CAREgivers' Retreat

The Columbus CARE Coalition invites Columbus community caregivers - parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends and activists - to join this free event. We will provide space for healing, building community, and promoting self-care and support for caregivers who are often overlooked and under-supported.

Our theme this year is CARE Beyond Survival. Participants will have the opportunity to choose two out of eight engaging workshops. The day will end with a panel discussion centered around the theme. Additionally, resource tables and emotional support will be available throughout the day.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

Info: Explore the connection between trauma, addiction, and the brain in this interactive session. A licensed professional with lived substance use experience will share insights into how these systems overlap and contribute to continued substance use. Participants will learn strategies to support loved ones in a healthy way and may even reflect on their own needs as caregivers. The session will include a brief presentation followed by an open Q&A discussion.

Info: Explore rhythm through simple hand drumming, creating music together in a way that engages the senses and the brain. Research suggests that group drumming can help reduce stress, boost immune function, improve concentration, ease pain, and lift mood through multi-sensory engagement and rhythmic activity that draws attention inward and outward at the same time. Studies have shown drumming improves concentration and relaxation, taps into instinctive rhythm patterns in the brain, and naturally shifts focus away from daily worries, making it both a therapeutic break and a joyful communal activity.

Info: "Why Are They Doing That? The connection between trauma, sensory processing and behavior." Trauma has a direct effect on our sensory system, and to cope with sensory overload, we often develop habits that end up causing unpredictable challenges. This workshop provides details about our eight sensory systems and how sensory overload or shutdown can affect our daily life. Recognizing the interplay between these systems, trauma and the ways we are trying to find balance, grounding and healing can provide us with a wider array of self-help tools.

Info: "Beyond Survival: Reimagining Your Sense of Caregiving through the Power of Creativity, Imagination and Wonder." In a 2 part, extended workshop, participants will explore new approaches to build resilience, enhance self-care using the power of wonder and imagination to create, regulate and meaning make. Through interactive, creative and reflective activities, participants will discover how sensory integration and creative expression can equip them with practical strategies to reduce daily stressors, foster a deeper connection with self and gain new insights into the caregiver role. *Participants must register for part 1 & 2

Info: This workshop offers participants the chance to engage in gentle movement and breathing exercises that can be performed while seated. All exercises will be adapted to accommodate varying abilities.

Info: We will discuss the culture, trends, and short-comings of caregiving that may lend itself to creating vicarious trauma within caregivers. As a past caregiver, understanding that there is nothing wrong with you, being overwhelmed is okay. It’s natural to take in the feelings of those close to you. Healthy boundaries are very important. Offering tools and strategies to support those who attend.

Info: Using music as a tool for self care, imagine listening to soft songs and internalizing lyrics that amplify warmth, care, and connectivity, while practicing somatic exercises that can regulate the nervous system and soothe the body. This session includes breath centered meditations, affirmations, music, and mindful gentle motions to emphasize the impact of self care from the inside-out - Self Care at its most precious! 

Info: "Beyond Survival: Reimagining Your Sense of Caregiving through the Power of Creativity, Imagination and Wonder." In a 2 part, extended workshop, participants will explore new approaches to build resilience, enhance self-care using the power of wonder and imagination to create, regulate and meaning make. Through interactive, creative and reflective activities, participants will discover how sensory integration and creative expression can equip them with practical strategies to reduce daily stressors, foster a deeper connection with self and gain new insights into the caregiver role. *Participants must register for part 1 & 2

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