Title: “DEI and Accessibility Considerations for Therapeutic Wellness Retreats”
1.5 CE Hours
Course Description:
This course is designed to teach participants about the DEI and accessibility considerations when building and facilitating wellness programs. These principles can be applied to group therapy, one day workshops, and weekend retreats. This training session will address trauma informed care and cultural humility, and aims to support clinicians better understand their own identities and the intersection of their personal and professional work when leading integrative therapy programs.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify 3 ways to consider diversity when creating a wellness retreat
- Participants will learn about how to use inclusive language with regard to physical accessibility when advertising a wellness retreat
- Participants will identify 3 ways to consider inclusion in group therapy facilitated in a wellness retreat
presented by
Dr. Allison Brownlee, LMFT
I’m Allison Brownlee and I founded Stronger Together Community Services (STCS), a nonprofit mental health agency in 2020. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and earned my doctorate in couples and family therapy in 2015. I am currently the clinical director at and primary supervisor to our graduate and post graduate masters and doctoral level therapists at STCS. I am dedicated to providing the clinical team at STCS with training and education that is tailored to their specific needs and addresses their learning edges. I facilitate individual and group supervision where I review session recordings, provide live supervision in therapy sessions, and engage in co-therapy with our team members. This three prong approach to supervision allows clinicians to learn and grow in a supportive environment- we truly are stronger together, we do not learn in isolation at STCS, our staff know that they can lean on their supervisor without judgment when they are struggling.
In my clinical work I specialize in working with those in relationships, including couples and families. I practice from evidence based models: EFT, AEDP, and EMDR, all of which are trauma informed and attachment focused. Reducing the power differential between therapist and client is essential to my work. I truly believe that we are all in this together and have our own unique strengths and insights we can draw from. My clients have wisdom and the capacity to heal, within them, and I have the privilege of supporting the process of growth.
A key aspect of my work is facilitating the STCS Empowerment Weekends Retreats, here clients are able to see therapists in a casual environment and connect to us in an authentic way. These weekends are an embodiment of the mission and vision of STCS: to grow in community.
I love the work I do and the community we are building at STCS! I hope to spread the passion I have for reducing the barriers to mental health care, growing in connection with others and reducing the isolation that much of us face in our society.
In my free time you’ll find me outdoors at the beach learning to surf, hanging out at home with my cats, or feeding squirrels in our local parks in San Diego. I love to spend time with the staff and often host team building events like: trips to the aquarium, ceramic painting, unity circles, and staff dinners. I truly find joy being with the STCS community in many aspects of my life and am honored that our team connects outside of the workspace and has genuine relationships with one another that extend across their employment.
