Redefine Therapy Expressive Arts Retreat

April 25-27, 2025
Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center
Villa Maria, PA

Register Here

registration Closes April 11th, 2025

Join us for our Annual Expressive Arts Retreat!

We are thrilled to be back in our retreat home at Villa Maria Education & Spirituality Retreat Center in Western Pennsylvania for the Redefine Therapy Expressive Arts Retreat, formerly called the Dancing Mindfulness Facilitators and Friends Retreat. Join us for this unique retreat experience that is known for its ability to bring together outside-of-the-box thinkers, feelers, and doers from a variety of professions. Select CE credit hours are available for our clinical pre-retreat workshop this year. No CEs are offered for main retreat (some of the content might be able to be counted to certain programs in Expressive Arts Therapy. If you are enrolled in a program you can verify). Retreat directed by Dr. Jamie Marich.
 
Confirmed special guests include: Spiral Rhythms, Blaise Harris, Irene Rodriguez, Leah Hartman, Rev. John Michael Thornton, Thomas Zimmerman, and Lisa Glendinning
 
Register now

registration Closes APril 11th, 2025

Pre-Retreat Workshops

April 25, 2025

LisaTomPicture

The Four Blinks Approach to Flash, a CE Training

with Four Blinks Studio, an Expressive Arts Experience and CE Training with Thomas Zimmerman and Lisa Glendinning

 This workshop is designed to create an environment for clinicians to enhance their understanding of Flash-based memory reconsolidation research and techniques in assorted clinical contexts and settings.  Participants will learn a version of Flash specifically developed for complex trauma and for use in assorted contexts (individual sessions, group sessions, and as a critical incident intervention).

9:00am-4:30pm, April 25, 2025
Cost: $75.00 (as retreat add-on)
Cost: $105.00 (workshop only/no retreat)
Cost: $55.00 (student discount)
Lunch is included at all price points.
6 CE credit hours available
Register For Workshop Only
No Retreat
JamieJohn

Psychic Self-Defense, Wellness Workshop

with Rev. John Michael Thornton (and special guest Dr. Jamie Marich)

In this workshop we will look at ways to transform unhealthy avoidance strategies into conscious protection strategies.  We will explore ways of creating spaces where intuition and empathy feel easy and natural.

9:00am-4:30pm, April 25, 2025
Cost: $75.00 (as retreat add-on)
Cost: $95.00 (workshop only/no retreat)
Cost: $55.00 (student discount)
Lunch is included at all price points.
No CE credit hours
Register For Workshop Only
No Retreat

Feeling the Call to Facilitate?

We are now accepting proposals!

Have you been thinking about crafting your own retreat session, leading a dance chapel or yoga session?  If so, submit your proposal! 

 

Submit A Proposal
JamieIreneBook
Pictured: Dr. Jamie Marich & Irene Rodriguez

Retreat Package Options (April 25-27, 2025)

Pre-Retreat Workshop Optional Add-on (April 26th)

For those attending the retreat in-person, meals are included from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast. If you are adding the extra night Thursday breakfast and lunch are also included on Friday. We ask you to disclose any special dietary requests or accessibility accommodations requests in the registration form.

Register Here

registration Closes APril 11th, 2025

Although we are not promoting a full hybrid retreat and encourage people to attend in-person, we appreciate that not everyone can. If you are interested in the retreat and would be interested in taking part in some of the sessions online, please reach out to us directly at: alicia@instutituteforcreativemindfulness.com by April 11th, 2025 and we will make appropriate arrangements based on our tech capacity.

Preliminary Retreat Agenda

Dr. Jamie Marich leading a session during an Expressive Arts Therapy training

Redefine Therapy Expressive Arts Retreat 2025

Schedule TBA

DaySessionTimeLocation
Thursday, April 24Early Arrival for Those Who
Purchased an Extra Night		5:30pm-9:30pmBegel Hall West
Friday, April 25Breakfast (for Thursday overnight guests)8:15am-9:00am
Pre-Retreat Workshops (Optional)9:00am-4:30pmMultipleThe Four Blinks Approach to Flash: Core Training and Creative Applications with Thomas Zimmerman and Lisa Glendinning (Mother Madeline)Energy Management and Psychic Protection with John Michael Thornton and Dr. Jamie Marich (Discussant) (Begel Hall West)
In-Person Retreat Arrivals4:00pm-7:00pmBegel Hall West
Dinner5:25pm-6:00pm
Free Time6:00pm-7:30pm
Opening Orientation & Dance with Dr. Jamie Marich7:30pm-9:30pmMother Madeline
Saturday, April 26Morning Yoga7:30am-8:30amBegel WestMorning Yoga with Leah Hartman (Begel West)
Breakfast8:15am-9:00am
Morning Sessions 1
9:00am-10:15amMultipleFinger Labyrinths: An Ancient Tool for Healing with Alix Amar (Mother Madeline)Laughter: A Mindful Path to Joy and Nervous System Regulation with Irene Rodriguez (Begel West)
Morning Sessions 2:
10:30am-11:45amMultipleAn Invitation to EMD Playbox: An Art Camp Community Experience for Wounded HealersÓ: Know Thyself and Be Well with Amy Mickle and Julie Pyle-Childs (Mother Madeline)Calling All Saviors: Follow The Moon with Rev. Karla Fleshman (Begel West)
Lunch Break12:00am-1:00pm
Wellness Services Available TBA (Extra Fee Applies)1:00pm-7:00pm Begel Hall West
Featured Afternoon Session 1:30pm-4:00pmMother MadelineFeatured Afternoon Session: Hip Hop, Mental Health, and Me with Blaise Harris (Mother Madeline)
TBA or Free Time
4:15pm-5:00pmMother Madeline
Dinner5:25pm-6:00pm
Free Time6:00pm-7:30pm
Evening Program with Spiral Rhythms Ensemble (In-Person) or Free Time7:30-9:00pmMother Madeline
Sunday, April 27Dance Chapel with Alicia Hand7:30am-8:30amMother Madeline
Breakfast8:15am-9:30am
Morning Session9:30am-10:00amMother MadelineMorning Session: Laughter Yoga with Irene Rodriguez (Mother Madeline)
Share Your Practice: Closing Program Led by Dr. Jamie Marich & Participating Facilitators10:00am-12:00pmMother MadelineShare Your Practice, Facilitated by Dr. Jamie Marich
Departure

