Transforming Through Grief~Unveiling the Strength Within

Held at the beautiful grounds of Cliff’s Garden.

10916 Stone Lake Road

Elk Grove, California

Are you going through it?

Are you avoiding working through your feelings of grief because it’s just too hard?

What if your life didn’t need to be stuck in this feeling of pain?

Does the feeling of happiness last forever? Why not? So then why does the feeling of grief have to last forever?

You can celebrate happiness again.

Together, this day will offer you tools to process your grief and move forward, stronger.

Through supportive group activities, you'll find solace in connecting with others who share similar experiences. Our retreat offers a safe space to process emotions, gain valuable growth strategies, and ultimately empower yourself to embrace life's challenges with newfound resilience.

Surround yourself with nature and allow us to guide you through writing, creative art, body awareness & self-care. Catered with thoughtfully crafted food, as we believe in the profound connection between a balanced diet and emotional well-being.

Our Offerings:

Keynote Speaker Julia Nicholson~

In the span of 15 years, Julia Nicholson went from a near-fatal head-on collision and a challenging role as single mother of two young children after leaving an abusive marriage, to being the CEO of a $450 million company. Now she’s revealing the secrets to her success and a proven framework to process loss and change in a positive and productive way. Julia’s message is filled with passion, purpose, and actionable steps, empowering every individual with the mindset and tools they need to use the same framework and principles that brought her to where she is today.

Restorative Yoga Facilitator Karen Penfold~

Karen will lead a mindful and embodied yoga practice to experience both strength and rest in your mind, body and soul.  Karen leads to all mobility levels offering modifications and encouragement to stretch, move and breathe in ways that feel safe and supportive to your body.

Karen is the founder of Full of Hope Yoga and a Trauma Recovery. Karen offers Relief, Healing and Hope to Anxiety Sufferers and Trauma Survivors by teaching nervous system regulation and somatic interventions for trauma recovery. From her home studio in Elk Grove, Karen teaches weekly group “Nervous System Regulating, Christ- Centered Yoga classes and sees clients privately ( in person and online) for Anxiety Relief and Trauma Recovery. Karen is a 12 year, two- time breast cancer and PTSD survivor with her own personal testimony of healing and hope from trauma.

--Writing Facilitator Sarah Van Buren~

Sarah is a licensed therapist of nearly 15 years and has helped numerous clients grieving the loss of a loved one. She is currently a school psychologist in the Elk Grove Unified School District.Through her own grief journey, she discovered the power of healing through writing with others. Writing allows one an opportunity to sort out thoughts and give voice to complex and sometimes confusing emotions without fear of judgement.

During this session writing prompts will be given but participants are welcome to write whatever they feel in the moment.

The writing can be done in any form:  a letter, poem, stream of consciousness, short story etc.… Participants will also be invited to share what they have written as an opportunity to further explore, express and process their grief experience. (However sharing is optional).  There is no wrong way to do this. Remember the definition of a writer is “one who writes”. Please bring a tablet or journal and your favorite pen”

Art Therapy Facilitator Danielle Boudreau, LMFT~

Danielle is a mom of two amazing daughters, artist of many different mediums, Navy Veteran and psychotherapist. Throughout her life and later as a therapist, Danielle has focused on understanding how humans are impacted by trauma, but also understanding and identifying the unique conditions that allow us to heal from traumatic events. She has worked as a crisis counselor in multiple counties and settings. She also has specialized training and experience helping children and adults process and heal from major past traumas in trauma focused individual and group therapy. It is her mission and goal to help individuals process through traumas that are holding them back and keeping them from seeing the beauty that is still within and all around them.

Art Activity: memory sun-catchers representing our pasts, present, our values and possible futures.

Art activity will include an overview of using art/creative activities as a tool to practice radical acceptance, grounding, mindfulness, process emotion safely and work through feelings and experiences that go beyond normal processing avenues.

Radical acceptance is a mental health coping skill used for tolerating moments of distress, pain and preventing it from boiling over into suffering. In other words Radical Acceptance is a practice of acknowledging and allowing everything as it is in this moment, no matter how painful.

Attendees are also invited to bring a small photo (between 2-3 inches of the photo will be included in the final product). Choose a photo or copy a photo that you do not mind damaging/cutting to size. Attendees can also chose to instead bring a 2-3 inch specific image or symbol that they want to include instead. All other art materials including various images to choose from will be provided.

Art/creative experience not required!

Food Catered by Crystal Dunn of Cooking Dunn Right

After losing too many loved ones to kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and aneurysm, Crystal started to deep dive into our food system. The American lifestyle is very hard on our bodies. Making food fun, simple, enjoyable, and delicious brings families together to build healthy bodies. Crystal’s mission is to help make your life flow, help you to understand cooking is not a chore and to show you how to make simple healthy foods full of flavor and color.

When we lose someone, there are times food becomes the “go-to” for comfort. However, food is important to heal the body and the soul. What we put into our bodies has an impact on our emotional healing as well.

Crystal will offer her homemade recipes in our swag bags as well as her other goodies.

Other Important Details~

**Massage Option~In addition to our breakout groups, you may choose to add massage therapies to your experience. Choose up to 3 types of massages, 15 minutes each. Massages available: chair massage, lymphatic massage, hand massage.

(Massage Therapist bios are in the photos.)

(Sign-ups will be sent to you via email after registration. They will need to be completed before the day of the event.)

Please note that if you are getting a massage, you will be missing a portion of a session and it is your responsibility to be at your massage on time or your time will be deducted.

You will receive your group assignments with session info in advance of the retreat. Once you are assigned your group, if your massage time doesn’t work and you need to make a change, please do so ASAP. Day of cancellations will not be accomodated.

*All waivers must be signed electronically during registration. (See custom forms below.)

*You may also register in person on September 15th from 9-11am and 22nd from 3-5pm.

*If you have any questions regarding the retreat you may call, text, or email Jill Batiansila.

(916) 202-3188

hello@togetherwehealcommunity.org