3-5 Day Intensive Mental Health Retreats for PTSD, Trauma, Child and Sexual Abuse Survivors

HEAL TRAUMA, PROCESS PAINFUL EMOTIONS, EMPOWER YOURSELF AND MOVE FORWARD IN YOUR LIFE.

• Exclusively 1-on-1 Retreats
• Available Year Round
• Evidence-Based Therapies
• Personalized Treatment Plan

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    Why a Retreat Instead of Weekly Therapy?

    New York Couples Therapy Speed

    Fast Results

    Heal from trauma and get back on track in days, not months or years.

    Stronger Bond

    Proven Methods

    Scientifically proven therapy for trauma to process past experiences.

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    Ongoing Progress

    Studies show that progress continues even after returning home.


    You may have tried weekly trauma therapy, meditation, or other mental health counseling services but thought they did little to address your issues. You need something profound and transformative… a powerful and immediate shift so you can reclaim your life.

    We specialize in private intensive therapy retreats that offer significant results in days, not years. Our mental health retreats combine recent advances in neuroscience and attachment research with EMDR, ART, and Internal Family Systems therapy, enabling us to work with your underlying core issues so that symptoms are significantly decreased or totally eliminated.

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    How We Help

    Our retreats can address a wide variety of issues, providing significant relief in days, not weeks or years.


    PTSD

    PTSD


    Survivors of crime, abuse, war, accidents, and natural disasters, can experience PTSD. Processing trauma provides the freedom to live your life while leaving debilitating symptoms behind.

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    Trauma

    Trauma


    We utilize scientifically proven methods to help you process and release the negative emotions and limiting self-beliefs associated with trauma so that you can move forward in your life.

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    Abuse

    Abuse


    Physical, sexual and emotional abuse is an intense violation of our safety and autonomy. We have decades of experience using proven techniques to free you from the lingering symptoms of abuse.

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    I have wanted to write to you for some time now. I want to give you excruciating details of our (my internal family) progress. The work we did has helped me so much. I say a prayer to you daily. I love you, so deeply. There are no words—thank you. I wish I could write

    Homa G
    I have felt huge shifts since my retreat. First I finally feel in charge of myself and my choices instead of feeling like a small onlooker just responding to things that I encounter. I have a good relationship with my mom, which I had written off before my retreat. I’m able to communicate with my

    Megan Boxberger
    My 5 day Intensive EMDR retreat gave me a new and improved sense of self-awareness and self love by allowing me to look deep within myself. This office is a very safe and entirely accepting space. Bambi helped me walk through painful memories in order to process my trauma by gently nudging me to step

    Sky Yamagiwa

    So much has changed in my life! I feel free from so much trauma. I have more time In the day as I’m not bogged down with negative, self destructive thoughts. I am so

    The best part of my 5-day retreat with Dr. Bambi Rattner is that she was able to reach my trauma in such a gentle way. Bambi is compassionate, healing, gracious, sensitive, honest and funny. My retreat went by so quickly, even while spending 7+ hours with Bambi every day. I loved how kindly she brings

    Judy G
    When your ego is breaking apart you can feel stuck with trauma and a lot of blocked emotions you collect through your life. You need to let all those emotions go to become your new self. Bambi with her kindness, love and knowledge was the person that helped me to become my new version of

    Pablo G.
    At the very beginning of my intensive retreat with Bambi she told me that the process would open up my life to all the universe had to offer. That was a very nice thought but I had no idea that it would completely change my life. After struggling with chronic Lyme disease for 13 years

    Josephine Burnett, PhD
    Dr Bambi Rattner worked with me doing intensive EMDR after my mother had passed. I was experiencing a reactivation of my PTSD from the sudden death of my father when I was a kid, that got reactivated from my mother’s recent death. It would have been a much longer road of healing without Dr Bambi’s

    Dr Kate Klemer, DC, RCST
    Dr Kate Klemer, DC, RCST
    It seems impossible to describe the extent of the positive impact that Bambi’s intensive therapy brought to me. The first night after about 5-6 hours of her intensive trauma therapy, I experienced a new sense of serenity that I had not felt for close to 15 years. Physically and mentally, it felt similar to when

    C.T.
    As someone who has struggled with suicidal depression since childhood, I have done important work with many therapists, counselors, and healers. But Bambi Rattner is the first to help me recognize, name, and face my deepest wounds, and to compassionately embrace the parts into which I broke myself to survive. Bambi has not only shown

    Joy Ladin
    I have participated in intensive therapy with Dr. Bambi Rattner on three different occasions. I had not done a therapy intensive before and was hesitant, but Bambi made me feel comfortable right from the start. She is warm, accepting, non-judgmental, and deeply kind. As a trauma survivor, it is hard for me to feel safe with people and

    Jessica B.
    My life had become like ashes in my mouth. I felt nothing but fear, and maybe shame, but not even much of those because I was so shut down by a lifetime of “sucking it up” and “pulling myself up by my bootstraps” until, one day, those bootstraps ripped off in my hands. I was

    Don Cuerdon
    I sought out Bambi’s help for my son when he was 5 years old and suffering from behavioral outbursts and PTSD from early childhood trauma. I was impressed with Bambi’s abilities. She was always very calming and engaging. She was able to guide him through past traumatic memories in a way that allowed him to

    G. O.
    Bambi was an integral part to overcoming issues I was still dealing with from my past. She is very kind, open, listens, and provides positive direction to her clients. I felt extremely comfortable working with her and had no trouble opening up and talking. She really helped improve my depression and anxiety in a short

    Heather Clifford Moros
    I knew I was in good hands… Bambi demonstrated just the right balance of abiding kindness and exceptional knowledge in her craft as a trauma therapist. She brought me through a week-long intensive EMDR retreat in a way that felt safe and productive. She genuinely cared and responded with attunement and warmth to the varied

    Traccie Hilton, LMHC

    Our Proven Therapies

    We only use therapies that are proven to be safe, effective, and backed by decades of research and client experiences.


