Grief Retreats For Emotional Healing

A Safe and Compassionate Place To Begin Again After Loss

Retreats With Jon Terrell, M.A. 

You don't have to carry this alone. For over twenty-five years, we've led grief retreats for people seeking emotional healing — for the death of a loved one, divorce, or separation — or for people caught in anger, anxiety, or fear. Together, we provide guidance, the support of a loving, caring community, and a proven step-by-step process to help you return to yourself.

What Happens At The Retreat

Most of us know how to talk about our pain. Very few of us know how to actually move through it.

At our emotional healing retreats, change doesn't happen by talking about grief — it happens by fully feeling it, in a safe space built to hold whatever comes up. Over four days, in a small group of no more than twelve, you will learn a new way through emotional pain.

You'll have skilled guidance, practical tools, and the loving support of the whole group to carry you through.

Why This Works When Other Things Haven't

Feelings live in our bodies, below the level of thoughts.

Feelings live beneath thought. You can understand your loss completely and still feel frozen by it — because the work isn't in your brain; it's in your body, in your emotions.

That's the difference at our grief retreats. We don't ask you to analyze your grief. We help you move through it, so what's been weighing you down can finally soften and transform—and what's underneath it, your aliveness, your joy, your capacity to love again, can come back.

The Healing Power of Community

You don't heal alone. You heal in the presence of others who see you, hear you, and understand you.

What can take years to work through in private counseling often moves in a single retreat—because feeling and transforming emotions happens faster than talking about them. This is especially true in community, where many people witness, empathize, and love you.

Our groups are limited to 12 participants, so each person gets individual attention and can connect deeply with the other participants. This provides a deep sense of safety and support for everyone.

When you share what you've been carrying, especially in a group trained in "Skills of Loving," something shifts. You find relief. And you discover you're not the only one who has felt this way.

As each person in the group does their own emotional healing work, something happens for everyone. You reclaim the parts of yourself that got lost along the way — your power, your voice, your aliveness. You leave feeling whole, connected, and loved.

Emotional Healing Grief Retreats

Our Grief, Loss, and Difficult Emotions Retreats run Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon, in small groups of no more than twelve. Most retreats take place at Star Dance Ranch in western Massachusetts, our home base. Once a year, we offer our grief retreat in Florida, and every few years, in California.

Each retreat is guided, step by step — you won't be asked to figure out the process on your own, and you won't be asked to do anything before you're ready.

If you'd like more time, Breaking Free to Emotional Wellness is our extended retreat, one day longer, offered each summer for a more relaxed pace and additional depth.

Some people are surprised by the retreat's brevity and feel that, because their pain is so deep, they need much more time. But we've found that this process goes deep to exactly where each person needs to go, and the extra time isn't necessary. Go to Why Are Our Retreats Three Days Long? to learn more.

Who This Retreat Is For

This retreat is for you if you're grieving the death of a spouse, a parent, a child, or a close friend — or if you're moving through the ending of a marriage or a long relationship. It's also for people who feel stuck in anger, anxiety, or fear that won't loosen its grip, even when the original loss happened years ago.

You might be here because a single event knocked you off your feet. Or because grief built up slowly, loss after loss, until you finally realized you had to face it.

However you arrived, you don't need a diagnosis or a specific kind of loss to belong here. If you're carrying something heavy and you're ready to finally move through it, this retreat is for you.

Common Questions

Is this grief retreat a substitute for therapy?
No. This retreat is a complement to therapy, not a replacement for it. Many participants are also in counseling, and many come specifically because talk-based approaches alone haven't been enough to help them through what they're carrying. If you're currently in crisis or working through a serious mental health condition, please talk with your therapist or doctor about whether this retreat is right for you right now.

I've never done anything like this before. Is that okay?
Yes. Most people who come haven't. You don't need any experience with retreats, meditation, or emotional work of any kind. We'll guide you every step of the way.

Will I be forced to share or do anything I'm not comfortable with?
No. You're invited to participate fully, but you're never pushed. You move at your own pace, and the group and I are there to support you, not pressure you. You are always in charge.

What should I bring?
Comfortable clothing, an open mind, and whatever you're carrying — grief, anger, fear, exhaustion. We'll take care of the rest. (Once you register, you will receive a series of emails that answer your questions, and you are always welcome to speak or email me.)

Where and when are the retreats held?
Most grief retreats take place at Star Dance Ranch in western Massachusetts, with one Florida retreat each year and occasional California retreats. Go here for the current schedule.

You've Waited Long Enough

If you're ready to stop carrying this alone, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out below, ask a question, or set up a call. I'll get back to you personally, usually within a day.

— Jon

Legal Documents for those who want to attend our retreats: Go Here