Self-Compassion in Nature Retreat
for Professionals Gold Coast

Mindfulness Silent Retreat (5 days- 32 hours CPD)

You are invited to join us for five glorious days in a Silent Mindfulness Retreat to come home to yourself with self-compassion in friendly silence. We will gather at a beautiful Rainforest Retreat Centre adjoining the spectacular Gondwana Rainforest in Springbrook National Park on the Gold Coast. The Retreat Centre is located in peaceful surroundings, with panoramic views of tropical rainforest, mountains and waterfalls where you can enjoy privacy, peace and solitude to de-stress, and replenish.

The Retreat, targeting health professionals, is a wonderful opportunity to unwind, away from the demands of work and family life, to recharge. This will be a time to care for yourself, to deepen evidenced-based strategies in mindfulness and self-compassion, and to cultivate inner resources to promote resilience, to ease burnout and caregiver fatigue. The tools and practices learned during the Retreat can also be applied in your clinical work with your clients for better therapeutic outcomes.

During the Retreat, you can pause, to better relate to yourself in your own mind and in this way improve your relationships with others. Again and again, you can attend to yourself like you would attend to a dear friend, giving yourself what you need to thrive, to flourish, so in return, you can better support others. Your well-being and positive engagement will benefit everyone.

Numerous neuro-psychological studies have shown that when we choose compassion, self-compassion and mindfulness, we greatly increase our ability to deal with difficulties with balance for more well-being, to protect us from burnout and caregiver fatigue.

mindfulness and meditation retreat gold coast

Out of silence arises strength and wisdom...

Self-Compassion in Nature Retreat

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mindfulness and meditation retreat in rainforest gold coast

Retreat Information

Location

TS Springbrook Rainforest Retreat,

2184 Springbrook Road, Springbrook, QLD 4213

Date

5 Days

Wednesday 26 November till Monday 1st December 2025

Accommodation

You will be provided with your own room with a single bed and linen with a shared bathroom with 3 other participants. There is limited internet access for Telstra and Optus only.
Delicious vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free meals will be provided.

Cost

Extra early bird (22 July) $2,350.00

Early bird (22 Sept) $2,560.00

Regular $2,750.00

The fees include teaching, accommodation, and meals.

Discounts and scholarships are available until 22 Sept.

Please contact us directly for more information

Presenters

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

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Flyer Self-Compassion Retreat

How to get there?

The retreat centre is located 80 minutes from Brisbane, 50 minutes from the Gold Coast Airport (Coolangatta- closest airport) and 30 minutes inland from Mudgeeraba. It is accessible by private car or taxi (13CABS around $140.00). We are also planning to organise a group pick-up at the airport around 12:00pm (noon) for about $40.00/person.

Benefits of self-compassion for health professionals?

When we choose compassion, we are motivated to cultivate the courage and wisdom to alleviate the suffering in ourselves and others, which in turn transforms our body, mind, and relationships. We attend to ourselves with the same commitment to support ourselves than we offer others.

Specifically, self-compassion is crucial for health professionals to maintain well-being, prevent burnout, and enhance the quality of care they provide. By practicing self-compassion, healthcare professionals can better manage stress, regulate emotions, and cultivate wellbeing, ultimately benefiting both their mental health and their clients/patients.

Healthcare is inherently demanding, often leading to burnout and secondary trauma. Self-compassion promotes resilience by fostering self-care towards oneself during challenging times, rather than harsh self-criticism.

The research shows that self-compassion increases happiness, optimism, and a sense of connection, while also decreasing anxiety, depression, and rumination. This fosters a greater sense of well-being and helps us to bounce back in difficult times. The research also shows that when we are more self-compassionae, we can attend to our clients/patients with greater compassion, leading to improved client/patient outcomes.

Self-compassion also positively impacts relationships with colleagues, friends, and family, as it encourages understanding, acceptance and communication.

In essence, self-compassion is not a luxury but a necessity for health professionals to sustain their commitment to help others and to promote purpose and satisfaction in their demanding roles.

Who it is 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.

This retreat is also for anyone who is interested in teaching Mindful Self-Compassion, and other mindfulness-based programs (MBP) such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. The five-day retreat meets the requirement to have attended a five-day, silent, teacher-led retreat to become a Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher.

Take the opportunity to stop, to recharge,
to fill your cup so you can give back!

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 evidenced-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 in the rainforest by providing ample opportunities to go on mindful walks for contemplative reflections where you can immerse yourself in nature.

At the Retreat Centre, there is NO WIFI and only Telstra and Optus phones have minimal reception.

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 or Marie 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.

We aim to provide a peaceful and relaxing retreat for a small number of participants (15-20). You will be staying in a room of your own with a single bed using shared bathroom facilities with 3 others. Delicious healthy vegetarian meals will be served with vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free options.

Retreat Learning Objectives

The retreat is based on experiential learning that you can apply in your own life.

The meditations/visualisation and reflective exercises are the applications of various topics presented to promote evidenced-based mindfulness and compassion to deal with stress, burnout and other difficult emotions.

We will invite you to be active in your own learning, adapting the practices to your own circumstances through a continuous cycle of understanding, applying, inquiring, reflecting, and synthesising. By integrating the formal and informal practices of mindfulness and self-compassion at a personal level in your daily life, with your own difficulties, you are more able to teach your clients to promote resilience and wellbeing.

