- Analyze how types of grief and grief reactions inform clinicians’ choice of counseling or treatment.
- Investigate appropriate grief symptomology and employ assessment tools to uncover clinical concerns like trauma, depression, and suicidality.
- Utilize best practices to enhance grief counseling and treatment with clients from diverse cultures and with diverse beliefs.
- Analyze the impact of death on the family system and the corresponding effects on treatment.
- Apply CBT techniques to help clients manage guilt, blame, and other maladaptive cognitions following loss.
- Apply narrative approaches to help clients cope and empower them to construct meaning following loss.
- Utilize two assessment measures for gathering grief responses.
- Evaluate contemporary models of bereavement as they relate to case conceptualization for grief therapy.
- Assess the boundaries of professional competence in grief work and know when to refer out.
- Investigate factors that can influence the grief process including the type of loss and support system.
- Employ emotional regulation techniques to help calm clients who’ve experienced a traumatic loss.
- Implement a bereavement plan of care for identified Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder.
- Apply narrative approaches to help clients construct meaning following loss.
- Utilize mindfulness interventions to reduce anxiety symptoms in clients with anticipatory grief.
- Evaluate the clinical implications of cultural beliefs surrounding mourning and continuing relationships with the deceased.
- Utilize best practices to structure and facilitate grief support or treatment groups.
- Investigate ethical considerations to ensure proper management of terminally ill clients, minors, families and end-of-life decisions.
- Develop strategies for self-care when working with grieving clients.
- Analyze continuing attachment bonds and their relevance to clinical practice with bereaved clients across the lifespan.
Join us at the beautiful Sedona Mago
Retreat Center near Sedona, Arizona
where you’ll spend 5 days filled with skills-building and personal transformation!
Earn up to 18 CE Hours AND Become Certified as an Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS)!*
where you’ll spend 5 days filled with skills-building and personal transformation!
Earn up to 18 CE Hours AND Become Certified as an Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS)!*
As a clinician, you’re witnessing a rapidly growing wave of grieving clients.
You’re eager to lead them out of the dark places and give them a glimmer of hope.
But you’re living through your own losses too.
And working with clients on the hardest thing they’ve ever faced can be overwhelming when it hits so close to home.
Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC, is a therapist, best-selling author and grief expert whose work has been celebrated by mental health advocates like Maria Shriver and featured in the New York Times, Psychology Today and Yoga Journal.
Join her for 5 transformative days to get the interventions, skills and personal support you need to walk alongside the grieving.
Sign up today for your clients and for yourself… it’s a healing experience you can’t afford to miss.
5-Day Grief Retreat for Healing Professionals:
An Immersion
Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
LIVE in Sedona, Arizona: Monday, September 23rd - Friday, September 27th
Single Occupancy: $2,899
Interested in a payment plan? Get started for just half down today!
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Plus, earn up to 18 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Through live lectures and experiential exercises, Claire will show you how you can individualize counseling and treatment in ways that normalize your clients’ pain and empower you to walk alongside the grieving in skillful and profound ways.
You’ll get the step-by-step guidance you need to help clients cope in their darkest hours and rebuild fulfilling lives!
When you register, you’ll discover how to:
- Identify specific manifestations of grief
- Improve grieving clients’ ability to express their emotions
- Capably work with clients of diverse cultures and belief
- Calm grieving clients’ anxiety and open them to healing
- Use over a dozen creative grief processing techniques to rewrite stories of loss
- And much more!
You’ll leave this retreat feeling ready and capable to help grieving clients’ cope, build support, and process their grief in a healthy way.
Best of all, you can add a valuable certification to your resume and become a Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS) through Evergreen Certifications, a $249.99 value, upon completion of this training at no additional cost to you!*
This training opportunity is a MUST for today’s clinicians working through the
lasting impacts pandemic-driven loss has had on clients and themselves.
PESI retreats fill up fast, so secure your spot today!
*Professional and clinical experience standards apply. See below for more information.
