The Slow Healing Space

18/07/2025

True healing is an unglamorous process of living into the long lengths of pain. Forging forward in the darkness. Holding the tension between hoping to get well and the acceptance of what is happening. Tendering a devotion to the task of recovery, while being willing to live with the permanence of a wound; befriending it with an earnest tenacity to meet it where it lives without pushing our agenda upon it. But here’s the paradox: you must accept what is happening while also keeping the heart pulsing towards your becoming, however slow and whispering it may be.
~ Toko-pa Turner

25/06/2025

The Myth of Mis & The Power of Sacred Retreat

In the old Celtic stories from my ancestry, there lived a woman called Mis.
When her warrior father was killed in battle, something fundamental broke open inside her. The grief wasn't ordinary, it was the kind that splits you from yourself, that sends you wandering beyond the edges of what you thought possible.
She disappeared into the wild mountains. Sometimes she became a bird, her human form dissolving under the enormity of what she carried. Other tellings say she went feral, lost her words, and lived alongside creatures who understood her wordless language.

She became other. Stepped outside ordinary time. Grief carried her into an entirely different way of being.

But here's what the old stories knew that we've forgotten: this wasn't breakdown. It was initiation.

Mis's descent was a doorway. She was being initiated into mysteries that can only be learned by falling apart: the intelligence of loss, the strange alchemy of transformation, and the wild wisdom that lives in grief's country. Sometimes we shatter not because we're broken, but because something deeper is trying to be born through us.
During this time of retreat, held by the mountains themselves, Mis learned the language of wind and stone, of seasons turning without human witness. The wilderness became her teacher, revealing truths that could only be learned in absolute solitude.

Until the day Naci found her. He didn't run. He didn't try to capture her or drag her back to who she used to be. He stayed. He sang to her. Spoke gently. Offered his presence without asking for anything in return.

And slowly, so slowly it was almost imperceptible - Mis began to return, not as the girl who had fled into the mountains, but as someone fundamentally changed by what she'd walked through. She returned from the underworld carrying wisdom that can only be earned by descent.

On the Held - A Holy Heart Immersion retreat, we dive deep into this ancient myth at the outset, letting it serve as our compass for the journey. We too might become a bird, untamed, feral, and discover wisdoms in our initiations we don't find unless we fall apart and let ourselves be held.

The 5-day immersion creates space for women to descend into their own heart initiations through the portal of grief, to be held by both the earth and each other, and to return carrying new wisdom about what it means to live with an open, initiated heart.

Years ago, in a group training, the facilitator shared something that stayed with me, she said the final person to join a circle often holds a quiet, sacred role. They help seal the container for the journey ahead.

Applications are open now… for the one who feels the call
https://carissarodgers.com/held-retreat/

13/06/2025

A repost from a few years ago came up in my memories today 🩷 , still relevant.

A NOTE TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HARMED BY THERAPY

Attachment in Therapy.

I've seen many people in the online therapeutic groups I'm in this year make posts about being deeply hurt by therapists. Most of these posts have talked about the pain of abandonment, lack of attunement, and lack of care in things that mattered to them. In some cases, the trauma from this reinforced the original attachment trauma for which these folks were seeking therapy.

I felt sad at reading these posts and how the therapist's lack of understanding of attachment dynamics had gone on to create more wounds to those that sought shelter, safety, and comfort in their presence.

However, what I want you to know is that not all therapists practice from an attachment framework, nor have they done their early work in understanding their own attachment wounds.

Yes, therapy is about a kind, and caring relationship that is not supposed to create further distress, but attachment focused therapy is a deeper kind of relating framework that not every therapist is oriented to.
Attachment orientation is a concrete foundation which allows one to practice in this way. Here are some points for therapists that need to be in place to practice from an attachment perspective.

✨ The therapist must have a solid framework and understanding of attachment dynamics – to have learnt and studied attachment styles and have a deep understanding of how early wounding affects the sense of self, and relating dynamics and how those dynamics can play out in relationship – not just with clients relationships outside of therapy but with the therapist themselves.

✨The therapist needs to have done their own work exploring attachment - And to continue to do ongoing healing work in this area, understand their triggers and what might get in the way of the therapy work with their clients.

✨The Therapist will let the client make an attachment to them - To be genuinely attachment focused a therapist WILL let a client make an attachment and will have the skills to navigate this attachment healthily and safely that supports the client to rewire their attachment style and heal early wounds of mistrust/abandonment and fear.

✨A therapist will understand the concept of "Transfer of Attachment". Transfer of attachment (as taught to me by Kathy Kain) is a process that allows a client to attach to the therapist whilst simultaneously working towards supporting the client to transfer the healthy secure attachment found with the therapist to outside relationships. If this is not understood, this could end up in an unhealthy attachment dynamic between client and therapist whereby the client has not been able to translate the skills learnt to outside of the therapy room.

