Mental health retreat

This past weekend we participated in an overnight retreat put on by our church. It wasn't really a "mental health" retreat so much, but is part of our church's Mental Health Initiative this year. We received a grant centered on integrating Christian Spirituality and Mental Health, and this is one of about a dozen pieces to that.

There will be two weekend retreats with around 30 people at each. We were in the first.

Accommodations were at The Bradley hotel in downtown Fort Wayne. After check-in we began Friday evening with a group meal at a nearby local restaurant (Nawa). There was one session Friday night following the meal, breakfast in the morning, followed by two more sessions, then lunch. We were done by 1 pm.

The sessions were led by Holland, MI based therapist and trauma specialist Ryan Kuja, with guided contemplative practices, instruction and workshop related to relevant mental health themes, and space for personal reflection. There were also plenty of opportunities to connect with others.

I thought it was quite interesting. I was familiar with some of the topics (Ignatian Examen, IFS (a little), Visio Divina, prayers of lament, and some of the regulating resources mentioned/practiced (pendulation, orienting, various breathing techniques & somatic practices, etc.). Some of the discussion on the nervous system, attachment theory treatment, autonomic mapping, and such was at times a bit over my head, but I also found it intriguing and helpful. 

The more I look over my notes, the more I recall from this too-short time together, and the more I appreciate it.

Below I will share a few of the quotes/thoughts I made note of and highlighted:

• God's first question to Adam & Eve: "Where are you?" (kindness/longing/reconnection)
• "I'm not broken; I'm just stuck" (thus the need for regulating resources)
• Trauma = Greek word for "wound"
• "There is something more than agony in our wounds; there is something of value. A journey of finding value then transforming our wounds."
• "Beneath the pattern lies protection; beneath the protection lies pain (wound); Healing means going beneath the protection and touching the pain."
• "Our protective parts courageously defend a thousand bleeding wounds."
• "The wound is the thing that joins us to the crucified God. It is touching the pain and allowing others to touch it that transforms our wounds (allowing us to become a site of new life)."
• "What we resist persists."
• "Politics = our shared life together."
• "Lament is a healthy response to the pain and chaos we experience."
• "Lament is the language of suffering" (Brueggeman)
• ~"The goal is not to become better, but a more human version of ourselves" (Jason K.)
• "There's a time to tame the dragon, and a time to become the dragon."
• "Authoritative regions don't want you at peace, they want you in chaos. Resist! ... Rest is resistance, and turning the other cheek, joy, etc.)
• *Aikido in Combat video

 So, there's some of that. I'm glad we went, and am looking forward to some of the other components coming up over the rest of the year.