The most critical feedback from our retreat and what we've learned about running events with Dr Claire Plumbly

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast. I'm really pleased to be here today with friend of the podcast, Dr Claire Plumley. Claire's been on the podcast a few times now, sometimes talking about her experience of working in burnout and writing an amazing book about it. Sometimes we've been talking about the cool and exciting stuff that Claire does in her practice, like EMDR intensives and working with people online. But today we are getting together to talk about our joint venture, a retreat that we ran for the first time last year and we're running again in 2026, because so many of you tell me that you've got a real craving for in-person connection. Getting people together in a room feels like something amazing that we can do to enhance wellbeing, but in-person events feel really different, especially when we've been working predominantly in the online space since 2020. Claire and I thought it might be helpful for us to let you in behind the scenes of what it was like running a retreat and the learnings that we've taken from a super successful one last year, and how are we going to make this year even better based on those.

Full show notes and a transcript of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links:

2026 Psychologists Business Retreat

Get in touch here.

Links for Claire:

LinkedIn: Dr Claire Plumbly

Facebook: @drclaireplumbly

Instagram: @drclaireplumbly

TikTok: @drclaireplumbly

Website: www.plum-psychology.com

Links for Rosie:

Substack: substack.com/@drrosie

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

The highlights

• We talk about our reasons for wanting to run a retreat 01:26
• We discuss the different skills we brought together, and liaising with the right venue 06:56
• We look at how we got the right mix of people 13:08
• We discuss costing an event 16:35
• We talk about marketing something with this much logistical planning 19:55
• We look at what will be different for 2026 25:22
• Claire gives her advice to anyone thinking about planning their own event 35:10
• I tell you how to find out about the 2026 retreat 37:11

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SPEAKERS

Rosie Gilderthorp, Claire Plumbly

Hello and welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast. I'm really pleased to be here today with friend of the podcast, Dr Claire Plumley. Welcome, Claire.

Thank you.

So Claire's been on the podcast a few times now, sometimes talking about her experience of working in burnout and writing an amazing book about it. Sometimes we've been talking about the cool and exciting stuff that Claire does in her practice, like EMDR intensives and working with people online. But today we are getting together to talk about our joint venture, a retreat that we ran for the first time last year and we're running again because so many of you tell me that you've got a real craving for in-person connection and you know, getting people together in a room feels like something amazing that we can do to enhance wellbeing, but in-person events feel really different, especially when we've been working predominantly in the online space since 2020. So Claire and I thought it might be helpful for us to jump on together and just let you in a bit behind the scenes of what it was like running a retreat and those learnings that we've taken from a super successful one, I have to say, last year, and how are we going to make this year even better based on those. So I guess a good place to start is really with what made you want to run a retreat, Claire? And I'll say a bit about why I wanted to do it.

Yeah. So, right at the beginning of last year, I set one of those words for the year, you know, when you kind of, that's going to be your value. And it was around connection because I'd spent like a year in my office or hovel, writing by myself, writing my book, and I was like, I really need to reconnect. And so I just thought, well, I'm going to prioritise in person stuff. So I'd already set that intention. And then of course, you start manifesting these things, don't you? Because I was at the beach, near me, I live in Somerset. I'd taken my kids to Kilve for the day, which is a beach near me, about 40 minutes away from Taunton. And, as we were kind of on the beach, as we were walking away from it, we passed this little sign that said Old Rectory, retreat and farmhouse. I was like, Ooh, I've never spotted that before. So I kind of just wandered in to have a nosy as you do. I was like, oh, this is really lovely, I didn't even know it was here. And then the owners came out and we were chatting, and it turned out they'd recently followed me on Instagram and they knew of my book and they'd heard me on the radio. I was like, this is brilliant, it feels like there's something aligning here. And so yeah, we kind of got chatting and they showed me around and I was like, oh, right, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to try and find a way to run a retreat. And then we then started having a conversation, I can't remember why we were meeting. Maybe it was, I was on your podcast or something. I can't remember. One of my networking events, maybe we were chatting. And it was something you were thinking of doing too. So we kind of hatched a bit of a plan and I think both of us were feeling like creating a space that we really wanted for ourselves, which was just with other psychological therapists who we find very inspiring when they run their own businesses, having like lots of deep time and connection possibilities with them, but also knowing that, you know, you've got your MBA, you’re a coach, I've got a bit of experience of building my own business and I'm a bit of an addict of business books, which is all in my head now, and I thought I'd love to, you know, just curate a bit of space and lead something and we thought actually maybe our skills could work well partnering up. And so that's my origin story with the retreat.

