Compassion Cultivation Cycle™
A Somatic Certificate Program for Therapists & Healers
Where Science Meets The Sacred
3 weekend-long retreats spaced throughout the year.
Ellen Slater's Compassion Cultivation Cycle™ is an evidence-based somatic model built from decades of clinical practice, relational neuroscience, and an intimate relationship with the living world. Through yoga, immersive learning, and farm-to-table nourishment, this program leaves you with a somatic-based toolkit to guide your work with clients
Below you will find an overview of the immersion retreats. For a description of the training curriculum click here.
A Somatic, Relational & Earth-Based Training
*Includes 28 Continuing Education for LMHC, LICSW, MFT and a Certificate upon completion
WHAT
Three experiential retreats (fall, winter, spring) teaching a Somatic, Relational & Earth-Based Training (see curriculum). Plus a monthly Zoom call (60 minutes) in between retreats. Totaling 28 CE Hours.
COST
$3500 for three full retreat weekends, three virtual integration sessions, 28 CE hours, a Certified CCC™ Practitioner certificate, farm-to-table meals, yoga, and sound healing. Sliding scale options available, please contact.
WHERE
We will gather in the beautiful light filled Head & Heart studio at 104 Riverside Avenue, Winthrop, WA. The calming space and small cohort experience cannot be found in an online training. Find out more about our space here.
Rooted in Nature. Grounded in Science. Embodied Wisdom.
What to expect with each retreat
4 MINDFUL YOGA & SOMATIC AWARENESS CLASSES
Friday 6:30-8:00 PM | Mindfulness & Restorative Yoga with Ellen Slater
Saturday 8-9:15 AM | Gentle Yoga with Sofia Christenson
Saturday 5-6:30 PM | Experiential Somatic Practice with Ellen Slater
Sunday 8-9:15 AM | Gentle Yoga with Sofia Christenson
2 DAYS OF INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS
Saturday 10:00- 2:00 PM | Interactive Teaching, Practice, Workbook, Art
Sunday 10:00-2:00 PM | Interactive Teaching, Application, & Integration
CRYSTAL SINGING BOWLS
Sound healing will be woven into the yoga and workshops throughout the weekend. Sound has the power to calm the nervous system, release tension, and support relaxation. Our body consists of over 70% water, and sound travels through water 4 times faster than air. The sound moves through you; harmonizing body and mind and aiding in stress relief.
SMALL GROUP SIZE TO PROMOTE DEEP LEARNING
Attending multiple retreats with the same group will deepen the experience. We are not just teaching the Compassion Cultivation Cycle. We are living into it together. This program is built as one whole experience, with each weekend retreat building on the prior. Culminating in a self-designed retreat on your own. All attendees are required to sign up for whole program.
SUPPORT SELF-DESIGNING YOUR OWN PERSONAL COMPASSION BASED RETREAT
You will receive support to connect to heart and intuition in the service of self-designing a compassion based retreat for yourself. This will build self-compassion, skills of insight, and motivation to care for yourself beyond this program. If possible you will culminate in a summer solo retreat designed for you. Self-care is not a luxury. Rest is a Revolution.
ORGANIC FARM TO TABLE MEALS
Seasonal Farm to Table Breakfast & Lunch, grown by our lovely friends at Willow Brook Farm.
FREE TIME FOR RESTING OR EXPLORING
During your free time enjoy the majestic valley, nature, and town of Winthrop. Just steps from our retreat center are two magnificent rivers merging, hiking trails, and glacier fed lakes. Recommendations and maps provided.
2026 REGISTRATION OPENING SOON
Tend To Your Heart So You Can Tend To Others
ECOLOGY
Learn the medicine of nature, expand your co-regulation beyond our human kin.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Through mindfulness and movement, build lasting neuropathways of presence & peace
NEUROSCIENCE
Understand the science & application of compassion embodied
THE VENUE
Retreats are hosted In Winthrop, WA at the Head & Heart Retreat center, cradled in the North Cascade mountains and nestled alongside two merging rivers. With 10 windows, bamboo floors, and a living wall, our space is a sanctuary in the wild. Find out more about our space here.
Three Retreats
One Strong Cohort
Sacred Change
Kind Words
“This training really solidifies the importance of an “embodied” or experiential practice of self compassion to deepen integration and promote healing. Ellen synthesizes the research and breaks down the most important concepts in an accessible and applicable way. This was a remarkable experience and I can’t recommend it highly enough! ”
— 2021 Retreat Participant
Ease your own nervous system, as you widen your capacity to ease others
You deserve this.
Trusting The Process
“This retreat is remarkable and transformative personally and professionally. Ellen truly is a gifted clinician and presenter. I thought “I knew what there was to know” about self-compassion before the retreat and I was surprised by how much new insight I obtained.”
— Participant, September 2021 Retreat
*CANCELLATION/REFUND POLICY: Cancellations up to 60 days prior to program start date receive a full refund. Cancellations up to 30 days prior to the start date, receive 50% back. Anything under 30 days prior to start date, there will be no refund.
Meet Your Hosts
Ellen Slater, LICSW, YT-200
Founder | Creator of the Compassion Cultivation Cycle™
Ellen Slater is a clinical social worker, somatic practitioner, and teacher with over twenty years of experience weaving together relational neuroscience, earth-based and contemplative wisdom, and psychology into a coherent clinical framework.
The Compassion Cultivation Cycle™ is not a model she teaches from a distance. It is a landscape to inhabit.
Sofia Christensen, YT-500
YOGA INSTRUCTOR
For Sofia, yoga has been the foundation of her well-being for as long as she can remember. This beautiful practice has been the vehicle through which she found clarity of mind, support of the body, and soothing of the spirit. With a heart-centered approach and an overall message of wholeness, Sofia sees yoga as an invitation to return to the heart – a path for coming home to our true nature. Sofia’s calming energy, and skillful guidance, will leave feeling grounded and in touch with your heart. Her very gentle yoga welcomes bodies of all types.
Chloe Rossano, FTF (farm to fork)
CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chloe Rossano will be making you healthy, delicious farm to table meals. Your food will come from Hoodoo Blooms Farm, and the planting season has already begun! Farmers Kyle and Cailyn tend the food with so much heart and Chloe cooks it up! From her delicious homemade Cacao Honey to her warm broth from chickens raised on the farm, Chloe will help you experience a deep connection to your food and a renewed energy.
We Can’t Wait to Connect With You
“The yoga was amazing and content of the lectures and other experiential exercises were excellent. Very well organized and I appreciated the integration of so many different modalities. The whole thing was a lovely sensory experience.”
— 2021 Retreat Participant
Where to stay
Book early - this is a stunning destination and each season hotels fill up!
The Head & Heart studio is located in town, walkable to the above hotels and many more! Contact us if you have questions.
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Check out the mountain community hostel or lovely river motel
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Stay in one of the stunning Spring Creek Ranch Houses
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Listen to the river go by in these riverside cabins.
