Florida Grief And Loss Retreats
Led By Jon Terrell, MA

12/17/24 update: only 3 openings left 
contact us now to register or for more information

February 6-9, 2025
Orlando, Florida

$1095-includes housing and all meals
 Some private rooms available for an additional fee
Limited to 11 participants

Our Florida Grief and Loss Retreat is for people experiencing painful emotions and/or are stuck in their lives.

It is for those who are experiencing the pain of deep grief and loss--of a child, parent, partner, husband or wife, sibling, friend, loved one, or for other reasons including:

• Going through a divorce or separation
• Trapped in anger or rage
• Feeling stuck, sad or hurt 
• Seeking to heal childhood pain
• Going through a difficult transition
• Healing from trauma
• Feeling anxiety or fear
• Stuck in guilt and shame or feeling blamed
• Seeking a new vision of one's life, a new direction

What Happens at the Florida Grief And Loss Retreat?

We create a safe, warm environment for deep emotional work. The power of the group supports each individual to delve deeply into where they are stuck.

Every participant has the opportunity to do one-on-one work with the facilitator as well as experience the full support of the group.

The power of an intentionally loving community creates a strong, safe container for people to do their emotional healing.

The First Phase–Coming Together

The group begins to come together on the first night.

This phase of the Florida Grief and Loss retreat helps create safety, ease and support. We do activities that connect us: we eat together, move together, and talk individually with each other as well as with the whole group.

People often comment with surprise at how quickly they feel connected to the other group members.

In this first phase, participants also learn the unique "Skills of Loving" that are the foundation of this work and that we practice throughout the event.

We have begun. Participants begin to experience the transformational power of a loving community, a safe and inviting family. 

The Second Phase–Going Deep Into the Heart of Healing

The second phase of the Florida Grief and Loss Retreat is an opportunity for participants to go into and through their stuck feelings, in a way that is nearly impossible on one's own.

With the loving support of the community, each person, if they choose, is guided into the wisdom and healing within their body.

It is here, in our bodies, that the "old story" lives on, and yet it is also where our deep wisdom resides.

Participants often journey into and through buried, stuck emotions. Grief is often accompanied by other feelings such as anger, rage, fear, and anxiety. 

Suppressing or avoiding our feelings doesn't work, and talking about feelings may bring some temporary relief but doesn’t change them.

We go well beyond talk therapy and counseling, deep into the places within us where we are stuck. We are not stuck at the level of thought! We are stuck at a layer of consciousness below our thinking, in our feelings.

Although emotions can and do affect our thoughts about ourselves and others, no amount of thinking can transform these stuck feelings. It can be challenging for our brains to accept this truth!

The group is essential. If we could have done it on our own, we would have done so already. We are often wounded in our families. At the retreat, we create an intentional healing family where we are immersed in the healing power of love to heal old wounds. 

Deep healing is quicker, less painful, and more enduring with group support.

Our hearts may be longing for something the brain can't quite understand. The experience of the grief retreat often goes way beyond what our brains can categorize...and it is often only after that our brains fully understand it!

Something extraordinary happens as people do their work. Each person is called back into the holiness and radiance of the present moment and into the loving arms of the waiting community.

As this shift happens, a new aliveness emerges from the ashes of the past. Past grief transforms into a joyful present-moment connection that we can carry forward in our lives. 

Third Phase–Integration And  Returning Home 

Participants experience healing, insights, and a reawakening to life and love. Our dark, stuck feelings come bearing gifts, treasures waiting to be discovered. And in this discovery is a celebration!

Now is the time to integrate this experience back into one's life. We need to turn towards the future and make the transition homeward.

We do simple grounding activities, including packing and cleaning. We push a broom or vacuum or do another action to focus us back in the physical world.

We journal to ground our experience into practical actions we can take during the week after the retreat.

With group and individual exercises, we focus on the next steps in our lives.

Retreat Information

The Florida Grief And Loss Retreat is limited to 11 participants. The cost is $1095.00, and includes housing and meals.

A limited number of private rooms are available for an additional cost of $200 (~$67/night)

It is held in a private condo in the Orlando area near Disney World and the other theme parks.

Photos Of Retreat Location

How To Register For The Florida Grief And Loss Retreat

You are encouraged to register early to assure yourself of a space. A deposit of $400 (see link below) reserves your space. The remainder is due 30 days before the retreat. You can pay the fees through Zelle, PayPal or Venmo. Or mail a check.

We often say that the retreat starts when you commit to it, i.e. when you register. What we mean by this is that your commitment to attend sets in motion a healing process in your life.

If this is your first retreat with us, a free phone interview (~20 minutes) is requested to help you and the facilitator decide if this retreat is appropriate for you.

