how you found the retreat venue, and then about the group that runs the snorkeling with turtles experience.
Sure! My husband and I have been visiting Akumal and Tulum for several years. We fell in love with the nature, the culture and the people of the Mayan Riviera. We have made many local friends along the way and cherish our time with them. The venue is actually just up the road from where we stay in Akumal, in the lush jungle near a local cenote that we like to spend time at. We met Martin, who will be taking us snorkeling through his lovely wife Alondra. We also support a local company who is comprised of young men and women from the community who purchased bikes with money they raised and began a the cenote bike tour we will be going on.
So after Laurie found the retreat venue on her bike ride, and when she sent me their website, I said: this is exactly what I’m looking for! Even though we looked at 10 other venues, we still picked Paledora for their eco consciousness and commitment to preserving the land, community and culture. And thanks to Laurie, we get to give back to the local youth venture from the Akumal community and promote sustainable and mindful travel.
And lastly, tell us what it’d be like to go on a retreat with you and I, and what benefits and results people can expect to leave with.
Well, if you can imagine stepping into a haven of tranquility, a place where your mental wellbeing takes precedence. This personalized oasis is not just about learning, growth and relaxation. It will be a space where the veil of everyday stresses are lifted, and the focus shifts to the nurturing your mind and spirit. Amidst the serenity, you will find an enriching environment aimed at empowering you with knowledge about your mental health, helping you understand the root of your feelings and teaching you how to foster a healthy mind, body and soul.
Every element of our retreat is designed to provide an immersive experience, combining the healing power of nature with engaging activities that promote self-discovery. Alongside the workshops, you'll have the opportunity to engage in experiential activities designed to foster self-awareness and resilience. These include mindfulness practices, nature walks, and group discussions that promote sharing and connectivity. By stepping away from the everyday and immersing yourself in this cocoon of self-care and education, you can expect to emerge with newfound understanding, tools, and strategies for managing your mental health.
Thank you so much Laurie. And in the coming months, we will be chatting more with Laurie where she’ll be sharing mental health tips and resources, and introducing the topics she’ll be teaching at the retreat in Tulum Mexico in January. She’ll also be hosting live Q&A ‘Ask a therapist anything’ webinars, in a 5-7, happy hour style sessions where you can do exactly that, ask her anything either anonymously before hand or live during the session, or just tune in and be an active listener, and know that you’re not alone, and that you’re loved and welcomed in this community.
My healing journey led to the Healing Journey Retreats, and my goal is to offer a collective of mental health retreats focused on different mental health topics such as burnout in high-functioning professionals, anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, finding purpose and fulfillment in work and life, all things pregnancy related, dealing with bicultural heritage, mental health in BIPOC and LGBTQ+ groups and more. These topics will be its own retreat, led by different therapist facilitators. I envision that one day mental health retreats are another way to travel, a more mindful way to travel.
If you’re tuning in from Canada, we will also be offering shorter, closer and more accessible retreats in Ontario and Quebec, so half day, day long and weekend retreats. So be sure to sign up to our email newsletter and follow us on social media to stay tuned.
Lastly, we have a special offer to give out as we’ve just officially launched the Tulum Mexico retreat which is 6 months away, for those of you that tuned in today, we’re offering extra early bird specials, which is a $1000 discount on the regular retreat price, on both room types. The extra early bird special price is $3995 Canadian for the single occupancy room, and $3495 for the double occupancy room. (in USD it’s around $3000 and $2500 respectively.) The spots are first come first served.
We also offer payment plan options such as monthly financing, we’re open to working with you to find a way to attend without financial stress. If you want to bring a significant other or couple of friends, or want us to match you with a roommate, or want to know more info, check out the FAQ at the bottom of the retreat page, and contact us any time if you have any further questions.
We have put the retreat details and registration link in the chat, and we’ll also send this in a follow up email along with the replay. If you feel called to this, and are ready to take action, and want to get 1 of the 2 early bird pricing, simply click on “Book My Spot” on the registration page with the $750 CAD deposit (or 500 USD) to secure 1 of the 2 early bird spots! If you prefer to pay by e-transfer over credit card, email or contact us and we’ll be in touch with the next steps.
If you’re not sure if this retreat is for you, or if you have any additional questions, please feel free to book a discovery call with me or Laurie, and we’ll be glad to chat with you. In the follow up email, we’ll include the book a call link, the ways to contact us, and to the email list signup link to stay tuned for upcoming webinars and retreats.
Finally, we’d love for you to help us share the word about Healing Journey Retreats, if you know of a loved one or anyone in your life who could benefit from a mental health retreat, or from tuning in in our upcoming webinars featuring mental health topics, please share the follow up email with your network, and connect with us on social media.
Thank you for being with us today, and thank yourself for taking time for your mental health, and we hope you’ll join us soon!
