Upcoming Retreat
MAIDEN, MOTHER & CRONE
Feminine Initiations & Rituals for Healing
June 7-11th, 2024; Vancouver, BC
Eligible for 22 IFS-I CEUs

This is an invitation for women of all walks & stages of life to join us in a life-affirming journey through the heart of the Feminine!
This Spring, join us for an IFS journey through the life cycles & phases of the Feminine. We will explore the living feminine archetypes of the Maiden, Mother (Guide), and Crone (Wise Woman). We will also explore the wounds, gifts, and personal and collective stories held within these passages.
This retreat is for women of all life experiences & identities and draws on IFS parts-work, embodiment, ritual, and ceremony to support personal, ancestral, and collective transformation. You are invited into a journey of deep personal healing, reclamation & remembering of the Feminine!
This Spring, join us for an IFS journey through the life cycles & phases of the Feminine. We will explore the living feminine archetypes of the Maiden, Mother (Guide), and Crone (Wise Woman). We will also explore the wounds, gifts, and personal and collective stories held within these passages.
This retreat is for women of all life experiences & identities and draws on IFS parts-work, embodiment, ritual, and ceremony to support personal, ancestral, and collective transformation. You are invited into a journey of deep personal healing, reclamation & remembering of the Feminine!
Why Are We Gathering?

Our ancestors knew the importance of gathering in community and marking important passages with ceremony and ritual. Becoming a maiden (young woman), mother (guide), or crone (wise woman) were thresholds women often crossed through initiation, with the blessing and guidance of their close circles, elders, or community.
These initiations did not just mark the transition from one time in life to the next, but served to bring a woman closer to her unique gifts and intuition, her connection with the Divine, and the long line of women that stretched behind and before her.
Do you long to nurture this connection too?
These initiations did not just mark the transition from one time in life to the next, but served to bring a woman closer to her unique gifts and intuition, her connection with the Divine, and the long line of women that stretched behind and before her.
Do you long to nurture this connection too?

In more recent times, many of us have lost touch with the ancient ways of ritual and ceremony. Many of us struggle to feel truly connected to ourselves, others, and the Divine Feminine - as well as our inherent wisdom, value, and offerings as women.
However, deep down we still hold the imprints of these ancient rituals in our cells. Within our bones we hear whispers of a different way to gather and honor the sacred. Deep down, parts of us remember…
Is this remembering knocking on your door?
Are you ready to usher in a reclaiming, inspiration, and deep healing of your connection with the Feminine, and its influence through your life?
Together, we will honor the traumas and triumphs, cultural and ancestral burdens and gifts, and the deep life impulse held within each archetypal life stage… and listen for the wisdom that emerges.
As we heal ourselves and heal our communities in this way, more of us becomes available to enjoy the fullness of life, step courageously in the direction of our soul work, and share our gifts with our loved ones and the world.
However, deep down we still hold the imprints of these ancient rituals in our cells. Within our bones we hear whispers of a different way to gather and honor the sacred. Deep down, parts of us remember…
Is this remembering knocking on your door?
Are you ready to usher in a reclaiming, inspiration, and deep healing of your connection with the Feminine, and its influence through your life?
Together, we will honor the traumas and triumphs, cultural and ancestral burdens and gifts, and the deep life impulse held within each archetypal life stage… and listen for the wisdom that emerges.
As we heal ourselves and heal our communities in this way, more of us becomes available to enjoy the fullness of life, step courageously in the direction of our soul work, and share our gifts with our loved ones and the world.
Community
We wish to acknowledge and rewrite old stories of betrayal, division, and competition between women. Together we are invited to heal past hurts, liberate burdens of patriarchal conditioning and restriction, and co-create a space of sharing, connection and love in community.
Together, we can celebrate and amplify our individual and collective gifts and invite one another to shine even brighter! Held within an intergenerational gathering of women, we will embark on an empowering journey to honor the Divine Feminine in our lives, connect with the Living Goddess, and nourish ourselves from the unique wellspring of life that flows within each of us. |
What Are We Doing Together?
We are creating a space of laughter, tears, joy, excitement, wonder, and transformation!