You can reach Jon by sending a message (see bottom of page) with your phone number and the best times to call. (We try to reply within 24 hours, except when leading retreats.)

You can also arrange for a 1 hour Skype counseling session ahead of the retreat. The fee is $175 for the session.

Participants are asked to bring a potluck item for the first dinner unless they are flying or using public transportation.

Participants are also asked to sign a Liability Release Form at the retreat. A sample copy of that release is here.

Arrival time: Arrive on Thursday between 4:30-5:30 pm. We can't start until everyone is present so please be on time. 

Covid Policy: We are following CDC recommendations and will test participants as they arrive.

Departure time: We will finish by 10 am on Sunday.

All retreats are alcohol and drug free. We support folks who are involved in the recovery movement.

All retreats are GBLTQ friendly.

Refund policy for the retreat: your deposit will be refunded, minus a $150 administration fee, if it is at least 45 days before the retreat date.  After that, your deposit will be forfeited. 

Similar retreats are available in Massachusetts year round...click here for that page.

To register for this Florida Grief and Loss Retreat or if you have questions, contact Jon using the contact form below.

Go From Florida Grief and Loss Retreat To Home Page

Go To Grief And Loss Retreat Page

Go To Jon's biography

To pay the deposit:

Retreat Deposit

US credit card $400.00 USD Canada credit cd $555.00 USD

Recent Client Comments

"I arrived at the retreat a year after the death of my beloved mom. I struggled with feelings of grief and loneliness . I didn’t know what to expect. After only 4 days I left with people I can call close friends. I left feeling more community than ever and realized that I am not alone in the world and that it is okay to grieve. As a African American female, diversity in healing spaces are important and I was grateful that the retreat offered diversity in ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation. I have been to many grief retreats and healing spaces and this has by far been the most helpful in my healing.  Thank you Jon for opening up your home, heart and soul to me during one of the most difficult journeys in my life, I am forever grateful."

N'keya N. Peters-Camille, LCSW, July 2022

"I have been dealing with loss for the last 6 years, first my sister then my husband and then last year both of my parents. I had done everything to block the tears from spilling over but it got to the point where I felt like I was going to fall apart. I googled "Grief Retreats" and that's how I found Jon. This retreat allowed me to grieve and cry and let down my guard. God doesn't make any mistakes. He led me to the right place with the most amazing women so we could all share our experience while supporting each other. Jon is a gentle and kind soul and I am forever blessed to have met him."

Christine Altamuro, Morristown, New Jersey August 2022 

"I came to the retreat to free myself from the demons of my past traumas and to rescue myself.

What I experienced was more amazing than anything I could have imagined. I have regained a sense of my true self and have begun the long journey to recovery.

Most importantly, I have learned to connect with others on a deep level that I would never have thought possible before.

I feel reborn."

Richard K., Georgia

"Raising 3 teenagers is hard enough but when our eldest developed mental health issues, our world turned upside down. The stress as a parent supporting my child’s recovery, while still trying to manage the rest of my life became exhausting! I went from being a happy giving person to having a quick temper and road rage. 

After my retreat I felt peaceful, reconnected to myself and unbelievably Energized!! My husband can’t believe the transformation in my face! He said I look 10 years younger. 

I will recommend this workshop to friends & family!"

Star Sweetnam, Toronto, Canada

" I had lost touch with myself most of all, buried by today's frenzied and superficial world with its pressures and demands and roles so easy for me to get lost in, as well as old hurts from my past that have somehow or another gotten in the way of my progress in getting the most out of my most important relationships and just generally feeling burnt out with my life and purpose.

This workshop had such an impact on me, transformational. It helped me to finally stop and look deeper inside of myself after all these years, and to not be afraid to connect with others and just try being myself in a safe and nonjudgmental environment. I felt like I found my tribe, in a sense. Even with so many different personality types and reasons for going there, we all were struggling with the same core feelings keeping us back from truly living our lives. Jon has truly been an amazing leader throughout that whole process, and I still hear his voice and see his face in my mind helping me stay on track. He and this whole experience  ranks up with the top blessings of my life. It's like the welcomed birth of another child for me, only this time I'm the one who has been reborn with an outlook more true to my real self, more positive by far!

Thank you, Jon, from the deepest part of my soul. I remain forever grateful.

Erica Lopez, Texas, USA

"Thank you for this incredible experience. You opened up your home and heart to 11 “strangers” and gave us the best gifts anyone could ever receive- LOVE, validation, connection, acceptance, laughter,and a wonderful peace that I am feeling for the first time. Thank you for bringing me back to myself and helping me find and access the love inside. Thank you for the magic. Thank you for helping me take my life back. And thank you for the healing. It feels so good to be excited for the rest of my journey and I can’t wait to pay all the gifts forward to people I meet along the way."

Carrie D, Georgia