6-Nights In-Person
Bodywork for Developmental Trauma Retreat
Sliding-scale pricing available $2,610 - $4,410
includes lodging, meals, individual sessions, and lessons
Join us for an Immersive Healing Experience at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California
June 6th - 7th w/ Dr Levine
June 6th - 12th w/ his team of Facilitators & Practitioners
All-inclusive Pricing Includes Retreat Offerings + Individual Sessions w/ SEPs + Meditation + Music and Movement + Buffet Meals + 6 nights of Lodging + Pre and Post Retreat Online Gatherings & Programming
LIMITED CAPACITY
*This retreat is designed to develop deeper somatic tools for personal enrichment
*This is not a training
*All attendees must stay on-site
*All attendees must attend the entire retreat
What is Developmental Trauma?
Adverse childhood experiences generate displacement, disembodiment, and shame. These experiences challenge our self-worth, thwart our creativity, discourage us from embodying ourselves fully, and inhibit us from living into our capacity to be in our true, full, authentic self-expression.
At the heart of developmental trauma are the wounds of repeatedly not being seen, not feeling a sense of worth, and not realizing a sense of belonging. This can happen through neglect, abuse, displacement due to disaster, medical trauma, long separations from family/community systems, intergenerational trauma, and systemic oppression. These adverse experiences often leave us feeling relationally disconnected or dissatisfied, feeling too close, too far away, or both.
We can grow into adults, have relationships (if desired), raise children (if desired), and have gainful employment and still feel strongly that we do not exist, matter, or have an inner sense of worth or self. This feeling stems from these experiences being housed deep within our tissues—once a protective mechanism, now a hindrance.
In our time together, we will
Define and explore the roots of developmental trauma and how it affects the body.
Review developmental milestones that might have been missed due to trauma or stress.
Understand undesired behavior patterns in our relationships - whether from our partner or us.
Identify the unique, complex grief held within us that is often overlooked when working with developmental trauma.
Explore the connection to complex physical health conditions in adulthood and where our bodies hold developmental trauma memories.
Experience somatic practices that can help reset the nervous system back to a more authentic place of being.
Utilize therapeutic bodywork sessions to gain insight and expansion at the cellular level.
Use breath, movement, and music to facilitate exploration and connection.
Create a real-time partnership with Self and community.
“SE is not what you do, but how you do what you do.”
What is Bodywork?
When clinically helpful, and only if the client is fully comfortable, we will integrate Therapeutic Touch into our retreat sessions.
Bodywork Practitioners utilize the attention and intention of mindful, attuned contact to support a safe and relational container for integrating bracing patterns from stress, overwhelm, or fright toward regulation and resiliency.
Human touch is a primal and biologically essential requirement for forming a physically and emotionally healthy human being. Neglected babies who are not touched fail to thrive. Touch is a vital, critical component for the formation of identity and ego. The caregiver’s prosody and facial expressions are equally important to touch and holding. Attuned touch, holding, prosody, and facial expressions are the seeds of the touch-and-talk connection.
Dr Levine has been a courageous pioneer in fostering healthy exchange between Psychotherapists and Bodyworkers. The gift of Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory emphasizes the connection between talk, touch, and the social engagement system. Somatic Experiencing brings both professions together to integrate the two fields.
“Touch is as vital to our existence as food. It is the first sense we develop, our first and most primal communication, and the only sense without which we cannot survive.”
Therapeutic Touch
Works with symptoms of early childhood, developmental trauma, and relational trauma.
Connects to pre-verbal adverse experiences.
Implements a body-up approach to psychological & physiological healing - a heart, brain, and body collaboration.
Creates long-lasting results by addressing the root of where the trauma is stored.
Builds the capacity to track sensations as a guide to stabilizing physiology in their body.
Provides the missing physical support that speaks directly to the nervous system for clients whose developmental experience of touch was misattuned, neglectful, or abusive.
Supports the restoration, stabilization, and integration of sustainable states of well-being so that the full range of the human condition can be experienced.
Offers a safe and relational field to understand sensations, symptoms, pain, and injury that might have occurred during the early developmental stages of neurological wiring.
Mobilizes bodily patterns of discomfort and emotional overwhelm, facilitating a settling and resolution.
Explores the dynamic, subtle, and profoundly healing dance between touch, emotions, cognitions, and talk.
Helpful for nervous systems that may be activated by talk therapy alone.
*Bodywork will be done in individual sessions - fully clothed, either sitting in a chair or lying on a massage table - this form of Bodywork differs from a massage
*Guided self-touch will be implemented in group work (not on sexual organs)
Examples of Bodywork Modalities Somatic Experiencing® Touch / NeuroAffective Touch (NATouch™) / Craniosacral / Ortho-Bionomy® / Kathy Kain Somatic Practice
During the Retreat
Dr Levine, the developer of Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), and his team of SE Practitioners and expert Facilitators will support self-exploration through group work, individual sessions, and guided therapeutic practices to stimulate healing and transformation. Many opportunities for guided meditations, content integration, movement, and nature exploration.