You can expect to…
- Delve into the archetypal feminine: what this means and how this expresses in & through You
- Heal through ritual and reclamation
- Gather with women across generations to bring healing to our wounds and light to our souls
- Receive full permission to take up space and be your full, whole Self - and be celebrated for it!
- Work with legacy and cultural burdens and fears; drawing from your lived experience and in connection to the Divine Feminine
- Connect to and deepen your own unique gifts and path
- Help to heal the wounds of patriarchal, capitalistic, and colonial culture
- Unburden internalized oppression and identification with hegemonic norms
- Cross-generational ritual and ceremony to restore and amplify the gifts of the Divine Feminine within each of us
- Fire ceremony
- Connect with your own unique relationship and expression of the Feminine in your life
- Create deep and profound friendships with other women
Who is this Retreat for?
This retreat is for women of all ages, stages, and identities. We will be exploring the Feminine in depth, with space and invitation for the many forms and multiplicities this takes.
We encourage women wanting to apply to have some familiarity with IFS. If you do not have familiarity with IFS but feel called to join then please reach out. We welcome diversity of life experiences and identities across the spectrums of sexuality, race, religion/spirituality, neurodiversity and ability. If you feel a sense of belonging in or longing for women’s spaces, this is for you. *Our group is limited to 24 participants. |
Your Facilitators

Kay Gardner, LCPC
Kay is a senior Lead Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute (IFS). She is a therapist who has been in private practice for 40 years in Chicago. Kay is co-founder of the Women's Circle, a woman’s program in Chicago and also has led various workshops around the country for men and women including Persephone's Journey, Men and Their Mothers, Women and their fathers, Legacy burdens, and Sacred theatre for couples.
Kay has been involved with IFS since the beginning. She was also a therapist and teacher of Hakomi Body Centered Psychotherapy and helped to integrate the body into the IFS model 25 years ago. She brings a body centered and spiritual approach to her work and has been a student of yoga and meditation for 40 years.
Kay is a senior Lead Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute (IFS). She is a therapist who has been in private practice for 40 years in Chicago. Kay is co-founder of the Women's Circle, a woman’s program in Chicago and also has led various workshops around the country for men and women including Persephone's Journey, Men and Their Mothers, Women and their fathers, Legacy burdens, and Sacred theatre for couples.
Kay has been involved with IFS since the beginning. She was also a therapist and teacher of Hakomi Body Centered Psychotherapy and helped to integrate the body into the IFS model 25 years ago. She brings a body centered and spiritual approach to her work and has been a student of yoga and meditation for 40 years.

Risa Adams, MD, CCFP
Risa is a physician, an IFS approved therapist & consultant, and an Assistant Trainer providing IFS psychotherapy and perinatal mental health services. She is passionate about bringing IFS to trauma and the systems that create it, including the medical system itself. She is also drawn to intergenerational legacy work and utilizing feminist and anti-oppression lenses. Having experienced the transformative power of the transpersonal, she continues to open her mind and practice to the energies that influence, impact and support us.
Risa is a mother, daughter, partner and basketball coach, as well as an avid reader. She lives with her family in Elora, Ontario on Treaty Land and Haldimand land grant, the traditional lands of the Attawandaran, Wyandot, Anishaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. She is actively working to unlearn white privilege and cultivate cultural humility. Having experienced educational trauma herself, Risa is acutely aware and sensitive to shame in learning environments, and prioritizes relationship and consent in all of her IFS work.
Risa is a physician, an IFS approved therapist & consultant, and an Assistant Trainer providing IFS psychotherapy and perinatal mental health services. She is passionate about bringing IFS to trauma and the systems that create it, including the medical system itself. She is also drawn to intergenerational legacy work and utilizing feminist and anti-oppression lenses. Having experienced the transformative power of the transpersonal, she continues to open her mind and practice to the energies that influence, impact and support us.
Risa is a mother, daughter, partner and basketball coach, as well as an avid reader. She lives with her family in Elora, Ontario on Treaty Land and Haldimand land grant, the traditional lands of the Attawandaran, Wyandot, Anishaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. She is actively working to unlearn white privilege and cultivate cultural humility. Having experienced educational trauma herself, Risa is acutely aware and sensitive to shame in learning environments, and prioritizes relationship and consent in all of her IFS work.

