Am I well enough to be on retreat?

To attend a retreat at Sharpham, it’s important that you are feeling reasonably well, both physically and emotionally, and able to take part in most of the retreat schedule. Our retreats offer a supportive environment, but we are not able to provide medical, nursing, or therapeutic care. In some situations, attending a retreat when you are unwell could make things harder for you or for others.

Mental health
Mindfulness can be helpful for managing stress, anxiety, and low mood. However, intensive mindfulness practice may not be suitable if you are currently experiencing major depression or certain diagnosed mental health conditions, such as psychosis, PTSD, personality disorder, or active self-harm. To attend a retreat, it’s important that you are in a relatively stable period of mental wellbeing. If thingsare feeling very difficult, one-to-one therapy or professional support may be more appropriate at this time.

If you are currently supported by a therapist or community mental health team, we ask that you discuss
attending a retreat with them. For some people with more complex mental health needs, we may ask for confirmation from a relevant professional that a retreat is suitable, and with your consent we may contact them for further guidance.

Sometimes it may be kinder to wait until you feel more resilient, or to begin with a gentler introduction
such as a one-day mindfulness course. If a retreat is not the right step for you now, we can offer a full
refund or the option to transfer to a later date.

Infectious illnesses
For the wellbeing of everyone, please do not attend if you have a cold, flu, Covid, a stomach bug, or any other infectious illness. These can spread easily in a residential setting. We recommend taking out travel insurance in case you need to cancel. Please see our cancellation terms and conditions here.

Ongoing health conditions
If you have an ongoing physical or mental health condition, please consider carefully whether a retreat is right for you at this time, and discuss this with your GP or healthcare practitioner if needed. If you usually need daily care, support with medication, convalescence, or respite, we may not be able to meet your needs.

Physical access
Each venue has an access statement, which you can view here, to help you decide whether the retreat
space is suitable for you.

Emotional wellbeing
Many people find retreats helpful when experiencing difficult emotions, and mindfulness practices can be supportive. However, our retreats are not a substitute for one-to-one therapy or counselling, and our
leaders are not able to offer therapeutic support. If you are experiencing high levels of emotional distress or working with unprocessed trauma, we recommend seeking support from a qualified therapist before attending a retreat.

Addiction and recovery
Our retreats are not suitable for those currently addicted to drugs or alcohol, or for anyone in withdrawal or detox. Participants need to be at least six months into stable recovery and abstinence.

Participant behaviour on a course or retreat
The Trust reserves the right to ask participants to leave a course, retreat or event if their behaviour is deemed inappropriate or is impacting negatively on the experience of other participants. The full fee may not be returned in such cases. We also ask participants who want to leave any of our courses or retreats unexpectedly to inform the leader beforehand.