Retreat Schedule
All Times Listed in Local Time
Monday, September 23, 2024
4:00–5:30 pm
Check-in
5:30–6:30 pm
Dinner
7:00–8:30 pm
Introduction and Overview Content*
Tuesday, September 24 – Wednesday, September 25, 2024
7:00–8:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am–12:00 pm
Training*
12:00–1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00–3:00 pm
Training*
3:00 pm–End of Day
Restoration and Relaxation
5:30–6:30 pm
Dinner
Thursday, September 26, 2024
7:00–8:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am–12:00 pm
Training*
12:00–1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00–5:30 pm
Restoration and Relaxation
5:30–6:30 pm
Dinner
6:30–8:00 pm
Training*
Friday, September 27, 2024
7:00–8:00 am
Breakfast
8:00–10:00 am
Group Q&A, Resources*
10:00 am–12:00 pm
Check out and Depart Retreat Center
*CE is awarded during these specified times. Licensing boards require full attendance to the entire retreat, including departure day, to receive any credit for the entire retreat. Please plan travel accordingly.
Who Should Attend?
The target audience includes:
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychotherapists
- Psychologists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- Addiction Counselors
- Chaplains/Clergy
- Mental Health Professionals
See What Others Have Said...
“Ms. Smith was a dynamic speaker and easily engaged the audience. Some good life lessons and professional needs came across with ease. Thank you for a wonderful bonding experience with fellow colleagues as well as useful tools. I will definitely attend other workshops by Ms. Smith.”
—Andree M., Counselor
"Very grateful for your knowledge, expertise, and commitment to grief work.”
—Emily H., Counselor
"The best retreat/training I have ever been to! I learned so much and felt connected to the group and the speaker. Such a great experience!! I learned so much!!”
—Jessica S., Social Worker
5-Day Grief Retreat for Healing
Professionals:
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
LIVE in Sedona, Arizona: Monday, September 23rd - Friday, September 27th
Single Occupancy: $2,899
Interested in a payment plan? Get started for just half down today!
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Plus, earn up to 18 CE Hours — included in your
tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Retreat Content
Outline
Types of Grief: Implications for Counseling and Treatment
Assessment Tools for Grieving Clients
- Normal grief and acute reactions
- Complicated or prolonged grief
- Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder
- Ambiguous grief in the face of changes in the living
- Traumatic grief following sudden or violent loss
- Anticipatory and disenfranchised grief
- Delayed, inhibited, abbreviated other types of commonly overlooked grief
Assessment Tools for Grieving Clients
- Uncover trauma, depression, and anxiety
- How to assess for suicidal thoughts or ideation
- Isolation, sleep, and nutrition concerns for grieving clients
- Continuing relationships with the deceased
- How culture impacts the length of mourning
- Spiritual impacts of grief
- Cultural expectations of grief to be aware of
- Awareness techniques – identify where fear starts in the body
- Mindful breathing to restore a sense of calm and peace
- Simple mantras to rewire anxiety and grief
- Exercises to free clients from pervasive thoughts
- Reduce anxiety with present-moment immersion
- Narrative and somatic techniques
- Expressive arts techniques – music, writing, art, and more
- Interventions for regret, forgiveness, shame, and guilt
- Continued bonds and therapeutic bereavement rituals
- Nature-based therapy
- Systematic desensitization and flooding to reduce avoidance
- Strategies to normalize anxiety and panic attacks
- CBT techniques for reducing anxious rumination
- Exercises to break fearful thought-spirals
- Make amends to overcome guilt-driven anxiety
- Replace fear with anchor thoughts
- Research limitations and treatment risks
- Personal narratives to overcome anxiety and grief
- Grief recovery letters
- Exercises to overcome the fear of losing more
- Maintain connection – death is not the end of love
- Boundaries of professional competence
- Compassion fatigue
- Self-care as an ethical imperative
5-Day Grief Retreat for Healing Professionals:
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
LIVE in Sedona, Arizona: Monday, September 23rd - Friday, September 27th
Single Occupancy: $2,899
Interested in a payment plan? Get started for just half down today!
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Plus, earn up to 18 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Are you ready to step into the life awaiting you as a
Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS)?
Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS)?
This course fulfills the educational requirements to become a Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS) through Evergreen Certifications.
Click Here to Learn More About the CertificationGet Certified and Go Further
Become a Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist and show your employer, clients,
potential clients and fellow professionals your commitment to helping your clients
increase their well-being, find meaning and reduce symptoms of complicated grief.
Professional Reputation and Credibility
Distinguish yourself from your peers and increase your opportunities for career advancement,
earning potential, and client growth. Certification is a personal accomplishment that you can be
proud of!
Client Trust
Clients working with a Certified Professional can be confident they are receiving top-tier care
for their unique needs.
Meet Your Lead Retreat Instructor
Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC, has worked as a therapist specializing in grief for
over a decade and is the critically acclaimed author of three books of nonfiction: The Rules of
Inheritance (Penguin 2012), After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go?