As we begin to move forward, let’s discover the obstacles together.
Retreat Offerings Include
Daily pathways to trauma integration w/ Master level SE Practitioners & Facilitators.
SE practices & discussion w/ Q&A.
Individual Bodywork sessions with SE Practitioners (touch not required for success).
Movement, healing meditation, resource integration, and more w/ Calvin Livingston.
Lodging at the Mercy Retreat Center June 6th - 12th.
Buffet meals on-site from Dinner on June 6th through Lunch on June 12th.
Use of the facilities and grounds w/ parking included.
A closed/private campus just for our group.
Online Pre-Retreat
Orientation
3-hour Somatic Experiencing program
Group meet-up with the practitioner team & participants.
Online Post-Retreat
Ongoing group lessons, gatherings & check-ins spanning 6 months.
A referral list of SE Practitioners who work both in-person & online.
*Due to his personal capacity, Dr Levine will not be the primary facilitator and will not offer private sessions.
*Dr Levine will ONLY teach and support group work on June 6th and 7th.
*If Dr Levine cannot attend his teaching days due to unforeseen circumstances, we will not cancel the retreat (highly unlikely he would cancel).
MARCH 2022 SEDONA RETREAT REVIEW: ”The retreat was life-changing. The skill and professionalism of the team working with Peter A. Levine were an inspiration and far exceeded my expectations. I entered with the goal of taking my personal development further and beginning a new path. I left with the clarity I was seeking, a clear plan, renewed enthusiasm, more tools to help me succeed, and precious new friends.”
Schedule (subject to evolution)
Thursday, June 6th
Afternoon
Check in to the Mercy Retreat Center
Evening
Welcome gathering w/ Dr Levine (5pm)
Dinner
Opening ceremony w/ Dr Levine
Friday, June 7th
Morning
Breakfast
Lessons/group work w/ Dr Levine
Afternoon
Lunch
Nature & Rest Break
Lessons/group work w/ Dr Levine
Evenings
Dinner
Group activities
Saturday, June 8th - Tuesday, June 11th
Mornings
Breakfast
Lessons/group work w/ the Practitioner Team
Afternoons
Lunch
Rotations
Nature & rest break
Private sessions
Resourcing
Evenings
Dinner
Group activities
Wednesday, June 12th
Morning
Breakfast
Closing ceremony
Afternoon
Lunch
Departure
Additional Activities throughout the week:
Opening & Closing Ceremonies
Restorative Yoga
Meditation
Music & Movement
Who Should Attend
Those who are suffering from known developmental trauma or loved ones of those with developmental trauma.
Those who may be struggling and unsure of the origin.
The General Public and Practitioners are welcome.
Partners, colleagues, relatives, and friends are encouraged to attend together.
(rooms are all singles w/ a twin bed)
*This retreat is not intended to treat active addiction, medical illness, psychosis, or severe mental or physical illness.
*Please consult your doctor/therapist/practitioner or contact us for guidance on whether this may be right for you.
*Dry campus (no substance use).
*Age requirement is 18 and up; no infants, children, or teens on campus.
*No non-participating guests are allowed on campus.
The Mercy Retreat Center
The retreat gatherings, lodging, and meals are at The Mercy Center.
The Mercy Retreat Center is a special gathering place for nonprofit organizations and groups seeking a tranquil setting for their conference or retreat. The center's peaceful grounds, surrounded by oaks and flower gardens, are in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. Internationally known, this conference and retreat center offers a holistic environment for people of diverse faiths and backgrounds to nourish their lives. Its serene environment is conducive to learning and reflection.
On campus, enjoy the Mercy Labyrinth, hiking trails, and more.
We will be the only group studying here at this time.
This retreat will not be online.
Lodging
Single-occupancy bedroom with a twin bed, sink, desk, chair, closet, robe, bedding, soap, and towels.
Shared dormitory-style bathroom facilities (close to the rooms w/ private showers & dressing rooms).
Each floor features a kitchenette w/ a refrigerator for personal use.
The dining hall is open 24 hours w/ access to tea & snacks.
Meals
Well-balanced buffet meals will be provided.
During registration, there is an opportunity to indicate food allergies.
Transport
Parking is provided on-site.
The Mercy Center is 12 minutes from the San Francisco Airport - Google Map.
There is no need to leave campus during the retreat.
If something comes up and you require transport to a store, we can arrange that for you.
Travel is not included in the cost of the retreat.
Payment and Sliding-Scale Options
BEFORE applying or REGISTERING, please read everything on the registration page, including the agreements.
If you have questions about whether this retreat is right for you, please contact info@somaticexperienicng.com before applying or registering.
Inquiries
Questions & Payments: Cortney at info@somaticexperiencing.com
Managing Director: Melissa Stager (text/WhatsApp 760-815-7588)
Presented by: Ergos Institute of Somatic Education
“Trauma is not what happens to us. But what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
Content developed by Barbara Collier, Laura Melton, and Melissa Stager.