Growing Capacity for Living with Change ~ Awakening Self Healing through Connection ~ In Service to Community and the Greater Earth Body
Healing Retreat for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Trauma
June 12-15th, 2025 Whidbey Institute on Whidbey island, WA
Applications now open until May 1st!
Now is the time for survivors to unite in liberation from the effects of trauma on our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits.
This Healing Retreat offers a ceremonial container for an intimate group of participants to honor, grieve and celebrate the trials and triumphs in the journey of healing from childhood sexual abuse. We use a holistic approach to unravel the pervasiveness of isolation, silence and shame, and to weave together our collective stories while being witness to one another’s individual experience.
This retreat uses a variety of modalities to explore how childhood experiences are held in the different aspects of self and offers opportunities for release, clearing and healing through talking circles, somatic practice, movement, visualization, singing, a grief ritual, and quiet integration time.
Who is it for:
The Healing Retreat is for adult survivors* of childhood sexual trauma, defined as any sexual violation experienced by someone under the age of 18. The Healing Retreat is open to participants over 18 years old of all genders, racialized identities, and sexual orientations. This retreat is intended for those who have already begun their healing journey and are seeking more support by working with others within a sacred circle.
*We use the term survivor, and acknowledge that this may not be the term all folks who have experienced sexual trauma may use to describe themselves.
Retreat Location:
The Healing Retreat is held at the Whidbey Institute, Washington State, located on the territory of the Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, and Snohomish tribes—the island Tscha-kole-chy, named Whidbey Island by colonial settlers. The Whidbey Institute has been a home for transformational learning since for over 50 years.
The Whidbey Institute is just over an hour drive from the Sea-Tac airport, including a 20-min ferry ride from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island. The island can also be entered by bridge from the north, or by ferry from the Olympic Peninsula. There is a shuttle service that runs between Sea-Tac airport and The Whidbey Institute.
Accessibility Info:
The Healing Retreat team works to make this experience as accessible as possible. Please be in touch if you have any specific questions about accessibility. There will be a place to share accessibility needs on the application.
The sleeping accommodations include a cabin village in the forest and an historic Farmhouse. The grounds at the WI include paved and unpaved paths and grassy areas. Kitchen and indoor meetings spaces are ADA accessible, as well as a number of cabins. Accommodations can be made for those who need support getting from one place to another.
Our COVID protocols:
We will adhere to state and local guidelines for COVID safety protocol. Knowing that these guidelines will likely shift over the coming months, we will be in touch with retreat participants at least one month ahead of time about our requirements.
Retreat Cost:
The Healing Retreat cost includes 3 nights of lodging in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and nourishing meals from dinner Thursday through Sunday brunch. A self-selecting sliding scale is offered, and payment plans are available. Full payment is requested 1 month prior to the retreat start date.
Those who are able to contribute at the Pay it Forward or Sustaining rates make it possible for those without financial access to be a part of this healing opportunity. We are so grateful!
There are Full and Partial Scholarships Available. Priority is given to BIPOC applicants and those with other marginalized identities including queer and trans folks, and people with disabilities.
To help you choose the most appropriate pricing tier for your financial situation, please read these GUIDELINES.
Pricing Scale:
$2100 - Pay It Forward Rate (includes single room accommodations unless requested otherwise)
$1800 - Sustaining Rate (includes double occupancy accommodations, limited number of single occupancy available for additional $200)
$1200 - Actual Rate (includes double occupancy accommodations, limited number of single occupancy available for additional $200)
There are full and partial scholarships available. Priority is given to BIPOC applicants and those with other marginalized identities including queer and trans folks, and people with disabilities.
Application Process:
The application process includes an online questionnaire and a brief follow up call with a facilitator. Applications are processed on a first come first serve basis. There is a $50 application fee, due at the time of submitting application.* The facilitation team will work to be in touch with you about your application status within 2 weeks of receiving the application and to schedule a short phone or video call. Upon hearing an acceptance from the facilitation team, you will have one week to confirm or decline your participation.**
Please note:
If accepted to the Healing Retreat, your $50 application fee will be applied to your retreat tuition.
If you choose to withdraw your participation within one week of receiving acceptance, or if your application is not accepted for this year's retreat, this fee will be refunded to you in full.
If we do not hear back from you after one week, your $50 application fee will be donated towards then Healing Retreat scholarship fund.
*If this fee is a barrier to you applying, please email the facilitation team at: survivorshealingretreat@gmail.com.
**Please let us know if you will be offline or will not have access to email during the period of time that you may expect to hear a response from us.
Free online information session:
If you would like to learn more about the 2025 Healing Retreat and meet the facilitators, please join us for an information session on Sunday, Feb. 23rd from 4pm - 5pm PT on Zoom. Register here.
Can’t attend the retreat but would like to make a donation to support scholarships for attendees?
Donate at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/healingretreat
To learn about the facilitators, click here
Kari Stettler and Somatic Resiliency offerings reside on the stolen lands from the ancestral and current inhabitants of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribal nations. These communities, currently represented by but not limited to, The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, who have called this place home for hundreds of generations before European and other mixed race settlers arrived, are the original and current human stewards of these dynamic ecologies. The diverse landscapes of this region which provide an abundance of food, medicine and textiles from which I benefit is an ongoing legacy from generations of their tending. Wherever you are reading this from, I invite you to take a moment, reflect on the Indigenous peoples of the place you call home. How can you learn more about them, their culture, their stories of past and present, and most importantly, what can you do to support your local Indigenous led organizations, projects and movements? If you are living in or around the “Bay Area of California”, there is a list on the Resources page (coming soon) of local Indigenous-led organizations and projects you can consider researching and supporting.