Agenda
“Coming Home to Self ~ Creativity, Courage and Compassion”
Chimney Corners Resort Frankfort, Michigan
Thursday, October 1, 2026:
3:00 - 7:00 pm Check In/Settle In (Dinner on your own)
7:30 - 9:00 pm Welcome and Opening Session: The Lodge/Fire Circle at the Lake
Tanis Allen, LMSW, ACSW , CISFT
In our opening circle, we will begin to turn inward and listen deeply to our parts within the supportive container of expansive Self-energy which we will build as a group. Together we will step into the sacred energy deeply rooted in the land, water and fire which will support us in our work throughout the weekend. We will set our intentions together as we enter this time set apart for ourselves to tap into our collective wisdom and begin our exploration of working with our own and our clients’ internal systems with the creativity, courage, love and compassion which resides in every one of us and within the group.
Friday, October 2, 2026:
8:00 ~ 9:00 am Morning Yoga in the Lodge:
Beth Jerva, LMSW, PRYT, RYT and Mary Beth Thomas, RYP 500
10:00 am ~ 1:00 pm Morning Session: Writing From Self, Writing With Parts”
Vera Dyck, RP, MSc, RMFT
The goal of Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) writing “through the use o the workshop method developed by Pat Schneider, to support established and emerging voices, to free silenced voices and to respect the artist in all writers.” This experiential workshop invites participants to fully engage in AWA style writing while connecting with, learning about and hearing from their internal parts in a variety of ways. We’ll use AWA’s uniquely supportive feedback guidelines and other practices for overcoming writer’s (and part’s!) block and increasing our experience of delight in both writing and in our parts. Prompts and exercises will be shared to inspire but not constrain writers’ creativity.
1:00 pm Lunch in the Lodge
2:30 pm ~ 5:30 pm Afternoon Session: “Writing From Self, Writing With Parts” (continued)
Vera Dyck, RP, MSc, RMFT
5:30 ~ 8 pm Dinner at Rocks Landing
8:30 pm Music and Stories Singer/Songwriters AnnMarie Rowland and Kelly Shively
Saturday, October 3, 2026:
8:00 am ~ 9:00 am Morning Yoga in The Lodge:
Beth Jerva, LMSW, PRYT, RYT and Mary Beth Thomas, RYT 500
10:00 am ~ 1:00 pm Morning Session: “Healing with SoulCollage: Witnessing and Unburdening”
Pricilla Boyd, LCSW, M.Ed.
Through Self-led and group work with our parts, along with sacred circle meditation and ritual, this experiential workshop will be an integration of the powerful processes of SoulCollage (developed by Jungian analyst Seena Frost) and IFS. Participants will create cards that represent parts of themselves ~ managers, firefighters and exiles ~ allowing for expression, clarification, and deeper understanding of their personal history and functioning. We will explore SoulCollage’s four “suits,” with particular emphasis on the “council suit,” offering a window into how archetypes influence parts. Participants will leave with a felt sense of this expressive therapy’s benefits and its correlation to IFS, equipping them to support both themselves and their clients in the quest for self awareness and personal power.
1:00 pm Lunch in the Lodge
2:30 pm ~ 5:30 pm Afternoon Session: “Healing with SoulCollage: Witnessing and Unburdening (continued)
Pricilla Boyd, LCSW, M.Ed.
5:30 pm ~ 8:00 pm Dinner at Rocks Landing
Later Bonfire, Stargazing, Music and Stories
Sunday, October 4, 2026
10:00 am ~ 10:30 am Morning Meditation and Music
10:30 am ~ 12:30 pm Closing Session:
“Being Fully Present with Creativity, Courage and Compassion”
Tanis Allen, LMSW, ACSW, CIFST
Our closing circle will offer a time to both acknowledge and invite parts that wish to speak about their experiences during the weekend to do so in an embodied and Self-led way. Through guided meditation, body-centered practices, parts sculpting and small and large group discussion, we will allow our internal systems the opportunity for any further expression and exploration that may be necessary. In closing our weekend together, we will also acknowledge and offer gratitude for our connection to the guidance of nature surrounding us, as well as the power of the group’s Self-energy such that a deeper integration of our experiences in retreat together emerges and insights gained will be highlighted.
As Dick relates in his book “You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For,” incorporating a quote from the 19th century philosopher William James at the turn of the last century: “You are drops of the same divine ocean or sparks of the same eternal flame, part and parcel of the wider Self.” This session will help us strengthen our skills for becoming more fully present to ourselves, our clients and those we care about as we “walk each other home” to that wise, spacious, compassionate and loving harbor within that we call Self.
12:30 pm Closing and Send-Off
Tanis Allen, LMSW, ACSW, CIFST