Sarah Jarvis, MA, RCC
Sarah has expertise in somatic therapy, complex and developmental trauma, and mindfulness and self-compassion practice. Sarah primarily works with therapists seeking to deepen their personal and clinical work through individual and group supervision, trainings, workshops, and retreats. She has a special interest in legacy burdens and gifts, ceremony and ritual, spirituality and meaning-making, and in supporting therapists and healers to connect more deeply to their own Self-Energy and inspiration in life and work. Sarah has been gathering in circle and ceremony with women for many years.
Sarah is known for her warm and relational style of therapy and teaching. She is delighted to support others on their learning and personal journeys and to help the transformational power of IFS ripple out to more people and communities.
*A note of facilitator identities: We are white cis women with European ancestry and are actively engaged in our own anti-racism and decolonizing work, and the process of learning/unlearning our biases & privilege.
Sarah has expertise in somatic therapy, complex and developmental trauma, and mindfulness and self-compassion practice. Sarah primarily works with therapists seeking to deepen their personal and clinical work through individual and group supervision, trainings, workshops, and retreats. She has a special interest in legacy burdens and gifts, ceremony and ritual, spirituality and meaning-making, and in supporting therapists and healers to connect more deeply to their own Self-Energy and inspiration in life and work. Sarah has been gathering in circle and ceremony with women for many years.
Sarah is known for her warm and relational style of therapy and teaching. She is delighted to support others on their learning and personal journeys and to help the transformational power of IFS ripple out to more people and communities.
*A note of facilitator identities: We are white cis women with European ancestry and are actively engaged in our own anti-racism and decolonizing work, and the process of learning/unlearning our biases & privilege.
Our Venue
We will be gathering at the beautiful and peaceful retreat centre of St. Mary’s of the Lake, in Mundelein, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. The breathtaking grounds of St. Mary's encourage stillness, peace and contemplation. You are welcome to spend time in the large gardens and by the lake in between sessions to support renewal of mind, body, and spirit.
Investment
Costs include:
- 4 nights accommodations and 5 days in retreat
- All meals throughout your retreat, including dinner on the evening of arrival (June 7th) and breakfast and lunch on the day of departure (June 11th), with snacks in between. We are able to cater to almost all dietary needs and restrictions.
- All retreat facilitation & instruction
- Exploring and enjoying the retreat centre grounds
- Beginning at 4pm on July 7th; ending with lunch at 1pm June 11th
- 22 CEUs towards IFS certification or recertification

SINGLE OCCUPANCY (with private bathroom)
$2550 USD early bird (before Feb. 14th, 2024)
$2700 USD regular fee
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY (with private bathroom)
$2400 USD early bird (before Feb. 14th, 2024)
$2550 USD regular fee
Your retreat space is reserved with a $500 non-refundable deposit.
*Payment plans and scholarships for people facing increased economic & cultural burdens are available upon request.
$2550 USD early bird (before Feb. 14th, 2024)
$2700 USD regular fee
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY (with private bathroom)
$2400 USD early bird (before Feb. 14th, 2024)
$2550 USD regular fee
Your retreat space is reserved with a $500 non-refundable deposit.
*Payment plans and scholarships for people facing increased economic & cultural burdens are available upon request.
Registration
If you are called to join us or want to find out more then please reach out! We are offering discovery calls to connect and help answer any questions you may have.
We look forward to sharing this soulful, healing & inspiring journey with you!
PAST EVENTS AT COMPASSION WITHIN...
The Self-Aligned Path: Connecting to the Soul of our IFS work
November 9, 2023; 8am-1pm Pacific Time
As therapists our work can be a source of great fulfilment and inspiration. And yet, at times, it can leave us feeling depleted, lonely, activated, and in need of our own replenishment and re-centering.
This half-day workshop focuses on fostering greater access to Self-Energy so that you can feel more aligned, empowered, and supported in your work and life. Our time together will help you reconnect with the why of your IFS & therapy work, bring deep compassion and understanding to burdened & weary therapist parts, and nourish you as a Self-Led Therapist and leader. Using a blend of didactic teaching, experiential IFS exercises, somatic parts-work and relational connection, this workshop will leave you renewed and invigorated in your access to Self-Energy, more connected to the Heart of your IFS work, and supported as an IFS therapist. This workshop is part of a monthly series for IFS therapists & practitioners, put on by IFS certified consultants & trainers at IFS Connect. www.ifsconnect.ca |
Requirements & Boundaries:
- Designed for those with a working knowledge of IFS and who are already using it in their practice.
