276 Courses

The cost of the Retreat is £625. A deposit of £325 secures your space with the remaining £300 payable by September. From the moment we are born, even before we are born, we are experiencing loss. Our sorrows can gather and grow and become the path that we most fear to tread. If only we collectively knew that by giving ourselves an opportunity to be with our sorrow and turn towards our hidden pain, we may find our way home to our Self sooner.  We have to be able to grieve to praise life and connect with our full authentic selves, it is testament to the fact that we love. Grief gets stuck and like trauma, it is downloaded into our bodies, which stops the flow of our accurate present moment experiences, our access to Self-Energy and living freely. We are wired to connect and co-regulate to survive. Connection in community is no longer a priority in many societies today. We may have lost the sense of belonging that our ancestors once had, through living in community, in tribes and villages.  This 3-day retreat offers a unique space of holding for expressing the unexpressed, being witnessed, enabling each in their own way to be seen, heard and felt together in community. This is often our missing experience. We will be laying the ground for the expression and witnessing of grief in community, that which is deeply personal, yet universal. Four passionate grief warriors who know from the inside the importance of being with grief and having walked this path with many, are offering an opportunity to honour our losses and live our fullest life. We will be stepping outside of our cultural burdens of individualism to come together with our sorrow.  We will be exploring grief as much broader than (and including) the loss of a loved one. We may also experience the grief of our expectations not being met for this life; grief held in our systems from our ancestors; grief of events in the world; grief about the harm we have caused others in our lives; the grief that our parts hold as our life changes as we and our families age; and the grief held by our parts as we heal and consider how different things could have been for them.  This retreat will be held within the frame of Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), with heart opening sacred ritual and ceremony, incorporating sound healing, gongs, drums and voice and supported by yoga, Reiki, meditation and internal enquiry. We will be making use of the beautiful grounds at Penny Brohn (Bristol) to support our healing and connecting intentions. Our retreat is suitable for anyone with some familiarity with IFS either through your own personal work or professional practice.  The space will be held by Lynn Palethorpe, Sally Burke, Zandra Bamford and Becky Cresswell.  Lynn is a gentle and containing Approved IFS Consultant, Certified IFS Therapist (L3) and Clinical and IFS Supervisor. Alongside her private practice, she’s a Program Assistant on IFS trainings, Lecturer in Counselling and Reiki Practitioner. Sally works collaboratively and compassionately as an Integrative Psychotherapist, Certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, IFS Certified Therapist, Approved Consultant with the IFS Institute and Reiki Practitioner. Zandra is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Approved IFS Consultant and Certified IFS Therapist with over 20 years experience working with complex trauma within a deeply compassionate and holistic approach. Becky, founder of GroundedPeace is a certified Sound Healing Practitioner and Teacher, Musician, Yoga Teacher and Reiki Healer.  * A retreat that offers a unique experience of expressing and witnessing our grief in community. * All parts are truly welcome and celebrated  * Discovering through rituals and sound how unexpressed grief may have kept us stuck in repeating patterns. * Befriending protectors through meditations and creative practices. * Ritual and release focusing on six gates of grief. * Exploring and expressing sorrow through sound, voice and movement. * Choice in how you wish to respond and take part (all parts are welcome). * Optional follow up group for further integration 12 weeks later. * Nutritious, balanced food catering to all dietary requirements.  There are two booking options available: with or without dinner and bed and breakfast (Thurs and Fri nights). Lunch and refreshments are provided for all participants throughout the 3 days.  Please email threegatesretreats@gmail.com if you have any questions.  We look forward to welcoming you.  “There are many ways grief is felt. It is not just the sorrowful tender tears that come in those quiet moments. Grief is feral and it asks us to lay our soul bare, to strip back to the bones, to surrender control, she will not be negotiated or tamed. It can arrive as anger, fear, sadness, guilt, apathy, despair, numbness, powerlessness and hopelessness. And when we are witnessed and validated, acknowledged and held in loving empathic heart presence a level of healing occurs that is deeply and profoundly freeing……” Stephen Jenkinson Lynn Palethorpe Sally Burke Zandra Bamford Becky Cresswell

LOOKING FOR: MG, YA AND ADULT SCI-FI / FANTASY, CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION After graduating from St Andrews University with a degree in English Literature and Art History, Maddy followed her love of literature to an internship at non-fiction literary agency Graham Maw Christie. At GMC, Maddy worked her way up to Agent and built a list of authors who wrote for both for adults and children, spanning history, tarot, and nature writing. An avid reader of anything magical, Maddy joined Madeleine Milburn in 2022 to build a list specialising in SFF. Maddy would like to see SFF across all genres for all ages, including: grim dark, thriller, historical, romance, cosy fantasy, sci-fi, epic, YA fantasy, dark academia, contemporary fantasy, fantasy middle-grade, mythology, fairy tale and queer fantasy. Inspiring children’s non-fiction. She loves worlds to get lost in, adventures that transform what it means to be a hero, and unique magic that offers as many problems as solutions. She likes books that make her cry and books that change her mind. Above all, when she finishes a story about another world, she wants it to have taught her a lesson which helps her live in this one. She loves all fantasy, but favours richly imagined, complex worlds with a history to discover and a future to protect. Worldbuilding is one of her favourite aspects of this genre and she is always looking for a new, dense world with series potential. Think Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere or the Marvel Cinematic Universe – the bigger the better! She also likes character-driven fantasy with a diverse cast to root for (or root against) and she wants to see a range of different relationships depicted authentically. She particularly like epics that dip into big, universal themes such as grief, climate change, or war and which ask impossible questions in the vein of R.F. Kuang or N.K. Jemisin. She is also excited by authors that play with form and language in a fantasy setting. In YA, she is looking for much the same as in an adult fantasy, but with younger protagonists and a closer focus on relationships. She wants to see the tropes she knows and loves in new and exciting forms and her favourite YA books often centre around belonging and becoming. She likes a dash of romance in everything, because she is sentimental that way, but it’s particularly important in the YA space. Sci-fi is a big passion of hers, especially when it comes with a strong hook. She is a huge fan of Becky Chamber’s The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and Michaiah Johnson’s The Space Between Worlds. She likes space as a metaphor, and would love something that explores different alien species. Please send her your space operas and sci-fi romances which combine space, magic and mayhem! In fantasy middle grade, she favours whimsy and animal companions; she would love to follow a group of kids through magic school. She tends to look for plenty of humour with a strong friendship at the centre, and she wants middle grade stories which engage with the concerns of children growing up as well as offering an all-important escape (preferably on a dragon/unicorn’s back). She is also looking for children’s non-fiction for all ages. In this space, she wants something as creative as it is informative, and thinks diverse voices are increasingly important. Maddy would like you to submit a covering letter, one page synopsis and the first three chapters (Max 5000 words) of your completed manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Maddy is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print).  By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Monday 16 September 2024

Grief & Bereavement Training Certification programme to help others heal from grief, loss and emotional pain.

Gain the skills and credentials to kickstart a successful career and learn from the experts with this step-by-step

Embark on a transformative journey to become a specialist in Bereavement and Grief Counselling. This course equips you with the theoretical understanding and practical skills to navigate the complex emotional landscape of grief, making a meaningful impact in the lives of those experiencing loss.

Gain the solid skills and knowledge to kickstart a successful career and learn from the experts with this