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    EMDR


    EMDR works exceedingly well to resolve unprocessed traumatic events and offers lasting results in fewer sessions than other psychotherapy treatments.

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    IFS Logo

    IFS


    Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a remarkable form of behavioral therapy that identifies and addresses the various sub-personalities, or “parts” within us.

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    Accelerated Resolution Therapy

    ART


    Research has demonstrated that ART therapy achieves rapid results and that the gains made by clients are maintained for at least 4 months after its conclusion.

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    About Dr. Bambi Rattner, Psy.D.

    Bambi received her master’s degree in 1987 and has been in practice ever since. She received her doctorate in psychology in 1997 and has worked in pretty much every setting, with every age, and every population. She started in residential, inpatient psychiatric units, and sheltered workshops. She has worked in the schools and in nursing homes, seen clients outpatient and in-home. Her clients have ranged in age from 3–103.

    Bambi trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and received her certification in 2016. She feels that clients are experts in themselves, and with EMDR, she can effectively tap into their innate drives not only to survive, but to flourish. She is now certified in EMDR and became an EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) Approved Consultant in 2020. She regularly utilizes Internal Family Systems (IFS) during sessions to facilitate emotional processing.

    Meet Our Therapists

      Bambi Rattner NEW


    "I have always felt that clients are experts in themselves, and with EMDR I could effectively tap into their innate drives not only to survive, but to flourish." – Dr. Bambi Rattner

    Our Locations

    We have several retreat locations across the East and West coasts of the US and Canada.


    What Else Can Be Addressed in a Retreat?

    Every person is unique in how they cope with negative life experiences and the symptoms with which they struggle. We have worked with people facing all sorts of problems and found that all can be substantially healed, no matter how drastic, provided they are willing and motivated to do the work. Below are some problems that can be addressed during our top mental health retreats using a combination of EMDR and Internal Family Systems Therapy much more quickly and effectively than in weekly trauma therapy or mental health counseling services:

    •Depression: One of the most common symptoms of past trauma, depression can manifest as a general lack of motivation or interest in things that were once considered enjoyable or in severe cases as suicidal tendencies. Depression can change over time, often affected by seasonal changes and the amount of social contact. We have a tendency to downplay our depression if it is not overt, but coming to a retreat and working with a professional who is trained in the ways that trauma can manifest itself provides the opportunity to confront our depression for what it is; a coping mechanism for the unhealed wounds of our worst past experiences. Processing those memories using therapy for trauma can sometimes completely resolve depression in only a few days, freeing you from the painful emotions of your past.

    • Anxiety: Anxiety can present itself in countless ways, affecting everything from our ability to meet new people to the ease with which we drift off to sleep. We may feel tremendous work-related anxiety as deadlines approach. At the extreme end, panic disorders can cause severe anxiety that often seems to emerge from nothing, gripping our body with intense feelings of terror and a sense that the end is near. Confronting anxiety during the retreat and processing the emotions behind it can yield seemingly miraculous results, offering you the freedom to finally breathe again and recognize that today you are safe and what you are afraid of is no longer a threat.

    • Low Self-Esteem: Often our negative life experiences can trigger deep feelings of guilt and shame, either related to the event itself or our ability to cope with it. Low self-esteem keeps us from expressing ourselves easily and authentically, debilitates our willingness to reach for new achievements and limits our belief that we deserve healthy boundaries and relationships. Low self-esteem is often a side effect of past trauma, even pre-verbal trauma that occurred before we were old enough to understand words and language. We may have picked up the limiting beliefs that we are not worthy of love or care, or that we are destined to fail. All of these negative ideas can be addressed when we look at the core trauma that is connected to them. A retreat gives you ample time to unpack all of these issues in detail, allowing you to process the underlying emotions and finally put them to rest.

    • Chronic Stress: Stress is a necessary and unavoidable part of life, but the way we deal with stress has a lot to do with the intensity of our negative experiences and how we have coped with them in the past. Stress can promote healthy growth, as in the case of a fitness routine, but too much stress can cause overwhelm and breakdown. The same is the case for emotional and psychological stress. The things that hurt us, if they are chronic or too severe and we lack the necessary support, can be debilitating. But broken into smaller pieces, those same issues can provide us with an opportunity for growth. Letting go of past trauma can result in a significant reduction in the unhealthy stress you experience towards your life and responsibilities, allowing you to approach new challenges with courage and resilience.

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    What Problems Cannot Be Solved?

    There are certain active conditions that limit our ability to do meaningful trauma work with somebody. If a person is currently in a very fragile mental state or compromised by drugs or alcohol, deep trauma processing can be counterproductive and potentially dangerous. Please note that these limitations are not permanent, and when the situation calms enough that it becomes more stable, a trauma therapy-based retreat is the best way to address the root cause of these emotional and behavioral problems. We always recommend that somebody have an ongoing therapist for mental health counseling services before and after a retreat.

    • Active Addiction: We request that retreat participants abstain from substance usage 2 days prior to and throughout the course of the retreat. People who are suffering from active addiction should seek the support of a detox center or substance abuse counselor before attending a retreat.

    • Actively Considering Suicide: A big part of our work is moving through emotions related to past trauma, which can trigger intense but momentary emotional discomfort, which would be unsafe for somebody who is actively considering suicide. People who have experienced suicidal ideology in the past can absolutely benefit from a retreat, but it is requested that they be in the care of a therapist before attendance.

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    Seeking an Intensive Retreat with Your Partner?

    Head to An Affair Of The Heart to learn about the top mental health retreats to rapidly transform your relationship.

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