- Maximum of 20 participants.
- LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC brave space.
- Eligible for 4 IFS-I CE credits pending
Registration
- $185 Early Bird (until Oct. 15th); Regular rate $210.
- Refundable until Oct. 30th less $35 admin fee.
- Questions can be sent to [email protected]
- Register & pay here
Soul Sculpting:
An IFS journey to the inner Self
October 7th, 2023.
In-Person in Vancouver, 10-5pm
Soul Sculpting is a day-long workshop on IFS sculpting and inner work. Participants will have a chance to see their internal systems come to life through group parts mapping and experiential interaction.
Using an IFS framework, we will explore our life patterns and influences, and bring healing to blocks and burdens that hold us back from our truest expression of Self. When we are able to see ourselves more clearly, relate to our parts with greater compassion, and begin to unburden the pain of old wounds, our Self-Energy (and Soul gifts) naturally emerge more strongly. The result of this work is greater self-knowing, clarity, courage, connection, and access to our innate gifts. Although firmly rooted in IFS practice, this particular work is often compared in style and impact to Family Constellations and leaves space to explore influences of ancestral and cultural lineage, collective healing, and spiritual dimensions of the work. |
What is Sculpting?In action, sculpting invites a person to map out (or sculpt) their internal constellation of parts with the somatic representation of fellow group members. The traditional IFS process of unblending, befriending, witnessing, and unburdening are supported, so that greater self-leadership and authentic expression is accessible to parts and Self.
Through somatic attunement, parts dialogue, and collective resonance, people have the opportunity to gain new insight into the nature and origins of their patterns, integrate protectors and exiles, and feel more centred and alive within their whole Self. As a person’s internal system becomes less burdened and more Self-led, they can gain greater access to their soul gifts - both qualities of Self and Self-led parts - such as intuition, playfulness, joy, creativity, leadership, trust, innocence, and much more. |
Who is this for?
For group intimacy and integrity this workshop is limited to 10 people. At this time we are offering this for therapists, practitioners and space-holders with some familiarity of IFS as a prerequisite. People of diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences are very welcome. Please inquire if you have any questions!
*CE credits towards IFS (re)certification may be available. |
Details:
Cost: $275 + gst
Time: Saturday October 7th, 2023; 10-5pm (with an hour for lunch).
Location: 2308 West Broadway (Ninth + Vine Studio) on the unceded territory of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam people.
Refund Policy: Full refund for cancellations 3 or more weeks before the workshop. After that a 50% refund will be given, and no refunds will be issued for cancellations 1 week or less before the workshop.
Time: Saturday October 7th, 2023; 10-5pm (with an hour for lunch).
Location: 2308 West Broadway (Ninth + Vine Studio) on the unceded territory of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam people.
Refund Policy: Full refund for cancellations 3 or more weeks before the workshop. After that a 50% refund will be given, and no refunds will be issued for cancellations 1 week or less before the workshop.
Your Facilitator:
Sarah Jarvis, MA, RCC
Sarah is a certified IFS & Somatic IFS therapist, an approved IFS consultant, and a teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion. She is an experienced trauma therapist with a background in mindfulness, yoga, and energy work, and leads a small group practice downtown Vancouver. She has mentored in IFS sculpting with her teachers Kay Gardner and Chris Burris, and draws from her ongoing personal studies in ancestral lineage healing. As a settler of Northern European descent, Sarah is grateful to live and work on the unceded territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam people, and is committed to seeking and building wisdom and knowledge on how to contribute to anti-oppression and cultural healing. She is delighted and honoured to share the practice of sculpting with her local community. If you have any questions about this workshop or want to determine whether this is the right fit for you, please contact her at [email protected], or register using the link below. |
Past Events....
