Location

Mt Carmel Retreat Centre
247 St Andrews Road,Varroville NSW

Convenient location being close to Sydney (45 minutes), Wollongong (60 minutes) and Canberra (2.5 hours).

If you fly into Sydney, you can catch the train to Minto station, which is 7 minutes drive to the Mt Carmel Retreat Centre.

Date

4- 9 October 2026

Arrival on 4 Oct. Sunday 2-4 pm and finishing on Friday 9 Oct. at 1 pm

Accommodation

You will be staying in a room of your own with your own Ensuite and free Wi-Fi.

Delicious healthy meals will be served with vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free options

Presenters

Marianna Lolas, and Marie Bloomfield, Clinical Psychologists, trained in Compassion-Focused Therapy and certified Mindful Self-Compassion teachers

Cost

Early bird (4 August): $2,100.00

Regular: $2,450.00

The fees include teaching, accommodation, and meals.

For students, APS members or other discounts, please contact us (kindness@bluewrenpsychology.com.au)

WHO IS IT FOR...

This retreat targets health professionals, healthcare workers and caregivers, such as psychologists, social workers, counsellors, occupational therapists, teachers, nurses, medical practitioners, coaches, yoga teachers and anyone else who is in a helping role.

The five-day retreat meets the requirement to have attended a five-day, silent, teacher-led retreat to become a Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher. This Retreat is CPD-approved by the Australian Psychological Society(APS). The training activity has been assessed against quality standards developed by Australian psychologists and adult education experts.

Level of Learning: Intermediate

WHAT TO EXPECT...

The retreat aims to deepen our capacity to respond to difficult moments with kindness, care, courage, and wisdom.

The content of the retreat will consist of meditations, mindful walks, and self-reflective exercises modified from evidence-based Mindful Self-Compassion, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as well as principles from the Attachment Theory Model. There will be topic presentations and teacher-guided meditations. During the retreat, a workbook will be provided to promote reflective journaling on the topics and meditations included in the program.

We wish to take full advantage of the picturesque surroundings by providing ample opportunities to go on mindful walks for contemplative reflections, where you can immerse yourself in nature.

The use of mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices will be discouraged but allowed to be used discreetly for essential communications.

During the Retreat we will engage in a friendly silence for the five days but there will also be options to communicate. If issues arise, you will be able to communicate with one of us at any time. In addition, short individual interviews with Marianna can be scheduled for clarification and support. In the evening, you can choose to talk to share your reflections with others on the topics/exercises of the day.

You will be staying in a room of your own with your own Ensuite and free Wi-Fi. Delicious healthy meals will be served with vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free options.

The number of participants will be limited to 25

Contact the host of Self Compassion in Nature Retreat - for Professionals