Yeah, and I think it's really similar to mine. I'd also done that word of the year thing and put connection on it, and I couldn't believe it when you said that. I thought, oh, it was a sign really, because for me it was the depth of connection with other professionals that I was really craving that year. I tried, the previous year I'd done a lot of business networking. As you know, I always talk about the value of that on the podcast and because at that time I was restarting my clinical practice after having to let it lie dormant for a while. The way that I'd done that was getting out in the business community and doing lots of networking, and it had worked. I'd got the objective from it, but it meant that I was usually the only psychologist in the room. And so the conversations were interesting, but at a kind of superficial level, in a lot of ways, you know? I was there to answer the same sort of questions, to give the same sort of talks, and there wasn't very much kind of deep conversation about professional issues for me, and so I guess I wanted to set something up which would help people to really get beyond that, more than you can do at an online networking event. Because even the events that I hold in Psychology Business School where we do have a lovely community, people do form friendships and collaborations, it's quite difficult to move into that phase where you are ready to actually partner up with somebody when you've not been in a room with them and really felt their energy for want of a better word.

Have a cup of tea together, or glass of wine and some chocolate. And that helps it all, doesn't it?

It does. So I think we were both coming from that place really of wanting to give people an experience that would foster that deeper connection than we've been able to have, since the pandemic, I think.

Yeah, absolutely. And also in a way that's away from the demands on us, because quite often you're shoe-horning a bit of networking into your day when you've actually got a clinic and there's something a bit special about going, actually I'm pressing pause on everything for two days and I don't even need to lift a finger to cook or to, you know, make the beds if I don't want to. You know, I can just get up and just go and be guided through my day by somebody. I think that's different.

Yeah, and I think that was a key value for both of us, wasn't it? We wanted people to feel really cared for from the moment that they booked right the way through to the end of the retreat and afterwards, because so many people are in independent practice precisely because they have to juggle a loss of responsibilities, and for lot of them, that is caring responsibility, and so I guess that's another barrier to real connection, isn't it? Like often if I do go to a networking meeting, I have to dash off immediately. So there's not that space for, you know, allowing creative conversations to happen. It's all very much like, I'm here to do this. That's what I'm going to do.

Yes, exactly. Yeah.

And we, yeah, we wanted to give people that kind of opportunity to just sit and be and have everyone else worry about the logistics. But that brings me on to the stuff which gave me a lot of anxiety actually, when I'd thought for a long time about running an in-person event and I'd never done it. And I honestly don't think I would have if you hadn't come along. And I think that's because before the pandemic, I did use to run some in-person events and they were all kind of in the perinatal space. So I would get together with other local baby related businesses and put on fairs and pamper days. And I mean, they were brilliant. I absolutely loved what we did with those events, but the logistics were really intimidating of it, and I guess. I was a bit scared of taking that on, on my own because I know that I've, you know, I've always, I always did those events in partnership and I know that I need that because I'm not brilliant at noticing the details. So I was really excited to do this with a partner, particularly you, whereas doing it on my own didn't appeal to me at all.

But it feels like you're carrying all the risk, and have to think of every eventuality. And it's quite hard to do that, you know, without somebody kind of watching your blind spots. And I think we worked really well as a partnership and we kind of started to kind of move towards our leanings of what we were strong at. I have to say, you are such a whiz with thinking about financials and spreadsheets. In fact, I don't think I use any spreadsheets in my business that you've not given to me as part of one of your offerings. So yeah. So I knew that we were in a safe pair of hands because you were really thinking about, okay, what's our minimal viable product here? And I was like, minimal what? But, you are using all that language, it's very sensible, and I just hate. Whereas I think my leanings were more towards like, actually, I think on the day, like thinking about like who's where, what are their needs? Like being in like, tune, maybe leading, like where people are going and thinking about them in that way. And like thinking about, you know, the order of things and how it might feel to arrive and be on the event. So I think together that was a really strong partnership.

Definitely, and you were also brilliant at curating the relationship with the people who run the retreat, and I think we've both reflected on the fact that if you hadn't had that relationship with the owners, we would've found it much more difficult to, you know, give people that looked after cared for feeling that was so important to us because anything that they needed, you know, because you had that lovely, warm relationship with the owners, we were able to, you know, negotiate and get for people, whereas, I mean, that is not my strength. I get really anxious about sort of, you know, asking for things. And, yeah, really, asking for things makes me incredibly anxious. And so I knew that that would always be something where I would be, you know, worried about it. Worried about whether I was asking for too much. Perceived as difficult. And I felt like you were brilliant in that relationship and that helped everything to go so much more smoothly. It meant that I could kind of parachute into the event and you'd already sort of laid the ground. You already had a good idea of where people should be sleeping and room allocation. I never would've thought of that, I don't think. It was really valuable.

I mean, they were really good, weren't they? Lisa and Jamie, at running… they're obviously very experienced, but I do think for anyone thinking about their own retreat, going and visiting and seeing what the people who run it are like and getting a sense of where they are and how they get involved because we felt very held when we were there because they did all the yummy food. Really like gorgeous homemade vegetarian food. They thought about dietary requirements with us, because that was something that caught us out a little bit. We hadn't realised how many dietary things there might be, partly because I guess, you know, if you're new to running in-person events, it doesn't occur to you if you don't have your own dietary requirements that are similar to other people.

It’s different as well, isn't it? because this is a small group event. So we, you know, we're only going to have about eight people. And so you are providing everything for them, you know, they can't dash off to a Tesco Express or something. Whereas the events that I've run previously, they were all city center based and usually we weren't providing food, we were providing food options for people, which is totally different. So that one completely blindsided me as well, but is so crucial. All of these, like logistical things, are what add up to people feeling cared for or not. So it couldn't have been more important and yes, I think Lisa and Jamie helped us think about that, where we might have missed it a little bit.

Yeah, because they're very experienced. So I think making sure you've just liaised with someone who's got that experience and knowledge. But just like do it early into the event, don't leave it as a couple of weeks before, now we need to think about food. And food is very important to people. I don't think they realise until they get there. I don't think people will choose your retreat based on the food. But once they get there, it's a little bit like arriving on holiday. It's like, now I want lobster or whatever it is. Do you know what I mean? And I think, just making sure it's really good quality stuff and that you've got all the, like, yummy extras, cake, you know, nibbles in the evening, if you're having booze, like making sure you've asked people in advance what their preferences are. Same with music. Because the, we did provide some of that stuff, and it was just one of the only little feedbacks that we got that was a bit like could do better on ‘more chocolate’. More chocolate around the campfire and s'mores, which were things that hadn't occurred to us. So we were like, right, that's an easy win for next year. Just load up on the yummy snacks in the evening.

Absolutely. And again, you know, as so many things do, it does come back to how well you know the people that are coming. And the great thing about this retreat, and we got lovely positive feedback about the blend of people and that people felt like they really formed a little community. And I think that we were able to do that because we take applications. So, you know, you can't just buy it off the website. You put in an application, which tells us a bit about you, enables us to, you know, work out, oh, this person's got this interest and this person's got that interest, so let's put them together, make sure that the space for those people to chat. Which I think makes a really huge difference. And, and if you're doing an application, then you can ask about these things, you know? And I would even say, for people who, you know, you don't know, then offering a call so that you can get a bit of a sense of, you know, how confident is this person and, you know, are they asking for everything they need. Or are they like me, horror of horrors? Like I would probably say, oh, I'm easy, I don't care about this or that. But if you've got chatting to me for a while, you might realise actually, you know, I do have preferences on food, I'm just not quite confident to say to a stranger, like, oh, actually I'm quite fussy. So I think getting to know people in advance really helps you to create what they need.

And then it doesn't need to be then an entirely homogenous group. You can have those kind of ways to support people. Because I, you know, my brain starts connecting, like, or Liz might be really interested in Michaela's project over here. So when we do our masterminding on the beach, I might pair them up because I think some magic could happen there. Like I actually love that matchmaking in the retreat and in my like networking events I also run for psychologists. And I will spend hours trying to make sure I'm curating that space where something sparks can fly. And I just wanted to drop in here, where I've been inspired with that is a book called The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. It's all about how to take leadership in a space where you are curating the space, because I think it's quite easy for us to not think of ourselves as leaders when we're kind of inviting people, but she very much says, if you're inviting someone into a space, whether that's a social gathering, you know, at home, in your personal life, like a kids party or you know, a 40th or whatever, or an online space, like a group or a workshop or a retreat, you are the leader and people will be looking to you, so step up and own that and shape it and make sure people don't ever feel lost or like they need guiding. And that's, I've found, really valuable.

I completely agree. I think it's so important. If it's chaotic, then people will not feel held and supported and able to be creative because they're feeling unsafe, essentially. Not sure what could happen in this space. So I think all of those things that, you know, we thought about in advance and I feel like you were really good at this, I feel like that is what created that safe container where people felt able to get to know each other properly and share ideas and collaborations have been born from that group. So, yeah, I think that was something that we did really well and will definitely be wanting to do more of this time. Reflecting on things which I know often trip people up, like, thank you for mentioning the financials bit, because I always feel when I bring up financials with my coaching clients, like I am the killjoy in the room always. Because people get really excited because they think, oh, okay, like if I charge this much and we get this many people, wow, that's loads of money. And I'm always there like, this is going to cost you a lot to run. Always. I'm always the one like, VAT as well. Which is such a like, buzzkill for most people. But actually I enjoy doing that work because it's, when you are thinking about the financials, if you get that right and you've done your budgeting properly, that's when you can kind of gift people things and you can surprise people with extras that they didn't know they were going to get. Like last time, you know, we put in a few little things like notebooks for everybody.

Their personalized notebooks and pens. Yeah.

Yeah. And you can only do that safely when you've worked out exactly, you know, what your profit margin is, worked out enough to pay you for the time to be there. And then if you've got extra left over, you can delight people with it, and for me that's really fun. So although nobody really enjoys putting together a spreadsheet, although I have one friend who does, and she's brilliant at it. She's incredible. I don't so much enjoy actually creating the thing, but I do really enjoy the way it enables us to play about with, oh, what about if we spent a little bit extra on cake? Would that still work? And yeah. And it's also the only way to price something like this. Like, I know I'm really boring again, and I talk about this a lot on the podcast, but if you go with your gut or you just go on the competition, you can end up losing money easily, because there's so many things that can kind of trip you up when it comes to budgeting. So I think starting with your expenses, knowing what you need to be paid to do this and justify the time away from your family, and all the time it's going to take you to promote it and, and make it really good.

And arrange it. Yeah.

Yeah. I think starting from that and then seeing, okay, what price does it need to be? Just like with all of our pricing and all the stuff we've learned from Sally Farrant over the years, I think that's the only way to do it. Otherwise you can just end up having to cut corners at the last minute and that would give people a really naff experience, I think.

Agree. And I know, so the problem is we all trained in the NHS, didn't we? So we weren't trained to think about this stuff. So when we are forced to think about it, it feels icky and like, well a bit over… I personally find it a bit overwhelming and I just, my brain doesn't work like that. So once I can see and someone's sat with me and looked through a spreadsheet and explained it, then I'm like, oh, okay, I can see that. And then when you were showing me how to manipulate, like if we see, if we only get this number, this is what, you know, this would account to, is this okay? Can we proceed with this? I could see how much sense it made to have that and how powerful a tool it is. So, well done for pushing us to do that stuff, even though you get grumpy faces because it is really valuable and I have started to do better spreadsheets since working together with you with that. So, yeah.

I think the other things which, maybe I think both of us found a little bit more stressful, was around the kinda mindset shift that we had to go through to market something that has this much kind of logistical planning for the participants involved. So, I've got used, certainly to putting an offer out there and you know, maybe like the longest window I do generally for a launch, for a coaching program, for example, is a month. But if people aren't signing up in the first week, I am worried about that. And also it's like, it's all fairly low risk for me. It's like I put something out there, if people don't sign up, I just change it. I just change the offer. I, you know, it can fail fast as they like to say in software development. And no one actually needs to know, you know, I often say that to people who are thinking about putting out online offers. It's like, who knows about it? If this doesn't work, what are you so afraid of? Nobody needs to know. You can just kind of tweak it behind the scenes, we put it out with a different message. It'll work eventually. And I've gotten really used to that, over the past eight years or so. In-person events are not like that. You put a deposit down, there is a date. There is a location.

And a non-refundable deposit.

Yep. So you, you're going to lose that. There's risk if you don't fill it up. And also you're not going to get people signing up with the first email that you send because there's so much planning. People need to sort out things like childcare, time away from their usual work. So many things that go into somebody being able to come. Of course, it's not going to be that easy, yes, that you might get with something that's online and I dunno, how did you find that? I found it different.

I think I did, but I always believed so strongly that it was a really great offering, that I kind of felt confident that people would book and they did. But yeah, I can also appreciate that, and from running my networking events with Dr Marianne Trent in London, I do, you know, a couple a year, and there's a huge deposit for a London venue, so I do often get that kind of like, people will say, oh, I'm interested in coming. And I'm like, okay, be really nice if you could book on, so we know we've got the right size room. So I do definitely get that from doing some other things as well. I think it's a good warning to people. There's a lot of things that have to align. And also I think people who have been running or been in private practice for a little longer are more likely to see the value of investing themselves in this way. And I think one of the mindset issues that sometimes even the people I think could benefit is that they have their allocated money for CPD for clinical stuff, but it's a bit of a shift to think about on actually some of that CPD money could be allocated for strategy, organised like the kind of building up my collaboration and network because actually that's where magic is happening. Like, that's how we're creating a service that's really valuable. And we need to invest in that. And, and I mean, I've always learned so much from you when I spend time with you, so just some people to get off the starting line with putting down the deposit to come, I think some of that is also getting a reminder that it's a worthwhile investment.

Yeah, and it can be hard to communicate that to people, I think. You know, I always talk about how much I learn from you and the other people on the retreat, and I think I've put out loads of social media gushing about how inspiring I found the whole group. But if you haven't felt it yet, then it's really difficult. It's a bit like how difficult it is to communicate the value of therapy to people. People who have been in therapy and had a good experience are the best advocates ever for it, and they know the value and they'll probably go back throughout their lives, you know, like I certainly do. Whereas that first leap, that's the scary one. Because you don't know what you're going to get out of it. You've not experienced that shift yet. So I think you're right, it tends to be that people that have been on say, like one of your networking events or something similar before, have more of that confidence that they will get something tangible out of coming to something which is, you know, not CPD, but it's about investing in yourself and your own development.

Yeah. And learning systems, learning how other people do things. Learning like, yeah. Learning from each other's wisdom, which we've gained from running our own businesses quite often.

Yeah, and some of the feedback that we had, actually, the really lovely, heartwarming feedback was all about that. About the fact that it was a really valuable peer to peer group where people felt like they were able to connect in a curated space where they had a lot in common with each other, but there was also just the right amount I think, of difference. You know, we had all different specialisms, people, you know, working in very different ways from each other, and that's I think what gave some of the really creative sparks in the group.

Yeah, definitely.

 So we've talked a lot about stuff that, you know, we found a bit challenging, but also what we really loved about the 2025 retreat. What are your thoughts about what will be different for 2026?

 Okay. I've got a couple of thoughts. One is around, again, logistics. I know it feels boring to think about the logistics, I just want to feel like, about the content of the actual retreat. But, one of the logistical things where we had feedback was around just transport to and from the venue, and it made me think afterwards about holding the edges for people. A lot of people are so busy in their private practices, juggling, like wearing all the hats that if they get to the point where they're like, yes, I'm investing in myself, I'm booking on, you know, a lot of people struggle to then think about like, the actual, like okay, I've got my train, but how am I going to get from the like there to the retreat? So we thought actually this time we will make sure we've booked a group cab so that everybody can get there and it kind of starts at that point that they step off the train and already there's excitement because we'd set up a WhatsApp group, which I really valued and I think everybody valued that. And we also thought, we'll make sure we send out the list, the packing list, a little earlier, and like just those little bits that whet the appetite and start to kind of lay the seeds of excitement which I just think yeah, we could just dial up a little bit, and just make sure people feel really well looked after from that moment, not just as soon as they step onto the venue.

Yeah. I love that. I love that concept of holding the edges, and that's a really nice way of putting it, and it kind of builds on what we've been talking about, about the importance of logistics, helping people feel cared for and looked after. I think that's really important. I think something I'm really excited to lean more into this time, is around the like, doing stuff in person that can only be done in person. I know you've been on a retreat recently and were sending me pictures of the vision boards that you were doing. I was thinking, oh yes, let's do something where we actually use our hands and like do stuff that can't be done on a screen. I was really excited about that last time. I remember I gave the first talk I've given without any screens for ages, and I really enjoyed that. I really enjoyed being able to look into people's eyes and really kind of respond rather than just sort of performing. Ooh! Values cards!

We had these beautiful values cards, and they're very tactile and people love them. People went off, and what was lovely about the retreat, and why we rebooked, was there's so many nooks that are cozy with views of the sea, around the fire, there's a cute little kind of cottage by the pool. And so yeah, people would take these values cards and stop and think, and we gave them some prompts to think about their businesses, you know, and, and their work life balance. So like those kind of tactile things are, are gorgeous, aren't they? But yeah, the vision boarding, I'm excited about, because I really enjoyed doing that in my own retreat where I was attending recently. And, you know, we spent a whole kind of, quite a long chunk of time and it really sparked conversations and then we witnessed each other's boards as well. And actually that was one of the learning points that we kind of both came away with. I think, you know, we were more focused last time on individual experiences and we felt afterwards that we could afford to lean into more about the kind of collective learning and bringing everybody back a little more often and sharing as a group. And so yeah, that was one of the feedbacks that we got, which was like, you know, actually I would've loved to hear what other people thought after doing this exercise. And so we are going to definitely ensure there's a little bit more of that this time, because there is so much wisdom in the group and hearing how other people have reflected or done an exercise obviously is powerful, but I think our, just our heads were more focused on individual experience rather than bringing us together.

Yeah, definitely. I think that will be a really key focus for us in the planning of this one, and I'm really excited to see how we can do that in creative ways, and especially as the applications are coming in, thinking about how we can use individual strengths and experiences to, you know, make sure that that feels really exciting and creative for everybody that's involved. So I'm really looking forward to that aspect of it. We already mentioned that there will be more chocolate this time. So that will be absolutely key. More chocolate and maybe like more snacky bits that are readily available.

Yeah. Absolutely. We had beautiful homemade cake, didn't we, from Lisa, which was very well received. I think what, for me, I always just assume that everybody's snacking habits are like mine, so I just kind of like, I like a few crisps with a glass of wine or fizzy or G&T in the evening, but not everybody wants their crisps then. Some people fancy crisps at 11 or like, so just having way more just out so that people can help themselves basically and not just assuming everybody wants to eat a snack when I want a snack.

Yeah. And again, it's lovely to have the luxury of learning from last time and bringing that forward and building on that because it was such a brilliant experience. And I think I had a lot of worry about, you know, will I be able to cope with the kind of social pressure of being kind of on for a whole retreat, and actually it didn't even feel like that at all. It felt so much more like a kind of collaborative meeting of a lovely peer group that I never felt like I was particularly on. And you know, I think you were better at the, like leading people to be at the right place at the right time. But even when I did try to do that, I didn't find that as difficult as I thought I would or have done historically. And I think again, that's because the group was curated in that way, where the people that were coming together were all there with strong intention and really wanting to be in that space for a shared purpose. So it didn't feel like some of the events I've run in the past, and I'm sure the biggest psychologist networking events might feel a bit like this, where you've got so many people that of course there's going to be different agendas and people want to do things differently. And I know from, of myself, that I'm not a good leader in those positions. I kind of like people to be able to do what they want. I don't like to be the person to be like, oh, could you not do that? But actually that's why a retreat is the perfect size of event for me, because you know, there was very much a sense of shared purpose and you know, I got to know everybody well enough that it didn't feel like, oh, I don't really know why they're kind of breaking that rule, but they are.

Psychologists aren't usually rule breakers. But, I think what helped with that was that we put in everybody's room the itinerary for the couple of days so they could have that to refer to, and so we weren't, you know, having to work too hard at reminding people. And we also left them out in the communal places, you know, where the teas and coffees were and the snug, So that was helpful. And then we also just ran through the itinerary early on, so people knew what to expect. I think that's really important. When I arrived on a retreat recently, it was really lovely, but we all arrived at different times and I wasn't quite sure when that, like what to expect part was going to happen. So I think doing that really early is helpful because otherwise you're like, Ooh, I don't know. So that's, yeah, from a receiving point of view, definitely I can see how important that is. And I knew we were going to do it, but I think just saying really early on, once everybody's here, we will do a what to expect, and we'll do an opening circle, so just sit with that discomfort for a little while longer. And the other thing I think is also really helpful is to remind people attending that everything is optional, and if you ever feel like you don't gel with one of the things happening, to give people permission to opt out. And obviously where we are on the retreat, there's lots of other options. You know, there's a yoga studio, there's a hot tub, there's a heated pool, there's the beach, there's walks. So, you know, we just reminded people, these are all the other options, if we are doing a workshop or a sound bath or whatever it is that you don't feel like that's for me, just look after yourselves and choose to, you know, do that.

Yeah. And again, that's something I was really proud of, that there were people that didn't particularly enjoy the sound bath and it was okay to just get up and leave, because it's not about, you know, I've paid for these individual activities, it's about the overall sense of restoration and getting what you want and need out of those couple of days. And I was, that was something I was proud of, that we'd actually managed to, you know, give people that feeling of freedom and definitely that's something that we'll make sure that we do again next time. So I feel like we've covered a lot of ground here talking about all the things that maybe gave us some anxiety about running a retreat, the things that went well, the things that we've learned from. Is there anything that you'd like to, you know, finish the discussion on, just to give advice maybe to people that might be thinking about planning their own event, stepping into the real person world?

I mean, just, they're so fun and they really fill you up and you feel really proud when you've done them. The only thought I'd written down, which we haven't, I haven't managed to mention, was just also if, everyone who listens to this as a psychological therapist, aren't they? So at some point you'll have run groups. You've got the skills already. So don't forget to kind of go back and review any reading you've got around group processes or models, because all of those will be helpful to draw on, even if you're not kind of doing a kind of a, you know, a model of therapy that is a group model, there'll be stuff in there that you can pick and choose and weave in. So you are the perfect person to run this. And yeah, just feel free to pick our brains if you can, like, you do all these wonderful coaching sessions, you'd be a perfect person to go deeper. But you know, if you're stuck, trying to get, you know, support to get over the stuckness, not let one little logistical thing or a couple of like mindset hurdles derail you and like, partner up like we did with somebody who's a good fit but yeah.

Yeah, I think that would be my advice, is that if you feel like there's a barrier that you are struggling to jump over, find a colleague and you'll jump over it together. I think that's been a really big learning for me, that things feel so much more possible when you've got the right person on your team to do it with. So, yeah, I guess that's my main advice. But it's funny, this podcast, we come back to time and time again, the theme, you can use your psychological skills in diverse ways, and so often people come to me feeling completely de-skilled. They'll never be able to do X, Y, and Z, I don't have any business skills, I can't do it, don't have any event planning skills. Actually, all of those skills from your core training are there to support you when you want to do something like this. I think that's such a good, such a good point to end on. Thank you very much for joining us today, Claire.

Thanks for having me, Rosie. It's been fun again.

The 2026 retreat will be happening on the 7th till the 9th of May, 2026. And we do still have some spaces available. So if you've been listening to this and really fancy coming along, we would love to have you there. So I'll put the link for the application in the show notes and if you'd like to reach out and have a call with me to discuss whether the retreat's the right next step for you, then I'll also put a link so that you can do that.