Soul Care for Therapists:
An IFS Training Retreat to Deepen & Expand
Hosted by
Risa Adams & Sarah Jarvis
*Unfortunately this retreat is being rescheduled to 2024 due to the venue being sold. Please reach out if you would like to be added to the waitlist for future retreats & trainings in BC or Ontario!
Ample time will be spent in deep process - in intimate dyads with each other and in full group dynamic sculpting. We will pay particular attention to the legacy burdens that follow us into - and sometimes lead - our work in the therapy room and our life. As we loosen the knots and follow the threads we will begin to see more of the beautiful tapestry that is YOU and the invisible weavings of intention at play.
If you feel called, please join us for a time of inner discernment, connection, joy, soul care and skillful practice. *Eligible for 20 IFS CE credits towards certification or recertification. |
Your Retreat Guides:
Risa Adams, MD is a physician, mother, and Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist & Consultant. She has embraced IFS since she found it 8 years ago, and to her surprise found she has been embraced back. She continues to find her way home to herself, others, and an ever-emerging spiritual connection. Risa finds great joy in sharing the learnings and path of IFS with others. She is thrilled to be offering this body & soul loving training retreat with Sarah, whom she has been walking with since Level 3 training in 2019. www.risaadamsmd.com |
Sarah Jarvis, MA, RCC is a psychotherapist and Level 3 Certified IFS therapist and consultant. She has been deeply influenced by IFS for the past 8 years and continues to draw from its wellspring of inspiration in work, life, and love. With a background in mindfulness, self-compassion, yoga, trauma expertise, and energy healing, she has a particular passion for offering spaces of respite and soul-nourishment for therapists and helpers. Sarah has a group practice in Vancouver, BC., and spent her childhood summers in Clarksburg, ON. She is delighted to be returning for the second year of this retreat with Risa and others for an immersion into Self-Energy, community, and nature.
www.compassionwithin.com
Who is this for?
This retreat is for therapists, coaches and practitioners who have training and personal experience of IFS, regularly use it in their practice, and are open to spiritual dimensions of the work. Maximum 12 participants. |
Accommodations & Meals
Clarksburg Retreat Center is located in the picturesque Blue Mountain region. The center is on 5.5 acres of park-like nature, surrounded by orchards, and close to the Beaver River and walking trails.
For anyone travelling from out of town we will provide detailed instructions on how to get there.
Meals will be catered and are healthy,. delicious, and generous.
Meals included: Wednesday night dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. There will be ample tea, coffee, and snacks available throughout. Accommodations can be made for allergies, gluten-free, and vegetarian/vegan preferences.
Clarksburg Retreat Center is located in the picturesque Blue Mountain region. The center is on 5.5 acres of park-like nature, surrounded by orchards, and close to the Beaver River and walking trails.
For anyone travelling from out of town we will provide detailed instructions on how to get there.
Meals will be catered and are healthy,. delicious, and generous.
Meals included: Wednesday night dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. There will be ample tea, coffee, and snacks available throughout. Accommodations can be made for allergies, gluten-free, and vegetarian/vegan preferences.
Cost: $400 CAD non-refundable deposit required to secure your spot.
Early Bird: Registration before March 15. Final payment $1400 + hst.
Regular Fee: After March 15. Final payment $1550 + hst.
Final payments refundable until April 15 and 50% refundable until May 15. No refunds after this date.
Payment plans available upon request.
Cancellation: If you are unable to attend for ANY reason after May 12 including Covid-related and the retreat is happening you will not receive a refund unless we can fill your spot from a waitlist, in which case you will receive a refund of your final payment less $100 admin fee.
Early Bird: Registration before March 15. Final payment $1400 + hst.
Regular Fee: After March 15. Final payment $1550 + hst.
Final payments refundable until April 15 and 50% refundable until May 15. No refunds after this date.
Payment plans available upon request.
Cancellation: If you are unable to attend for ANY reason after May 12 including Covid-related and the retreat is happening you will not receive a refund unless we can fill your spot from a waitlist, in which case you will receive a refund of your final payment less $100 admin fee.
A Note on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
We are both white, cis/het and economically privileged women. We welcome diversity of race, gender, and sexuality and are actively engaged in our own process of learning/unlearning biases & privilege. Registration Please complete this application form and we will be in touch with you within a few days to answer any questions and ensure this retreat is a good fit for you. |