Testimonials

What people are saying

"The training was absolutely wonderful; I have to say it is one of the best trainings I have had! I have already been enjoying putting EMDR to work in my community and I have begun to see some of the great benefits of this work. I cannot thank you enough for the truly exceptional training; it has been a life-changing gift for my work in this community. I hope to continue to take future trainings and learn from the great knowledge of Dr. Jamie and the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, I so greatly enjoy learning and connecting with this wise group of people."
Samantha Isakson Lyerly
Samantha Isakson LyerlyPhD, SSP, MA
"As an anti-racist political activist I move primarily in BIPOC spaces. As a therapist I move primarily in white spaces. This training is a model for other modalities, EFT, IFS, DBT, CBT, ACT, etc., to not only denounce racism but to take action in multiple ways."
José Alfaro
José AlfaroLCSW, anti-racist political activist
"With the EMDR training scholarship discount I was able to help my therapy scholarship clients and even got to support Iranian therapists who are holding so much for their clients these days."
Dr. Hannah Alla Joharchi
Dr. Hannah Alla JoharchiFounder, Soft Heart Psychology
"During my EMDR training, Dr. Jamie and ICM underscored that everyone has an experience somewhere along the dissociative spectrum. Their inclusivity nurtured my plural identity, and I could be myself without fear of judgment, whispers, or laughter. Their profound acceptance and respect made me feel seen, valued, and appreciated as a professional."
Tiff
TiffPlural Therapist
"ICM was one of the most well organized and engaging training platforms I have utilized. It allowed me to obtain a basic foundation in EMDR Therapy and bring the modality to a population of clients that otherwise wouldn’t have access to."
Katelyn Jakubovic
Katelyn JakubovicClinical Therapist
"For the first time, I met trainers who teach EMDR Therapy while integrating embodiment, creative techniques, mindfulness meditations, and all on TeleHealth!! I had transforming experiences personally during my own EMDR processing and learned how to utilize the standard EMDR protocol. Now, I am using EMDR Therapy with Sandtray Therapy and reaching new goals in my business!
Thank you Jamie & ICM!"
Beth Moore
Beth MooreLPC
"Thank you ICM for sharing the remarkable, life-changing gift of EMDR therapy! I can't emphasize enough how my learning through ICM (trainings, Jamie's webinars, videos, etc.), and its incredibly supportive community, has been a complete game changer for me both personally and professionally. Truly grateful, and as we often say in EMDR sessions, I'll "just go with that!"."
Elyan Rosenbaum
Elyan RosenbaumMHC-LP, NCC
"The ability to learn EMDR virtually was truly a transformative process. Through ICM, I have developed needed clinical skills and gained a network of amazing, trauma-informed clinicians that are passionate about providing top-notch care. The combination of mindfulness techniques with the standard EMDR protocol has been a game changer in my practice, providing much needed healing for those in which I serve. Thank you, Dr. Marich and Staff!"
David Likens
David LikensM.S., LPC-S
"Dr. Jamie Marich has designed an EMDR training that is nothing shy of AMAZING! As the Founder of the "only" Therapist of Color Collaborative in the State of Colorado, being trained by someone who could help digest what is a very scripted protocol, and make it more culturally relevant was imperative. She did so with ease, patience, AND a bang up team of EMDR Trainers!"
Rossina Schroeer-Santiago
Rossina Schroeer-SantiagoMA, LPC, NCC, GCDF, CIGT
"The Institute for Creative Mindfulness' trainings have been pivotal in my career and my personal healing and growth path. EMDR therapy training has equipped me to be a competent trauma therapist - something that, in my opinion, is an ethical imperative for anyone working in the mental health field. The ICM consultants and practitioner community keeps me growing in my skills and knowledge, as well as supported by a vast and diverse community of professionals."
Paula Soto
Paula SotoLCSW, ERYT, YACEP

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Land Acknowledgment: We would like to acknowledge that the land on which the home offices of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness are located has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, specifically people of the Erie Nation.

We honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to these territories on which we gather. We encourage each participant of our programs to increase their awareness of the historical and current realities of indigenous peoples in your local community.

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