May 17-19, 2024
at Camp Lutherwood
on Hwy 36 in Cheshire, Oregon

Sponsored by the American Association for University Women of Oregon

Ophelia’s Place invites you to…

the 2nd annual Regenerate - a community care retreat for helping professionals. This retreat will be a time of respite for those who help and heal.

Educators, non-profit staff, healthcare providers, mental health professionals, personal support workers, and others, Regenerate is your place to reconnect with the wider community of helpers, learn from each other, integrate our experiences, and rediscover the calling that drew you to this work.

The retreat will feature a keynote address and a series of workshops provided by area community leaders, teachers, and facilitators. However, rest, rejuvenation, and comfort will be centered in the 3-day experience.

Regenerate will be held at the beautiful Camp Lutherwood on Highway 36. Lodging and meals are included.

Registration for Regenerate includes:

Full access to all keynote and workshop offerings
Rest in a beautiful space however it feels right for you: a nap, a hike, a chat with new friends, journaling on your own, and more
Wholesome and delicious meals and snacks fully provided
Cabin accommodations, with enough space for all attendees to rest on lower bunks
Connection with peers to remind us all why we do this work

We’re SOLD OUT!

If you’d like to be added to our waitlist, please fill out the form below. Otherwise, if you have questions, please reach out to River at River@OpheliasPlace.net.

Regenerate 2024 Wait List

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone

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Keynote & Workshop Schedule

Keynote Presenter

Dr. Jacqui Wilkins

Dr. Jacqui Wilkins is a naturopathic doctor and plant medicine person with a passion for supporting folks in connecting with their medicine, ancestors, the land & stars for deep healing. Check out her Instagram at @among_the_wildflowerss.

During the keynote presentation, we’ll discuss how returning to the Land is returning to ourselves. Especially when things feel uncertain, or overwhelming, returning to the Land may hold us and guide us. We are meant to be in relationship with our environment, the Water we drink, the Trees we walk by or move by daily. Just as we know human relationships are vital to our overall health and wellbeing, our relationships with the natural world are also vital to our wellness. What does it mean to truly be a good relative, to ourselves, to one another, and to Creation? How can our relationship with Nature nourish us, heal, and help us restore harmony?

Regenerate will include a series of workshops provided by area community leaders, teachers, and facilitators.
However, rest, rejuvenation, and comfort will be centered in the 3-day experience.

Workshops

Cacao Ritual for Wellness
with Patricia Cortez, MSW

This is an experiential circle that includes Cacao ritual with integration of breath, sound, and movement as a way to bring wellness in your daily living. With these Maya and Aztec ancient practices, you create coherence in your heart, mind and spirit. This will guide you to activate healing frequencies in your body, bring alignment of your energy centers, and re-set your central nervous system. The only experience required is to breathe, make sound, and to move your limbs to your best ability.

Journaling for Meaning
with Emily Baran, LCSW

Connecting with meaning and community are vital parts of being human that we often become disconnected from in difficult or busy times. This journaling workshop is an invitation to connect with your own values and sense of meaning individually and as a group. Most of the process will be individual journaling with prompts related to objects provided. There will also be some time to share experiences as desired.

Intuitive Painting
with Jeannie Schwanekamp

Learn intuitive painting, a process that integrates creative expression, self-care, and connection with others. No artistic experience necessary. The only thing you need is curiosity about who you are, how you work, and what your authentic creativity feels like. In our time together you can expect depth and play. Each circle begins with an embodiment practice, sharing time and meditation. Then we paint!

Caring for the Caregivers: A Holistic Approach to Combat Burnout
with Katie Albee

Much like plants thriving in new pots, a slight tweak in self-approach can foster incredible growth. From successes to challenges, we will share and collaboratively craft pathways to thrive, guided by the principles of self-love & self-awareness. This discussion is designed to empower you, leaving you inspired to script your resilient story.

