How the Work Happens
The retreat is held as a continuous therapeutic environment rather than a series of sessions.
Each day includes one-to-one therapeutic time with Tess, alongside shared moments, quiet reflection, movement, meals, and time outdoors. The work unfolds through relationship, presence, and careful attention — not through pressure or performance.
There is no requirement to share personal stories in a group. Guests are met individually and privately, with the group providing a steady, human backdrop rather than a therapeutic demand.
The structure of the week is intentionally simple. This allows the nervous system to settle, trust to build, and meaningful shifts to occur — often more quickly and more deeply than expected.
Many women arrive feeling unsure of what they “need.” By the end of the week, clarity, relief, and internal movement are already underway.
How the Retreat Is Held
The retreat takes place within a clear, steady structure designed to support focused therapeutic work alongside rest and integration.
Days follow a natural rhythm rather than a fixed timetable. Each participant has one-to-one sessions across the week, alongside small-group teaching, somatic work, gentle yoga, and time with the retreat workbook. There is also space to rest, walk, and spend time outdoors. During the week, there is an optional visit to the local thermal spa, offering a different kind of physical settling.
The small group size supports privacy, depth, and individual attention. While the structure is consistent, the pace remains responsive to the group, allowing each woman to stay connected to her own process within a contained and well-supported environment.
Why There Is No Group Sharing.
This retreat is designed to be discreet and private. Personal work takes place individually, with dedicated one-to-one therapeutic sessions where experiences can be explored with care, attunement, and appropriate pacing.
There is no expectation to share personal history within the group. Shared time is used for learning, orientation, and reflection, allowing participants to be alongside one another without pressure to disclose or explain themselves.
By prioritising privacy and individual boundaries, the retreat creates a setting in which each woman can remain connected to her own process while still feeling part of a small, respectful group. The work remains focused, contained, and thoughtfully held throughout the week.
“There were chats around the table, exercises in looking into ourselves — but we did not have to share. There is no group work. But my fellow retreatants were also warm and open. That was a great bonus.”
Mary, Ireland
Tess Hunneybell
Trauma psychotherapist · Retreat lead
I lead the therapeutic work of the retreat, including daily one-to-one sessions and small group workshops. I have been designing and holding trauma-informed retreats for over fifteen years, and I carry the clinical responsibility and overall structure of the week so guests can arrive knowing the work is experienced, contained, and professionally held.
Further information about my clinical background and work can be found at
https://tesshunneybell.com
Eszter Balázs
Somatic Therapist · Yoga Teacher · Reflexologist
Eszter’s work is rooted in somatic therapy and nervous-system awareness, supporting the body to release held patterns of tension, protection, and fatigue at a pace that remains tolerable and safe. Her approach recognises that trauma is carried not only in memory, but in posture, breath, and reflexive responses.
Through gentle movement, breath-led yoga, and reflexology, Eszter helps guests reconnect with bodily signals in a way that builds trust rather than overwhelm. Sessions are responsive and adaptable, with careful attention to regulation, boundaries, and individual capacity on any given day.
Many guests describe her work as quietly stabilising — creating a sense of grounding and coherence that allows deeper therapeutic work to unfold without force.
Viktoria Varga
Senior Yoga Teacher & Holistic Massage Therapist
Viki supports the body’s natural capacity to soften, settle, and restore. Her work is gentle, grounding, and responsive, offering guests a way back into physical presence without pressure or expectation.
Yoga and massage sessions are always invitational and adapted to each individual, with careful attention to safety, consent, and nervous-system regulation. Many guests describe her presence as quietly reassuring — steady, attuned, and deeply respectful of where the body is on any given day.
The Healing Trauma Workbook
Each participant receives a 97-page Healing Trauma Workbook, created by Tess Hunneybell to accompany the retreat.
The workbook is designed to be used selectively. Not every section will be relevant to every person or every retreat experience, and there is no expectation to read it in full. Guests are invited to dip in and out of the sections that feel useful at different moments.