(Penguin, 2015) and Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief (Da Capo, 2018).
Claire’s work has been celebrated by mental health advocates like Maria Shriver and New York Times Bestselling Author Cheryl Strayed. She has written for various publications including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, Slate, Chicago Public Radio, The Guardian, Psychology Today and Yoga Journal.
Claire’s work has been celebrated by mental health advocates like Maria Shriver and New York Times Bestselling Author Cheryl Strayed. She has written for various publications including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, Slate, Chicago Public Radio, The Guardian, Psychology Today and Yoga Journal.
What does Tuition Include?
- Learn skills to help grieving clients’ cope, build support, & process grief
- Training and Q&As with a renowned grief expert, author, & therapist
- CAGCS Certification Application Fee – a $249.99 value!
- Up to 18 CE Hours, CE certificate & course manual
- Healing vortexes, meditation areas, & labyrinth
- Peaceful lake & trails – surrounded by magnificent red rock mountains
- Healthful (and tasty!) pesco-vegetarian cuisine
- Private lodging & bathrooms for the duration of your stay
If you’re looking for a place to unwind and reconnect with what’s important, what better environment than one of the most beautiful deserts on the planet?
The Sedona Mago Retreat Center is located in Sedona, Arizona, an area long known for natural healing and spiritual awakening. It is surrounded by red monoliths, Native American ruins, and majestic mountains. Experience the beauty, feel the energy, and awaken your spirit.
Retreat Highlights
- Secluded retreat, offering 173 acres
- Private or shared casitas with private bathrooms
- Healthful pesco-vegetarian cuisine (3 meals daily)
- Beautiful lake surrounded by trees, flowers, aromatic herbs, and many wild birds
- Covered patios, meditation areas & labyrinth
- Healing vortexes, experience healing and deep awakening
- Peaceful trails to enjoy nature
- Awe-inspiring sunrises, sunsets and stargazing
- Direct shuttle service available from Phoenix Sky Harbor (additional fees)
Retreat Location
Sedona Mago Retreat
3500 E Bill Gray Road
Sedona, AZ 86336, USA
Phone: (928) 204-3391
Shuttle Services
Shuttle services are available from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to Sedona Mago. Please contact AZ Shuttle Select (623-200-2849) or Groome Transportation (928-350-8466) for more information and reservations. Note that transit times may take longer than the geographical distance from the airport. Please review the retreat’s schedule above, inquire regarding transit times with the shuttle services, and plan flights/travel accordingly.
Accessibility
Sedona Mago Retreat Center has been mindfully set in nature – the grounds and roads are a mixture of dirt, gravel, and pavement. The general guest areas are spread out over many acres, so getting to and from various points will require walking moderate distances and traversing stairs and hills. If mobility is a concern, please contact the retreat center before registering with PESI.
Non-Participating Retreat Guests
Sedona Mago is an all-inclusive retreat center. All reservations are per individual, not per room. All individuals staying at the retreat center incur a room and board charge whether or not they are participating in the PESI educational training. If you are considering bringing a guest with you who will not be participating in the PESI educational training, please contact PESI at 800-844-8260.
CE Information
Please review the retreat’s credit information by clicking any of the “Click here for CE credit details” links found above.
PLEASE NOTE: Most licensing boards require full attendance to the entire program to receive any credit.
Please review the retreat’s schedule above and plan your travel accordingly to ensure full attendance to the program.
Health and Safety
Attendees’ health and safety is a top priority for PESI & Sedona Mago Retreat Center. For the most up-to-date health and safety guidelines, click here.
All attendees are advised to purchase travel insurance that includes a cancellation for any reason option to protect your travel plans.
If for any reason you are unable to attend, please contact us immediately:
Email: retreatinfo@pesi.com • Phone: 800-844-8260
Please check with your local government to see what advisories are in place before you travel. All flights are subject to the terms and conditions of your airline carrier’s policy travel plans.
5-Day Grief Retreat for Healing Professionals:
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
An Immersion Workshop on Restoring Hope and Facilitating Healthy Grief Processing
LIVE in Sedona, Arizona: Monday, September 23rd - Friday, September 27th
Single Occupancy: $2,899
Interested in a payment plan? Get started for just half down today!
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Click here for Payment Plan Information
Payment Plan available through 7/23/24
Plus, earn up to 18 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us.