Sound Healing
with Jeannie Schwanekamp

Therapeutic sound creates a bridge into imaginative and somatic dialog, a state of consciousness where images and sensations give the listener valuable insights. A sound journey grounds the body, opens non-verbal consciousness, integrates learning, and balances mental processing.

Plant Medicines for Resilience
with Jacqui Wilkins, ND

We will connect with six Plant Medicines that may support our physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. We will connect with our intuition and deepening our relationship with each Plant, getting to know them beyond “this herb is good for that.” From this place of connection and deep listening, you will then intuitively craft a custom blend to bring home. The intention is also that whenever you work with this custom blend you also recall the memories made at this gathering, the energy of regeneration, pouring into self and the relationships tended to here!

Applied Improv: Helping the Helpers
with Renee Van Norman

Come play during this workshop and apply the principles of Applied Improvisation to support your well-being! Explore how Improv can support four core SEL competencies: self-awareness, relationship skills, social awareness, and self-management. Activities will include games to teach the Yes, And principle, active listening, teamwork, mindfulness, creativity, and play.

Soul Wisdom Through Calligraphy, Chanting & Movement
with Alicia Celeste Estelle

Explore meditation by incorporating Tao Calligraphy and teachings by Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha. With slow and thoughtful movement, you have the choice of connecting with the calligraphy through a paintbrush, or moving your body inspired by the calligraphy. Chanting is another way to ground and find peace. Learn ancient mantras that have supported people in the most challenging of times.

Qigong for Renewal
with Nate Guadagni

Qigong (Chi-Gong) is an ancient wellness practice combining flowing movement, breathwork, and mindfulness. This workshop is designed to help you, the givers, replenish your energy and cultivate embodied presence. You'll learn seasonal Qigong practices to boost your energy, connect to your center & reconnect with purpose.

What Past Attendees Say

“I have quite a few roles in life. Two of the most rewarding ones are "teacher" and "mentor". Through the pandemic and ensuing years, I've learned (and re-learned, again and again) that I need to take care of myself in order to do either of these two jobs - very simply, when I'm tired and isolated, then the people who depend upon me suffer for it. The 2023 Regenerate retreat marked one of those realizations - it was a perfectly-pitched weekend for folks in the helping professions, broadly construed, who want to bring their best to their lives and work. It really helped me understand the importance of rest, and of community, for the people-facing aspects of what I do. Indeed, it helped me understand that I was *in* a helping profession, and gave me a chance to meet many wonderful peers and colleagues. River Aaland has a unique genius for building such intentional, positive community spaces; she's done this work with Ophelia's Place for many years. I'm happy to hear that she and her team have put together another one, Regenerate 2024, to happen this spring - I'll be there.”

-Ben Young, 2023 Regenerate Attendee

Kristen Hutchinson, 2023 Regenerate Attendee

You don't have to be strong all the time. We are here for each other.

In the wake of the pandemic and the disproportionate burden placed on helping professionals—including teachers, mental health professionals, counselors, personal support workers, health care providers, and others—we see an opportunity to provide a nurturing and restorative occasion for community and learning. Our helping professionals are experiencing burnout, exhaustion, and secondary trauma because of the crucial support they have been providing throughout the pandemic, often working extended hours, bearing witness to loss and hardship, adapting to rapidly changing demands, and caring for the vulnerable.
This retreat will be a time of respite: to reconnect with the wider community of helpers, learn from each other, integrate our experiences, and rediscover the calling that drew us to this work.
The goal is to offer a deeply nourishing experience to participants of all genders, with particular care to include those providers who are often overlooked or marginalized by typical retreats and conferences, including providers who identify as coming from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities. We truly believe that when we care for those who help, the ripple effect directly improves the lives of girls, their families, and their communities.
Workshop details are coming soon.
Camp Lutherwood is open to all people for year-round camps, retreats, outdoor school, and events. It is located on 85 beautifully forested acres in the foothills of the Coast Range. With a brand new dining hall and commercial kitchen, heated and air-conditioned cabins and various outdoor meeting spaces, you’ll have room to rest, connect, and regenerate.