Mindful Self-Care for Health Professionals: Reinvigorate Retreat | 14 – 19 JUNE 2016

Batu Karang Lembongan Resort & Day Spa

Nusa Lembongan Island, Indonesia

14-19 June 2016

Spend five nights in five-star bliss, be nourished by spa time, yoga, and the ocean, claim 16+ hours of PD points, learn skills to last a lifetime, make new friends, leave reinvigorated!

Recharge yourself

Notorious for taking care of others at the expense of self, health professionals sometimes need active encouragement to stop and refuel.  This retreat aims to provide participants with a restorative experience as well as long-term resilience skills that will promote a genuine engagement with the clinician role.  Take care of the person most important to your patients: you.  If you don’t who will?

Who is the retreat for?
Research indicates that the outcomes of interventions are strongly influenced by you yourself and your therapeutic relationship with your patient, quite apart from the swathe of strategies that may be implemented.  How much effort do you feel like putting into any relationship when you are burned out?  Exactly.

This retreat is tailored to enhancing the wellbeing of psychologists, doctors, social workers, nurses, physiotherapists, and other health-based clinicians so that the outcomes and lives (of practitioner and patient) can be optimised.  Healthcare students are most welcome to attend.

Why should I attend?

Accrue, in most cases, a minimum of 16 hours professional development points whilst integrating new career and life-enhancing skills, and taking time out to rejuvenate in the stunning natural environment of Nusa Lembongan.

Each day engage in a two-hour workshop plus a two-hour practical application of skills in a small group environment.  Attend the workshop in a sarong, have a dip in the gorgeous lap pool outside the conference room, and soak up the view of Mt Agung across the impossibly beautiful bay while we work.  During your down time explore the island, take advantage of world class surfing and diving, or simply sink into your sun lounge for some relaxed pleasure!

What will I learn?

Mindfulness and related therapies such as ACT have been hailed as ‘the third wave of cognitive therapy’, and as such are becoming viewed as essential elements of effective therapy for many patients.  Applying these strategies to ourselves is a way to promote a solid understanding of them, whilst simultaneously elevating our own wellbeing.

We expect that participants who attend the retreat will be working to the following learning objectives:

1.    Understand the theory and principles of Mindfulness.

2.    Have the ability to incorporate Mindfulness and some Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) strategies into a personal self-care regime that is maintained after the retreat.

3.    Feel comfortable incorporating mindfulness-based techniques into one’s existing therapeutic model.

4.    Use mindfulness-based techniques to better respond to and recover from difficult client interactions.

5.    Harness the intrinsic motivation of clients to enhance treatment outcomes.

6.    Become familiar with one’s own values and establish effective goals that are consistent with these.

16 hours of PD points would be applicable in most cases.

Where will I stay?

The retreat returns to the luxurious five-star Batu Karang Resort and Day Spa on Nusa Lembongan Island.  The exquisite villas, set among tropical, landscaped greenery, have stylish interiors, many with magnificent ocean views, and privately enclosed outdoor bathrooms.  Non-participating partners are accommodated and participants may share rooms.  For more information on the resort and accommodation options, visit https://batukaranglembongan.com/

Share a beautiful three-bedroom villa with select friends, or stay in a private villa and soak up the peace.  Resort owners, the Sinclair family, are noted for attention to detail and extremely friendly attention to the needs of their guests.  The Deck Bar cannot be beaten for the gorgeous view over the bay, and their excellent cocktails and coffee, while Muntigs restaurant offers a seriously delicious menu for sit down dining.

Enter the Lulur Day Spa https://batukaranglembongan.com/batu-karang-nusa-lembongan-resort/day-spa/ to step into cool luxury with a full menu of calming treatments delivered by a nurturing well-trained staff.  The Spa team tailors a special spa menu for Mindful Professional guests that are designed to fit into lunch breaks whilst still giving you time to eat and chat.

Why are we going to an island?

Why sit in a windowless conference room for 8 hours at a stretch and then need to recover from your learning as well as your work?  We aim to integrate lifelong learning with a relaxing holiday so that you leave feeling vital in mind, and body.  The practical application of mindfulness skills occurs during activities such as yoga, stand up paddle boarding, and snorkeling.

The Island

Nusa Lembongan is an enchanting island, 30 minutes by speedboat off the East coast of Bali.  It has world-class surf breaks, snorkeling, fishing and diving.  The island is home to traditional seaweed farmers, as well as the international yoga school that provides our private lessons in an outdoor canopy with an incredible view.  The island houses several high-end resorts and as a result meal options vary from paying a few rupiah for a handful of fruit at the local market to sit down meals crafted by expert chefs.

A great investment

The retreat will be taught by Clinical Psychologist, Dr Alanda Thompson, who has a wealth of experience helping health professionals to manage the demands and responsibilities of the caring role whilst staying grounded in practices that bolster a vital sense of wellbeing.

Dr Alanda Thompson is a psychologist of 20 years standing who has a passion for keeping great people in the health professions flourishing both personally and professionally.  Alanda teaches in the university and corporate settings as well as maintaining a thriving private practice.  For more about Dr Alanda Thompson please see www.mindfulprofessionals.squarespace.com/

Starting from AU$2260 per delegate, you will receive:

·      Expert clinical tuition, including a comprehensive workbook

·      5 nights accommodation at the five-star Batu Karang Resort and Day Spa

·      Beautiful breakfasts daily (x 5)

·      Return transfers Denpasar Airport (Bali) to Nusa Lembongan

·      One hour of gorgeous treatment at the world-class Lulur Day Spa

·      Activities: yoga (2 classes suitable for all levels including beginner), stand-up paddle board lesson in a small group with an instructor, two-hour snorkeling trip over tropical reef

·      A fire-lit poolside welcome dinner with Indonesian buffet with views over Lembongan

Cost will vary according to room selection and accompanying guests (please email Alanda on mindfulprofessionals@gmail.com for comprehensive options and prices).  Prices start at $2260 pp for a twin share room including all retreat inclusions, to $3880 for your own exclusive use (ability to share with a non-participating or participating partner for minimal extra cost) superior one bedroom villa with glorious views over the bay and the village https://batukaranglembongan.com/nusa-lembongan-villa-accommodation/superior-one-bedroom-villa

We also have the use of the Mt Agung and Frangipani 3 bedroom villas, which each have a kitchen and lounging area that can be shared by all rooms.  Every room in these villas has a private outdoor bathroom, and individual entry from the outside.  These villas are great for sharing with friends and colleagues should you attend with a group.

Costs exclude travel from your home to Denpasar Airport.  Check online for great flight specials.  Payment can be made by direct debit or credit card (excluding amex) by contacting on mindfulprofessionals@gmail.com

The retreat formally starts with our Welcome Dinner on Tuesday 14 June and will close after breakfast on Sunday 19 June 2016.  We have timed the retreat to facilitate an escape from the Southern Hemisphere winter as well as to facilitate a period of mid-year reflection.

Early bird rates for the retreat valid until 28 February (take $150 off the advertised price).  Our last retreat on the island sold out within the early bird period, so if you are interested please reserve a place soon to avoid disappointment.  We are looking forward to meeting you and feel excited to be spending another period immersed in self-care with health professionals!

To book or ask for further information, please contact Alanda on mindfulprofessionals@gmail.com or +61 (07) 54735238.