After participating in this retreat, you will be more able to:

• Integrate the formal and informal practices of mindfulness and self-compassion in their own daily life
• Cultivate feelings of goodwill, kindness and warmth towards self and others
• Relate to self in own mind as a friend in times of difficulties
• Motivate self and others with encouragement rather than harsh self-criticism
• Manage stress, anxiety, anger, guilt and shame with more ease
• Deal with difficult emotions with greater balance (equanimity)
• Meet difficult relationships with compassion
• Manage burnout, caregiver fatigue and vicarious trauma with more resilience
• Become more aware and able to attend skilfully to the needs of self and others
• Promote positive emotions in self and others
• Live in line with personal core values and self-appreciation
• Teach self-compassion practices to patients, clients, students, and children

Benefits of a silent retreat in nature?

Silence, meditation and mindful walking in the bush offer profound benefits for both mental and physical well-being, and combining them creates a particularly powerful retreat.

Forest environments naturally reduce stress hormones like cortisol while boosting mood-regulating neurotransmitters. The practice of "forest bathing" or shinrin-yoku has been shown to decrease anxiety and depression symptoms. When you add meditation to this setting, you're creating optimal conditions for mental clarity and emotional regulation. The natural sounds, scents, and visual complexity of forests help quiet mental chatter more effectively than indoor meditation.

Walking meditation in the bush provides cardiovascular exercise while the trees release beneficial compounds called phytoncides, which can boost immune function and reduce inflammation. Research indicates that forest exposure can lower blood pressure, improve sleep quality, and promote mental and physical health.

Maintaining silence in a retreat frees us from the distraction of engaging with others so that we can be more present to ourselves, more focused, more able to attune within, to meet ourselves anew, with a kind awareness. It is a unique opportunity to disconnect from the constant stimulation of our busy life, to cultivate a calmer mind, allowing for deeper self-reflection to gain a fresh perspective on life.

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

Continued Professional Development (CPD)

A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certificate providing the number of hours attended will be given to everyone to provide evidence of professional development training (i.e. psychologists, social workers, counsellors, teachers, medical practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, yoga teachers etc.).

The CPD for psychologists will be divide into two: 28 hours for the current cycle and 4 hours for the next cycle. You will receive two certificates.

The Self-Compassion in Nature Retreat will provide 32 CPD hours. This Retreat also satisfies one of the requirements for the Mindful Self-Compassion teacher training to attend a five-day silent retreat

Prerequisites

The prerequisites are that you are a healthcare worker/carer and also have already some understanding of mindfulness, self-compassion and some experience in meditations. Being familiar with Mindful Self-Compassion (Kristin Neff and Chris Germer) and/or Compassion-Focused Therapy (Paul Gilbert) will be an advantage.

Prior to the retreat, you will be required to complete a Registration Form and sign a Release of Liability.

silent retreat for mindfulness & meditation gold coast

Give yourself the gift of silence!
Connect with your inner joy and sense of purpose!

What Self-Compassion in Nature Retreat is not:

We believe that this Retreat will be most beneficial to participants who have been introduced already to mindfulness and self-compassion.

This Retreat is not group therapy and does not replace psychological or psychiatric treatment and it may not be suitable if you have certain medical conditions.

If you are receiving treatment for a serious physical or health problem, or have a history of a serious physical or mental health disorder, you should consult with your medical practitioner or health care provider to check if your participation in the Retreat is suitable for someone in your condition, and inform the organiser Marie Bloomfield.

The Retreat consists of an educational and self-practice program and is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatments.

The emphasis is on self-skill-building to enhance emotional resources and personal capacities to learn for ourselves and to teach others.

Meet Your Presenters

Marie Bloomfield

Clinical Psychologist
Senior Certified MSC Teacher

B.Sc(Psych.), M.Clin. Psych(UNSW), MAPS(Coll.Clin.Psych.)

Clinical Psychologist and Senior Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher.

Marie is an accomplished teacher in mindful self-compassion having presented over 50 workshops most of which were targeting health professionals since 2014. As a clinical psychologist, Marie has over 40 years of experience working in mental health, including public, academic and private sectors.

Marie initially a cognitive therapist but has been using Compassion-Focused Therapy and Mindful Self-Compassion in her clinical practice since 2011. She is a leader in teaching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to health professionals in Australia.

She knows from personal and clinical experience that compassion changes and enhances lives.

More About Marie

Marianna Lolas

Clinical Psychologist
MSC Teacher

Grad.Dip. Psych., M.Clin. Psych., MAPS, FCCLP

Clinical Psychologist and Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher.

Marianna is a Clinical Psychologist with a passion for helping others, shaped by a rich and diverse career.

Her background spans corporate roles in consumer behaviour and strategy, clinical hypnotherapy, and a mastery of meditation and mindful self-compassion therapies.

Combining scientific knowledge with a compassionate, holistic approach, Marianna is devoted to empowering clients to find calm, contentment, and inner peace.

Her personal experiences, especially through challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic, reinforced the importance of self-compassion—a practice she shares as a certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher.

More About Marianna

marianna Lolas

Retreat Details