Retreats and Groups

A breathing space to be creative, rediscover who are you, connect with others, explore new possibilities and learn new skills

  • Journeying through themes

    Our retreats and workshops revolve around specific themes. They are rich in the material they explore and the content that emerges from this exploration. Our retreats give you the opportunity to be creative, play, laugh, cry, reconnect, share, reflect and replenish. They are spaces to breathe, connect with yourself and others.. Our workshops allow you to develop skills, create new relationships, discover insights, and and explore aspects of yourself you may not have explored before.

  • Diverse backgrounds and needs

    Whether you are a psychotherapy or healthcare professional looking for self-care and replenishment, a corporate executive seeking time for reflection, an artist wanting to make connections, or a teacher looking for inspiration, our offerings cater to diverse backgrounds and needs.

  • Empowering and embracing

    Join us as we invite you to re-connect with the amazing resources that are contained within you. Discover a deep connection with yourself that can be found through work with the body, tap into your inherent creativity, become absorbed in possibilities for self-discovery, and embrace the profound potential of everything that you are.

Upcoming retreats

Upcoming retreats

Each retreat focuses on a specific theme to give you the opportunity to explore different aspects of yourself. We use a range of creative media to explore the themes and offer you the opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of yourself through this exploration. We offer weekend and five-day retreats at beautiful venues in the UK.

  • A Sense of Home, A Sense of Belonging

    Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September 2025

    Middlethorpe Hall Hotel and Spa, York

    Over the weekend we will use a range of creative arts media and work with the body and movement to explore the retreat's theme -  A Sense of Home, A Sense of Belonging. We will consider what these terms mean and how they impact our relationship to ourselves and our relationship with others and the wider world around us.

    To explore the theme we will use the body and movement, and a range of creative arts media alongside talking and individual and group reflection.

    Approaches drawn from Psychotherapy, Anthropology, the Creative Arts , Dance, Movement and Yoga will underpin the retreat.

    Enquire

  • Exploring the Spaces between Light and Darkness

    Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1st February 2026

    Middlethorpe Hall Hotel and Spa, York

    During this retreat we will explore the theme of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ and how the understanding of these ideas impacts us in our daily lives. We will also explore the spaces between ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ and what these spaces might offer us.

    To explore the theme we will use the body and movement, and a range of creative arts media alongside talking and individual and group reflection.

    Approaches drawn from Psychotherapy, Anthropology, the Creative Arts , Dance, Movement and Yoga will underpin the retreat.

    Enquire

  • Dances of the Feminine

    Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May 2026

    Middlethorpe Hall Hotel and Spa, York

    This retreat is a celebration of the sensuality and passion of the ‘feminine’ through exploration of ‘dances of the feminine’. As part of this exploration we will consider historical, popular and cultural understandings of ‘dances of the feminine’. Whilst also exploring, discovering and developing our own individual and group dances and considering their meaning for us.

    To explore the theme we will use the body and movement, and a range of creative arts media alongside talking and individual and group reflection.

    Approaches drawn from Psychotherapy, Anthropology, the Creative Arts , Dance, Movement and Yoga will underpin the retreat.

    Enquire

Upcoming workshops

Upcoming workshops

Each workshop is crafted to be a one-day intensive experience, allowing participants to engage deeply in the workshop material, create new relationships, and take away valuable insights and skills.

  • NEW Fortnightly Psychotherapy Group

    Tuesdays, 11am-2pm, Fortnightly

    Home Studio, York

    This small fortnightly psychotherapy group gives you the opportunity to explore both personal and interpersonal themes; and come to a deeper understanding of your self, your experiences, and your relationship to others in a friendly, safe, creative environment.

    We will use a humanistic, integrative arts psychotherapy approach that integrates talking alongside work with the body, movement and a range of creative arts media. This enables you to work both verbally and nonverbally in a psychotherapeutic context.

    Dates

    Tuesday November 4th 2025

    Tuesday October 18th 2025

    Tuesday December 2nd 2025

    Enquire

  • Monthly Women's Group

    Tuesdays, 11am-2.30pm, Monthly

    Home Studio, York

    The Women’s Group is a small monthly group for women to have space to connect with themselves and explore areas in their lives that they may be struggling with. This may include life or work transitions, loss and grief, illness, changes in relationships with Self and/or others.

    The Women’s Group is a safe, creative, supportive environment in which to explore areas of vulnerability with others.

    We use talking alongside work with the body and movement, vocalisation and singing, drawing and making, story, writing, and nature to facilitate connection , understanding and the potential for change.

    Dates

    Tuesday October 14th 2025

    Tuesday November 11th 2025

    Tuesday December 9th 2025

    Enquire

  • 'REFLECTIONS' Process Group for Psychotherapists in York

    Sundays 10am-1pm, Bi-Monthly

    Home Studio, York

    The Reflections Group is a bi-monthly ongoing process group for qualified psychotherapists.

    The group offers participants the opportunity to reflect on personal material that may be arising in relation to clinical work, or personal material that might be present alongside clinical work.

    Alongside talking we will work with the body and movement and a range of creative arts media to explore experiences, emotions and themes that may be present.

    Dates

    Sunday January 11th 2026

    Sunday March 8th 2026

    Sunday May 3rd 2026

    Sunday July 12th 2026

    Enquire

Retreats and workshops can also be tailored to your specific needs. For example:

  • Team building

  • Developing communication skills

  • Confidence building

  • Celebrating an important event

Retreats and workshops testimonials

  • In 2013, it was suggested to me that I contact Allison when I wanted to do something about the yearning I’d found to dance and unleash my creativity. Since then, I’ve had one-to-one supervision/therapy sessions with her sometimes regularly, sometimes less regularly. I’ve also attended many workshops and weekend retreats she’s run and danced with and befriended like-minded people. This has opened up a whole new world for me, it’s given me a much deeper and multi-faceted understanding of myself and what I’m capable of withstanding and achieving both at work and in my personal life. And most importantly, I’ve found the joy that comes from nurturing that yearning.

    Jackie

  • I've attended two of Allison's retreats … On Both occasions, I came away feeling rejuvenated and ready to experience the world again. The retreats offered me a safe space to just be, without the pressures of work deadlines or having to be somewhere by a certain time. Through the beautiful stories that Allison brought to the weekend, I was able to explore myself, and to share my experience of being a woman, supported by a group of women who also shared their own experiences.

    Sarah

  • I have attended the themed retreats for 8yrs, Allison runs them in a supportive, well planned way. But she is flexible in approach and adaptive to the needs of individuals and the group. As an artist, working alone, the interaction with like-minded women recharges my creativity. They are always a very special time, rich & stimulating in so many ways.

    Cathy

  • Alongside individual psychotherapy Allison has also provided the opportunity to go on her retreats, which although are not therapy, provide a therapeutic space to explore different themes as part of a community. For me, this has also opened up new avenues to deepening into the work and meeting new friends.

    Jane

Questions about Retreats and Workshops?