Looking for a Mental Health Reset? Try These Transformative Retreats!
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the last few years have been stressful. Tumultuous elections, a global pandemic, a string of natural and human disasters—it can all build up to the point where we just can’t deal anymore. We just need a break.
Enter: Mental health retreats. These programs are designed for those moments in life when we just need to pause, quiet the noise and reconnect with ourselves.
If that sounds like exactly what you need right now, check out these 10 best mental health retreats.
10 Best Mental Health Retreats
1. Kripalu R&R Experience
The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Ayurveda’s Retreat & Renewal is their signature experience. Located in a former monastery in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the relaxing, peaceful vibes at Kripalu seem to emanate even from their website. Kripalu’s retreats are a choose-your-own-adventure situation. You create your own schedule, choosing between yoga classes, healing arts, community circles, sound healing, expressive dance, and water activities like kayaking because yes, Kripalu also has a private lakefront. It’s the perfect way to decompress in a quiet setting. Plus, as an added bonus, everyone raves about the food.
2. Boram
Calling all overwhelmed parents! Becoming a parent sparks a massive identity shift, and is an extremely emotional experience. If you’re feeling the stress, Boram is a mental health retreat designed for you. Located at the Langham in Manhattan, you can book a 3, 5, or 7-night stay for you and your baby. While there, you can rest assured that your baby will get the support they need and equally important—you’ll get the support you need as a new parent. With lactation assistance, nutrition support and birth recovery care, Boram aims to provide everything you need to recover physically and adjust mentally.
3. Onsite
With programs designed for healing trauma and maintaining loving and healthy relationships, Onsite specializes in truly transformative emotional experiences centered on harnessing empathy, compassion and resilience. And it has the perfect setting for just that, located on 250 acres in the dreamy hills of Tennessee. With a “no cell phones” policy, this experience is all but guaranteed to push you out of your comfort zone and help you grow as a person. Plus, you’ll get award-winning accommodations and food, and leave with connections that will last a lifetime.
4. Black Women Healing Retreats
The founder of Black Women Healing Retreats (BWHR), Satya X, founded this program out of the desire to connect Black women to nature and themselves. These retreats take place in the jungles of Costa Rica and Jamaica, and include a wide range of experiences, from yoga to hiking to workshops to meditation classes. These retreats are customized to support Black women in healing the trauma inflicted by systemic bias and racism. They feature a wide range of teachers, thought leaders, and experts in physical and mental wellness that lead to a healing, transformative experience.
Related: Decades of Research Shows That These 5 Practices Drastically Improve Mental Health
5. Golden Door Men's Week
Destigmatizing mental healthcare for men is an uphill battle, but Golden Door’s Men’s Week is a step in the right direction. Located in San Diego, this sprawling spa has programs that span from five to seven days. You can go all year round, but Men’s Week, which happens a few times a year, is centered around connecting men to physical and mental wellness support.
They have activities like hiking, Tai Chi and massage, and the program creates ample opportunity for connection and camaraderie in a non-competitive, friendly environment. From a Japanese-inspired garden for a mindful stroll to a communal dining table, Golden Door thought of it all.
6. Whole Truth Retreat
If your version of “getaway” is really “get out of the country” the Whole Truth Retreats may be the best option to consider for a mental health retreat. With programs in Bali, Mexico, South Africa and throughout Europe, there’s almost guaranteed to be a Whole Truth Retreat at the type of destination you had in mind. This retreat is designed to heal the body and mind and utilizes alternative medicine and modalities like somatic counseling to bolster your mental health, while also guiding you through yoga, medication and a raw-whole foods diet.
Related: Feeling Down? Incorporate These Depression-Fighting Foods Into Your Diet
7. Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
About an hour outside of Zurich sits the breathtaking Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, which is known as one of Europe’s leading health resorts. The property actually contains multiple resorts and is surrounded by the thermal waters of Tamina Gorge. These waters are naturally around 95 degrees Fahrenheit and have been praised for their healing properties for centuries. The resort also boasts a Medical Health Center, which acts as an inpatient rehabilitation center. They treat all types of conditions—mental and physical—and even accept health insurance. This type of holistic treatment mixed with a Michelin-star restaurant on property, all in the setting of Switzerland, sounds like just what the doctor ordered.
8. The Bridge Recovery Center
If decompressing in the gorgeous Utah desert sounds ideal to you, allow me to put the Bridge Recovery Center on your radar. This three-week retreat is designed for those struggling with chronic health conditions like depression, fibromyalgia or lupus. It includes food and accommodations, and unlike other choose your own adventure retreat options, this one has a structured schedule. It’s also a more intimate setting than other retreats, allowing a maximum of 15 guests at a time. They provide a mix of conventional medical treatments and more alternative solutions to get you the best care possible.
9. Canyon Ranch Woodside
With locations in Massachusetts and Arizona, Canyon Ranch is a well-known wellness retreat that aims to reboot your health and get fit. Canyon Ranch Woodside, which is located about 30 minutes from the San Francisco airport, is more tailored toward rebooting your mind. Instead of adventure activities and sweat sessions, you’ll be guided through programs that are aimed toward mental recuperation. Classes on the mind-body connection, healing from trauma, and managing chronic stress are all on the schedule, all in the idyllic redwood forest setting.
10. Miraval
Set in the Sonoran desert, Miraval Resort is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The food and accommodations have a homey but luxury feel, but what’s really worth writing home about is the extensive activities programming. There are hundreds of activities to choose from each day, including a full mental well-being experience that features experiences like “Journey to Self” and “The Beauty of Imperfection.” They have health practitioners on-site for treatments like Reiki, classes like photography that help you get in touch with your creative side, and an extensive culinary and nutrition program to help you learn to cook and eat to optimize your health.
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