It offers reminders of work done during the week, gentle prompts for reflection, and accessible psychoeducation, as well as material that many people return to later for ongoing reference and integration.
The workbook supports continuity between therapeutic conversations and provides a way to orient when experiences are difficult to name. What you write is entirely private and remains your own.
Key Details
Location
San Flaviano Monastery, Umbria, Italy
Duration
6 nights / 7 days
Group Size
Maximum of 5 guests per retreat
Language
English
Accommodation
Single occupancy rooms with bathrooms or Shared Twin room with bathroom
Meals
All meals included
Food & Nourishment
Guests are nourished with lovingly prepared Italian meals made from seasonal ingredients, rooted in vegetarian and pescatarian cooking.
The food is generous, comforting, and supportive — created to care for the body as the therapeutic work unfolds. Dietary requirements are welcomed and accommodated.
Yes, chocolate! Yes, espresso!
San Flaviano sits above a natural mountain spring, and the water running through the house comes directly from this source — cold, clear, and unprocessed.
It is safe to drink and used throughout the building for drinking, tea, and daily use. There is no need to buy bottled water during the week. Many guests notice the quality of the spring water and comment on it as one of the quiet details that supports the overall sense of ease during the retreat.
A Gift for Booking Direct
Guests who book through this website receive a complimentary pass to Triponzo Thermal Spa — a natural sulphur spa in the Umbrian countryside, included as part of the retreat week.
This pass is available exclusively to guests who book directly through this site.
2026 Retreat Dates
- 20–26 May 2026
- 3–9 June 2026
- 17–23 June 2026
- 8–14 July 2026
- 22–28 July 2026
- 5–11 August 2026
- 26 Aug – 1 Sept 2026
- 9–15 September 2026 Fully Booked
Wed arrival · Tue departure · Max 5 guests
Investment & Accommodation
This is a fully held, all-inclusive trauma retreat hosted at San Flaviano Monastery, Italy.
The investment includes:
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6 nights / 7 days accommodation
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3 Full meals & snacks per day
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The complete therapeutic programme
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Daily yoga, somatic therapy and body-based work
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One-to-one therapeutic sessions and workshops with Tess
- Thermal Spa afternoon
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A small, carefully held group (maximum 5 participants)
Early Booking
A 30% early booking rate is available for a limited time and confirmed on a first-come basis.
This rate applies to both room options and is offered to support early commitment and planning.
A 25% deposit secures your place.
The remaining balance is due 4 weeks before the retreat. The deposit is calculated based on the price paid at the time of booking, including any early booking rate.
Private Room in the Monastery
A quiet, private bedroom within the monastery walls — a calm and personal space to rest, withdraw, and return to yourself between sessions. Each room has its own ensuite bathroom.
Rooms are kept at a stable, comfortable temperature throughout the year, supporting rest and regulation between sessions.
€3,150 (early booking · full price €4,400)
(Private room ensuite bathroom)
Shared Room — Church Mezzanine
A room of real character, set within the mezzanine level of the monastery’s 15th-century church. The space is generous and quiet, with ancient stonework and the particular stillness of a building that has stood for six centuries. This room is shared between two guests only, with each person having their own clearly defined sleeping area and access to two bathrooms.
The room is maintained at a stable, comfortable temperature throughout the year, supporting rest and regulation between sessions.
€2,730 each (early booking · full price €3,900) each
Getting Here
San Flaviano is most easily reached by train from Rome or Florence.
Fly into Rome Fiumicino (FCO) or Florence (FLR) and take the train to Spoleto — a straightforward journey through some of Italy’s most beautiful countryside. From Rome Termini, Spoleto is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes by direct train. From Florence, allow around 2 hours with a change at Foligno.
Chauffeur pick-up is provided from Spoleto Train Station at 13:30 on arrival day, with drop-off in time for the 09:38 train to Rome on departure day.
If you are travelling from further afield or would like help planning your journey, I am happy to assist with route suggestions, overnight accommodation in Rome or Florence before or after the retreat, and any practical travel questions. Just get in touch.