Why Therapists, Wellness Practitioners, Coaches and
Individuals Are Learning Nature-Based Interventions
for their clients and themselves.
Sunburst Sanctuary
Friday October 30 - Sunday November 1
Friday October 30 - Sunday November 1
Mental health professionals are increasingly recognizing the therapeutic value of reconnecting clients with the natural world.
During our transformational three-day continuing education retreat, participants will learn how ritual can function as a container that supports transition, grief integration, resilience, identity development and interpersonal connection. Throughout our training we will engage in reflective practices, case consultation, mindfulness and professionally facilitated outdoor therapeutic exercises.
Our signature learning experience is the Council of All Beings, developed by environmental philosopher Joanna Macy and colleagues as part of “The Work that Reconnects.” Adapted for clinicians as an educational exercise – not as psychotherapy itself – the Council of All Beings invites circle members to temporarily speak from the perspective of another living being or element of Nature. During our retreat, the process is debriefed through clinical lenses including Interpersonal Neurobiology, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ( ACT), Eco-psychology, and
Trauma-informed Practice.
Special emphasis is placed on maintaining clear ethical distinctions,
between psychotherapy, mindfulness practices, spiritual traditions
and ceremonial experiences.
During our transformational three-day continuing education retreat, participants will learn how ritual can function as a container that supports transition, grief integration, resilience, identity development and interpersonal connection. Throughout our training we will engage in reflective practices, case consultation, mindfulness and professionally facilitated outdoor therapeutic exercises.
Our signature learning experience is the Council of All Beings, developed by environmental philosopher Joanna Macy and colleagues as part of “The Work that Reconnects.” Adapted for clinicians as an educational exercise – not as psychotherapy itself – the Council of All Beings invites circle members to temporarily speak from the perspective of another living being or element of Nature. During our retreat, the process is debriefed through clinical lenses including Interpersonal Neurobiology, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ( ACT), Eco-psychology, and
Trauma-informed Practice.
Special emphasis is placed on maintaining clear ethical distinctions,
between psychotherapy, mindfulness practices, spiritual traditions
and ceremonial experiences.
Participants will learn evidence-informed methods for integrating nature immersion, and therapeutic ritual, into clinical practice while remaining grounded within ethical standards and scope of practice.
In our time together we will explore how to ethically adapt symbolic and ritual-based interventions within culturally responsive, trauma-informed, evidence-informed clinical care while honoring client autonomy, diversity of beliefs, and professional boundaries.
In our time together we will explore how to ethically adapt symbolic and ritual-based interventions within culturally responsive, trauma-informed, evidence-informed clinical care while honoring client autonomy, diversity of beliefs, and professional boundaries.
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 1, 2026
CE credits beyond four walls
RESERVE YOUR SPOT and take advantage of the Early Bird Special by October 1st to take your therapy or personal wellness practice outside — and into the wild.
JOIN US OUTDOORS — WHERE BETTER HEALTH BREATHES DEEPER.
Step into the woods, onto the trails, and into the wonder.
Come wander with purpose and leave with tangible skills,
renewed clarity, and 12 CEUs for LMFT, LCSW, LPCC and LEP
CA licensed clinicians.
Step into the woods, onto the trails, and into the wonder.
Come wander with purpose and leave with tangible skills,
renewed clarity, and 12 CEUs for LMFT, LCSW, LPCC and LEP
CA licensed clinicians.
Sunburst Sanctuary, Santa Barbara, CA
Sunburst Sanctuary and Organic Farm is a center for holistic learning,
healing and conscious living, cared for by our cooperative community. Sunburst is also passionate about exploring, implementing, and
sharing principles of regenerative Earth stewardship through
permaculture and organic farming, headquartered on
California’s Central Coast north of Santa Barbara near Lompoc, CA.
healing and conscious living, cared for by our cooperative community. Sunburst is also passionate about exploring, implementing, and
sharing principles of regenerative Earth stewardship through
permaculture and organic farming, headquartered on
California’s Central Coast north of Santa Barbara near Lompoc, CA.
Step out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary
We are Imagineering together.... let nature guide you.
When: October 30, check in at 3 - 5PM through the morning of Sunday November 1, after our sunrise and closing ceremony time around noon.
Where: Sunburst Sanctuary Organic Farm, Santa Barbara, CA
Includes: All teachings offered by our CEU Team, gourmet vegetarian meals, a multi-day retreat experience, course materials, private Group Facebook page, and Journal of Re-Imagining Therapy
Zoom Conference Call: October 16th at 7pm pre-requisite.
CEU and Certificate Info: Course meets the qualifications for 12 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; and Celebrate Life, provider # 1032861, is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. Celebrate Life maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
Course completion certificates will be awarded after the closing ceremony and completion of course evaluation is turned in and participant has signed out.
Please contact program coordinator at [email protected] before the deadline date if you need to cancel or have any question about our refund/cancelation policy, directions, location, dietary needs, or logistics. Please contact Patrick Talbot, to address any grievance, concerns, or course content at (805) 798-3427 or email at [email protected].
Where: Sunburst Sanctuary Organic Farm, Santa Barbara, CA
Includes: All teachings offered by our CEU Team, gourmet vegetarian meals, a multi-day retreat experience, course materials, private Group Facebook page, and Journal of Re-Imagining Therapy
Zoom Conference Call: October 16th at 7pm pre-requisite.
CEU and Certificate Info: Course meets the qualifications for 12 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; and Celebrate Life, provider # 1032861, is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. Celebrate Life maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
Course completion certificates will be awarded after the closing ceremony and completion of course evaluation is turned in and participant has signed out.
Please contact program coordinator at [email protected] before the deadline date if you need to cancel or have any question about our refund/cancelation policy, directions, location, dietary needs, or logistics. Please contact Patrick Talbot, to address any grievance, concerns, or course content at (805) 798-3427 or email at [email protected].
Your Guides
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Patrick Talbot, LMFT
CEO of Celebrate Life, certified wilderness guide, corporate trainer, and wellness practitioner; Pat brings in his love and enthusiasm to enliven participants using nature as his co-therapist. He is a pioneer in creating transformational seminars, as he introduces Nature as "the Teacher" and Soulful journeys as "the Lesson". A master of integrating experiential activities with counseling, Pat will enhance individuals' physical and emotional potential. His private practice includes in-person walk and talk therapy sessions, hybrid sessions blending in-person, on-line and guided threshold ceremonies. Patrick also collaborates with clinicians as an adjunct to their treatment plan, providing nature immersive therapy. |
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Oceanna Talbot, LMT
Heart Circle Facilitator / Consciousness Training 1987 to Present Primarily leading Women’s Circles since 1987, Oceanna devotes her attention to the balance and Alignment of the physical, mental and energetic bodies. Oceanna served as on staff therapist for La Casa de Maria and Pacifica Graduate Institute 2009-2919. As Oceanna leads, we will move beyond words, engaging the practice of stillness, sound and movement, as meditations become excellent modes of engaging and re-connecting parts of self that have felt lost. We will specifically bring focus stimulating Heart awareness, increasing confidence by connecting through breath and sacred space for Consciousness training. Oceanna offers Yoga Asana, Way of Tea, Lomilomi massage, Chant, Song, and Contagious Joy on a regular basis! oceannavisions.com |
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Alexis Slutzky, MA (former LMFT) (she/her) works as a threshold guide, mentor, educator and facilitator focused on cultural restoration through foundational practices including council, dream work, grief tending, ancestral lineage work, community ritual and rites of passage.
Her work is rooted in animism, embodiment, place making and honoring the wisdom of the natural world. Alexis received an MA in Depth Psychology and worked as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for fifteen years. She currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University and Pacifica Graduate Institute, where her courses explore the intersectional fields of healing, peacemaking and justice. She is a council trainer, has trained with The School of Lost Borders and Joanna Macy and works with Walking Water, an initiative to honor and protect the water in Payahunadu/Owen’s Valley. She is an active apprentice to understanding the complexities of identities within an inequitable society and also has a deep trust in the solidarity of our shared humanity. Alexis is based in Santa Barbara, where she was born, in the traditional territory of the Chumash people, and offers groups, trainings and one-on-one mentoring and consulting out of her private practice and in affiliation with other organizations. |
What to expect
- Pre-trip Zoom Gathering - Setting the field, Co-creating a brave space, Please join us Oct.16 at 7PM, we will send you a link.
- October 30, Friday, Arrival Check in - Welcome Orientation, opening council and intimate intro to Healing Beyond Four Walls and Nature Immersive Therapy / Eco-Therapy.
- October 31, Saturday, Morning meditation introduction to mindfulness practices, stretch, breath work followed by breakfast and morning teaching, Dancing The Wheel of Life and heART Circles of Intentions, honors the 4 cardinal directions. Afternoon rotations may include garden plant and harvest working the soil within, a sensory expanded walkabout in wonder and ah, or creation of a sit spot (an intentional solo time practice). Welcome return circle and beauty way teaching, dinner and Council Of All Beings in the Redwood grove.
- November 1, Sunday, Morning Mindfulness Practices revisited, breakfast with bowls of wisdom to share, rotation stations focus on South and West Quadrants, exploring mutually beneficial relationships, hike to meditation yoga platform or wishing tree. Welcome return circle with free time to journal, with an invitation to begin to create your own ceremony, solo time in nature. After breakfast circle of harvesting our experiences, sharing ideas of integrating nature immersive therapy practices into their treatment plan.
What is included
- All teachings offered by our CE facilitating team with guest teachers from Sunburst
- 3 days 2 nights multi-day retreat at Sunburst Sanctuary
- Includes 5 meals
- A guide to create your own personal Ceremonial Chest or Bundle
- The Re-imagine Guided Journal
- Access to private group web-page with course resources, support material and on-line group blog and Facebook Community for 12 months, to help deepen your practice.
- Personal expenses not listed in the itinerary
What to bring
- Comfortable stretchy clothes for hiking and meditating
- 1 Liter water bottle for your free time adventures or thermal hot water bottle for an outdoor tea exploration.
- Sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen for daily hikes/walks
- Small day-pack for water, snacks, blanket, personal journal and favorite pen or art supplies.
- Small bag to carry ceremonial collectibles for heART Circle exercise, practicing the beauty way as Earth Art.
- Comfortable light footwear for walks PLUS footwear for trail hikes
- Warm layers for evenings and possible cool weather (fleece, puffy jacket, hat, gloves)
- Yoga mat and meditation cushion (optional - we have plenty)
- Camera for photos during outings
- Daily Temperatures during the event could be as low as 60 ̊F at night and as high as 85 ̊F. A weather update will be sent out one week prior to event Please pack accordingly. If you need further recommendations for packing please let us know.
- A smile on your face and a passion for living life fully in your heart.
Re-Imagine Therapy, Healing Beyond Four Walls
Retreat Costs and Registration
ALL participants must fill out registration form below.
Prices listed below are your total cost for the retreat including the selected lodging option. Go to the link of your choice for more details of what each includes.
(*Storefront will include a 3% credit card processing fee. Venmo will not include a processing fee.)
Prices listed below are your total cost for the retreat including the selected lodging option. Go to the link of your choice for more details of what each includes.
(*Storefront will include a 3% credit card processing fee. Venmo will not include a processing fee.)
Cancellation Policy
We allow free cancellation up to October 1. After October 2, 2026 your booking is NON-REFUNDABLE. We highly encourage travel insurance for your event, as this is a big investment, and if weather or other circumstances forbid your arrival, we cannot offer refunds UNLESS you or we can refill your space.
Getting to Sunburst Sanctuary Organic Farm, SB, CA
Airfare and ground transport to/from Santa Barbara are not included. We suggest flying in/out of Santa Barbara Airport. They tend to have the best flights and inexpensive car rentals. From SB it is a 1.2 hour car drive north from Santa Barbara to Sunburst. Take the 101 north to exit 132 to Lompoc on Cabrillo Hwy CA 1, San Julian RD for another 4.8 miles to the Sunburst entrance 7200 S Hwy One, Lompoc CA 93436. From Ventura and Oxnard areas it is about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive depending on traffic.
Is this retreat for me?
This is an opportunity for those who are new to nature immersive therapy or want to add new tools that will assist them to bring their own practices to a deeper level, while supporting each other to THRIVE in a beautiful natural setting. This re-treat is as much for you as it is for your clients.
Our Prerequisites:
Our Prerequisites:
- You do not need to have previous experience in formal or personal ceremonial nature practices.
- Must be interested in self-growth and harmonious conscious living with nature.
- Must be open to learning and growing with others.
- Must have a willingness to be humbled by nature.
- Able to arrange travel plans to check-in at Sunburst Sanctuary by 4pm October 30 and are welcome to come earlier to walk the land.
- Must be able to stay through the entire retreat and not depart Sunburst before sunrise and closing ceremony is complete November 1, 2026.
- Must be willing to fill out the application below and have a personal phone interview.
