While healing often begins with understanding the negative experiences that have shaped you, continued growth requires addressing those impactful events on a deeper level. The Healing for Men Advanced and Healing for Women Advanced workshops are powerful experiential programs that help you experience tremendous personal growth and healing in a short time period for a strong foundation.
Prerequisite
Participants must EITHER have attended a previous Bethesda Workshop, OR done a similar level of therapy elsewhere, before they can come to the Healing for Men Advanced or Healing for Women Advanced Workshop. Participants must be 21 years of age or older. This preparation allows participants to begin his or her own journey of recovery before addressing deeper issues that impact healing. It also allows the group to work from the same foundational information gained from prior workshops. (If you have not attended a workshop at Bethesda Workshops an intake coordinator will speak with you.)
About the Workshop
The Healing for Men Advanced and Healing for Women Advanced workshops are the next step in our programming for individuals. In Bethesda Workshop’s initial workshops, we explore the origins of trauma and how it has impacted our story. This advanced workshop takes that work and goes deeper. You’ll have an opportunity to do the important work of healing from those experiences that may still be negatively impacting you and your recovery journey.
The Healing for Men Advanced and Healing for Women Advanced workshops are powerful four-day group intensives. We hold these programs on two different dates, one for men and one for women.
The workshop is experiential in nature and is specifically designed to heal the deeper wounds created by traumatic experiences. The experiential elements are like some of those sampled in your first workshop. We’ve found that often these moments are the most impactful and transformative for our participants. As a result, we’ve created this next step with several unique opportunities for healing.
The workshop is clinical, meaning all the leaders are at least master’s level, licensed counselors who have highly specialized training in both trauma treatment and experiential therapy. This workshop is comprehensive in that it not only addresses trauma but teaches how to cope with its effects in everyday life. It combines deep, healing work with practical tools to be a holistic approach to sustained healthy living.
Participation is limited to a maximum of 6 attendees. Individual counseling is not part of the workshop.
Bethesda Workshops comes from a distinctly Christian perspective that emphasizes grace and God’s unconditional love. Everyone is welcome and will find an accepting, non-pressuring environment.
Upcoming Workshop Dates & Times
Space is available for the dates shown unless the workshop is indicated as waitlist.
Cost
The workshop fee of $3,800 includes all lodging and meals. A non-refundable deposit of $950 is required at registration. See Financial Information for details.
Topics
- Effects of trauma on the body
- Effects of trauma on relationships
- Addressing wounds from trauma
- Tools for trauma recovery
Important Workshop Information
The workshop is a group experience, and individual counseling sessions are not part of the intensive. During the small group breakouts, though, each participant has extensive time to share personally. Sessions normally begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue until around 8:00 p.m.
The workshop format is intense and specifically designed to maximize time and investment. This is not a retreat. Participants move between educational segments, individual work, and small groups. The approach consists of a combination of instruction, writing or drawing, small groups, interactive exercises, and activities.
Must be at least 21 years old to attend a workshop.
The workshop is a technology-free setting that we call the “Bethesda Bubble.” Participants take a total time-out from contact with the outside world, including family and friends, by turning in all electronic devices – cell phones, laptops, smart watches, tablets, iPads, etc. – for the duration of the workshop. Participants refrain from watching tv in their hotel rooms and are not allowed to make or receive calls or use the business center at the hotel.
The workshops are held in Nashville, Tennessee. All participants (including Nashville area residents) stay together in a nearby hotel. This total time-out from normal responsibilities and distractions is an important “container” for the intensive work.
It’s critically important that you be present for the entire workshop. As a group intensive, everyone needs to begin and end together. You WILL NOT be admitted to the workshop if you plan your travel in such a way that you arrive late or leave early, even if that means you get to Nashville the day before the workshop starts or leave the day after it ends. You shortchange yourself and disrupt the workshop process if you arrive late or leave early.
Workshops are staffed by licensed clinicians who hold at least a master’s degree. Many have earned the CSAT designation, a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, which is the highest certification recognized in our field. Workshops are primarily led by same-gender therapists, though most workshops also have at least one opposite-gender therapist. All workshop leaders are committed Christians with specific clinical training in treating sexual addiction and related issues. The majority of the workshop leaders are in some form of personal recovery as an addict or a partner.
Bring clothes for four days, personal toiletries, medicine, and any other essentials you’ll need. Plan to dress in layers and bring a light jacket or sweater even during warm weather, because some find the meeting rooms cold. If you like, feel free to bring a Bible, a journal, recovery related reading or personal devotional materials. It’s helpful to bring a watch since you won’t have your cell phone. We’ll provide everything you’ll need during the workshop itself, including a workbook, paper and pen.
Participants are not permitted to use cell phones, laptops, tablets and similar items at the workshop. Please do travel with a cell phone so you can communicate with us in case there are travel difficulties. Staff will collect all cell phones and other electronics and keep them until the workshop ends. No weapons are allowed at the workshop site, at the conference hotel, or in participant vehicles.
Attending a Bethesda Healing Workshop is best viewed as a huge jumpstart for recovery. A specific aftercare plan is crucial. The intensive workshop often identifies core family and trauma issues which need further healing. Each participant – whether an individual, couple, or family – is helped to outline a personalized aftercare program before leaving the workshop. In general, a recommended aftercare plan consists of four main components: