Restoring the Healer
A sanctuary for deep rest, connection, and embodied learning about medical trauma and recovery
June 11–13, 2026 | Miraval Austin, Texas
For healing professionals who give so much — this retreat invites you to receive.
Step away from the pace of daily life and into a restorative space at Miraval Austin where your body, mind, and spirit can exhale.
This retreat is designed to help you rest deeply, reconnect with yourself and others, and renew your capacity to heal — both personally and professionally.Through gentle somatic practices, reflective discussions, and unhurried time for rest, we’ll explore how the experience of medical trauma and post–intensive care syndrome (PICS) impacts both patients and providers — and how nervous system–based healing can support true restoration.
Join us June 11–13, 2026, at Miraval Austin for Restoring the Healer, a three day, two night retreat designed for clinicians who give so much — and are ready to receive.
The Experience at Miraval Austin
Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country, Miraval Austin Resort & Spa offers a sanctuary designed for deep rest and renewal. Nestled within 220 acres of preserved land overlooking Lake Travis, Miraval is a mindful haven where the natural world and the human spirit meet in quiet harmony.
Every detail of Miraval supports relaxation and inner balance — from tranquil, thoughtfully designed guest rooms to nourishing, farm-to-table meals and calming spaces for reflection. Here, time slows down. You’re invited to unplug, breathe deeply, and reconnect with what truly restores you.
During Restoring the Healer, you’ll be surrounded by nature’s beauty and a compassionate community of fellow clinicians and healers. Between restorative practices and learning sessions, you’ll have spacious time for rest — whether that means a reflective walk through the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, a soothing moment by the infinity pool, or quiet journaling in your room.
At Miraval, everything is designed to nurture your nervous system and spirit. Gentle movement, restorative somatic practices, and meaningful connection create space for healing to unfold naturally. It’s a place to return to yourself — to rest deeply, reconnect wholeheartedly, and remember the heart of your own healing journey.
Why This Retreat Matters
Clinician burnout is real — and it’s not a personal failing.
Many clinicians and healers experience secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and nervous system dysregulation from the very work they love.
This retreat is designed to help you:
Reconnect with your body’s innate capacity to regulate and restore
Learn somatic tools to prevent burnout and sustain compassion
Connect with other like minded clinicians and healers in supportive community
Experience true rest and renewal in a peaceful, supportive setting
Understand how medical trauma impacts both patients and providers and how we can make change one tiny shift at a time
What You’ll Experience
Deep Rest & Nervous System Renewal
Slow down and experience the restorative power of stillness. Gentle somatic and mindfulness practices will support your body in releasing tension and finding calm.Compassionate Community
Be held in a supportive circle of fellow clinicians and healers who understand the emotional toll of caregiving. Together we’ll create a space of shared understanding and mutual care.Embodied Learning
Engage in accessible, experiential learning about medical trauma and PICS — how they affect the nervous system, and how to integrate this awareness into your work and your own healing.Connection with Self, Others, and Spirit
Through reflective time, guided practices, and group connection, you’ll nurture a sense of wholeness and belonging — within yourself and within community.Restorative Space & Nourishment
Enjoy unstructured time to rest, walk, reflect, and simply be. Nourishing meals, peaceful surroundings, and supportive facilitation create an environment that invites your whole system to settle.You’ll leave feeling replenished, reconnected, and resourced — ready to return to your work and your life with more peace and clarity.
Deeply rest and recover in a beautiful and cozy room with the softest bedding you’ve ever experienced.
Who This Retreat Is For
This retreat is open to clinicians and healers such as, therapists, nurses, physicians, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, and all helping professionals who are:
Seeking genuine rest and renewal
Curious about how medical trauma and PICS impact both patients and providers
Interested in somatic and nervous system–based approaches to healing
Longing for compassionate community and meaningful connection
You do not need prior experience with somatic work — only a willingness to slow down and listen to your body’s wisdom.
What You’ll Take Home
A calmer, more regulated nervous system
Practical somatic tools for ongoing restoration
A deeper understanding of medical trauma and recovery
Renewed connection to purpose, presence, and the heart of healing
About the Facilitators
-
Sarah is an educator, speaker, and trauma-informed practitioner specializing in medical trauma, the nervous system and recovery.
Through her work with Medical Trauma Support and the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, she helps both patients and clinicians understand the body’s responses to medical experiences and learn somatic tools for healing.
This retreat brings her compassionate, grounded approach to a live setting — offering clinicians a space to both learn and be cared for.
-
Vanessa Abraham, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Speech-Language Pathologist, author, speaker, ICU survivor, and owner of A Neu Healing. As both a clinician and a patient, she understands firsthand what it means to be “the person in the bed.” After surviving a critical illness and developing Post–Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), she experienced the devastating loss of her ability to speak, move, and safely swallow food—skills she had dedicated her career to helping others regain. Her memoir, Speechless: How a Speech Therapist Lost Her Ability to Speak and Her Silent Struggle to Reclaim Her Voice and Life, chronicles her powerful journey through depression, vulnerability, and healing. Today, she uses her experience to help others recover from the devastating psychological aspects of PICS and neurological disorders, while advocating for compassion, community, and trauma-informed care.
Join Us for Restoring the Healer
Give yourself the gift you so often offer to others: compassion, presence, and care.
This is your time to rest, reconnect, and restore.
Registration is officially open! We hope you will join us!
Retreat Investment & Registration
This retreat is an invitation to slow, restore, and reclaim a sense of balance in a deeply held and supportive environment. In the spirit of Miraval’s approach to wellbeing — one that honors intention, presence, and nourishment of body and mind — we’ve structured a retreat investment that reflects both the restful sanctuary of the place and the purposeful learning and care of the facilitation.
To support clarity and thoughtful planning, we are offering an early registration investment of $2,835 through March 31, 2026. After this date, the investment will increase slightly to reflect final planning and preparation.
Our intention for this offering is to remain intimate and spacious — a small container where your presence matters and connections can unfold slowly and deeply.
What Your Retreat Investment Includes
Inspired by Miraval’s philosophy of mindfulness and wellbeing, your time in this retreat is designed to feel like a true sanctuary:
Nourishment & Hospitality
Restful accommodations, nourishing chef-crafted meals, and warm spaces for reflection and connection — all set within a beautiful natural landscape. Miraval’s inclusive environment allows you to shift into a slower rhythm without needing to manage details like tipping or logistics.
Program & Facilitation
A carefully held container of trauma-informed learning, somatic exploration, reflective practices, and nervous system–aware guidance tailored for clinicians and healers. We are very aware of the importance of bringing depth, support, and gentleness to every gathering so your experience feels safe and expansive. We know how intense the work can be when you are helping others heal, and we want to provide a space where you can just relax and let down your guard.
Mindful Offerings & Setting
Miraval invites you to slow your pace, notice the world around you, and explore wellbeing in ways that resonate with you. From mindful walking paths to restorative spaces, this environment supports both inner and outer spaciousness. One of Sarah’s favorite things to do at Miraval is to sit in the hanging chairs under the trees and just swing, sometimes with a book, sometimes doing nothing.
Program & Facilitation Fee
This portion of your investment supports all retreat facilitation, programming, preparation, and group holding — the tenderness, skill, and care that go into creating a restorative and nourishing experience for clinicians. This fee is collected at registration and secures your place in this intentionally small and supported container.
We refer to this as the Program & Facilitation Fee because it reflects the unique value of what you receive — a lived, embodied experience of learning, regulation, and community.
Lodging & Meals
Your accommodations and all meals are handled directly through the Miraval hospitality team and reflect Miraval’s commitment to comfort, nourishment, and thoughtful presence. Payment for lodging and meals is made directly to Miraval after registration, according to their scheduling.
If you wish to further customize your Miraval experience (such as spa, activities, or private sessions), you may explore additional offerings through Miraval during your stay.
Policies and Participation
By registering for this retreat, you agree to our Program Policies, including our Cancellation & Transfer Policy, Terms & Conditions, and Assumption of Risk & Participation Agreement.
We encourage you to review these documents before registering:
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime.
-
This retreat is designed for clinicians and healers who give deeply to others and are seeking intentional rest, regulation, and reflection. Whether you’re a therapist, nurse, physician, counselor, social worker, speech-language pathologist, or another caring professional, you are welcome here.
-
Miraval is designed to support mindful presence and inner calm — from the rustle of live oaks and gentle Texas breezes to nourishing chef-crafted meals and restorative nature trails. The setting itself becomes part of the container, offering a slower pace and spacious environment for reflection.
-
Miraval offers a diverse, mindful environment where you can choose from many wellbeing experiences — from hiking and meditation to wellness lectures, movement, and reflective pauses. Your experience here can be as restful or as explorative as you choose, rooted in presence, nourishment, and slow discovery.
-
We are actively pursuing CE approval for select clinical disciplines. Final determinations are made by each licensing board, and updates will be shared as approvals are confirmed. All participants will receive documentation of learning objectives and participation that may support professional reporting or self-submitted credits.
-
Your retreat investment is divided into a Program & Facilitation Fee (collected at registration) and lodging & meal charges, which are invoiced separately by Miraval. This separation supports transparency and aligns with how Miraval structures lodging investments.
-
Yes. $2,835 is our early registration rate, available through March 31, 2026.
Pricing will increase beginning in April 2026 as we move closer to the retreat and finalize logistics. You are encouraged to register early to lock in the initial rate. -
Yes, if you would like to break the program and facilitation fee into multiple payments please reach out to sarah@medicaltraumasupport.org
For the payment for food and lodging you will pay 50% to Miraval with the other 50% due upon arrival.
Vanessa’s Book - Speechless: How a Speech Language Therapist Lost Her Ability to Speak and Her Silent Struggle to Reclaim Her Voice and Life
Learn more about how your retreat co-facilitator, Vanessa, came to do this work in the medical trauma and PICS space in her book. Vanessa’s book is a raw and inspiring memoir that tells her own story as a speech therapist who suddenly lost her ability to speak and move.
What began as a medical crisis quickly plunged her into a world filled with fear, anxiety, and severe depression. She wasn’t just fighting to regain her voice and mobility — she was fighting for her identity, her stability, her future, and her child. One of her most heartbreaking fears was not being the mother she wanted to be, wondering if her child would remember her only for her silence and struggle.
As she navigated the aftermath of her hospitalization, she confronted the emotional and psychological impact of medical trauma and experienced the complex layers of PICS (Post-Intensive Care Syndrome). She grieved her ability to swallow food safely, her ability to move and talk, and also the life, independence, and confidence that had been taken from her. Over time, she began to understand the role of the nervous system in her healing, discovering how trauma, stress, and recovery were deeply intertwined with the body’s physiology.
Speechless followed her courageous journey of mourning who she was while slowly learning to embrace the new version of herself. Through vulnerability, faith, and determination, she discovered that healing was not about going back, but moving forward with a deeper understanding of strength — and the essential role that community plays in recovery.