✨The therapist understands the boundaries of an Attachment relationship.
The boundaries in attachment therapy might look different to other kinds of treatment. They will still be firm, but they will be wide—firm and wide boundaries. Healthy boundaries need to be consistent as not to leave the client guessing as to what is appropriate. However, wide boundaries mean that there will be more room for things such as clients being able to message out of session. Part of rewiring attachment is the client learning that someone is dependable when they need them. Often therapists can get scared of this, but this is one thing that helps significant healing in attachment wounds. It is also part of the recovery that will change over time as the client moves from dependency to feeling more independent.

There are many other points, but I think this enough for now. It is important to note that not all therapists are trained this way, or have the capacity to work this way. However, all therapists should have good assessment skills before they take on a client around these attachment wounds so they can appropriately refer if it is out of their scope. I think that would alleviate some of the hurt and pain that I have read about where therapists are taking on clients that might be out of their scope of practice.

Clients seeking therapy for early wounding can also be more empowered to know what they need to be looking for in a therapist. Clients come to therapy for different reasons - problem-solving, insight, awareness, change of patterns, healing trauma. Some come specifically to heal their early wounds and need a therapist who can hold them in strength and comfort whilst being consistent and available. It's essential to seek a therapist that has these qualities. And to ask questions about that – how they work and if they understand the healing of early wounding.

A significant part of my healing came from a therapist who let me make a strong attachment to her. She was consistent and available and held a steady and strong presence and was not scared of me needing her. This kind of connection changed my life in so many ways, and through this connection, I was able to begin to make reliable attachments outside of the therapy room. Going through this process taught me how to take clients through it and not fear this process. Personal work and an embodied experience of this process is a significant part of being able to practice in this way.

If you have been harmed by a therapist that has not been able to offer this to you, I am sorry. I hope you know it wasn’t you. You weren’t too much, or to damaged, or too needy or any other meaning you made from the experience. I hope despite your experience you will reach out again and find someone who has the capacity to hold you in comfort and safety while you heal.

Much love,
Carissa💖

Embodied Healing with Carissa

12/06/2025

🩷🩷🩷

22/05/2025

I remember sitting in retreat, days stretching long, twelve hours or more, which begin before sunrise with strong movement and end deep into the night with heavy eyelids and overstretched hearts.

We were encouraged to stay present, stay open, stay with it. But you could feel it in the room. After a few days, everyone was tired. Not soul-tired in the sacred way, but tired in that flat, irritable, nothing-left-to-give kind of way. Little fractures started to show. Women snapped at each other. Some disappeared into silence. I felt it, too - every part of me quietly screaming no.

I really thought we were done with this version of healing. The kind that breaks you down to build you up. The kind that confuses exhaustion with transformation. Isn’t life already doing enough of the breaking?

So I listened, not to the schedule, but to my body. I slept in, skipped circles, napped long after lunch, not out of defiance but devotion, and moved slowly through the days. I let the retreat become what I actually needed: a deep, quiet restoration.

This is the season we’re in now. Not the era of constant becoming, but of gentle return. Not transformation for the sake of progress, but restoration for the sake of wholeness.

The women I work with don’t need more unravelling, they need space to catch their breath, gather their threads, and remember who they were before the world asked them to carry so much.

That’s why the retreats I offer now move at the pace of trust. There are no early wake-ups, built-in naps after lunch, and mornings that begin with breath, not alarms. We don't push ourselves deeper. It’s about allowing space for what’s already there to be met with care.

Slow healing is not passive. It’s powerful. And it begins when we stop performing healing and allow ourselves to receive it.

19/05/2025

Winter Circle series is one of my favourite programs to run. I’ve been guiding clients through their own personal Wintering journeys and I love it when we can Winter together.
Winter is a time to surrender to the cold, nestle in, turn inward, seek comfort, grieve, hold our unmet parts and cease external pursuits for happiness. In winter we finally surrender to ourselves. We let ourselves rest into exhaustion and let ourselves be held by the season.

We have 5 spaces left 🩷

12/05/2025

Client books have arrived! We have those in healing packages Waking the Tiger has finally arrived and our Winter circle series for the beautiful bunch of women gathering.

The registration page is now complete, and there are still a few spots left. Space is limited to just 10 participants, so if this is calling you, don’t wait too long.

I’m so excited to begin. Think: healing circle meets book club, wrapped in silence, connection, candlelight, and deep rest. We’ll gather around fire and feasts, invite the cold in as teacher, and explore Wintering as sacred art including tuning into our inner winter as a nervous system state.

Gathering Dates:
🌒 Friday, June 21st
🌘 Friday, August 16th
🕠 5:30–9:00 PM

As a special offering, I’m also opening up a limited number of one-off 2-hour Wintering sessions with me designed to support your personal Wintering journey. These are intentionally slow-paced, deeply reflective, and gently held spaces. Come as you are, and we’ll meet the season together.

https://carissarodgers.com/welcoming-the-dark-winter-circle-series/

11/05/2025

I’ve ordered a copy of Wintering by Katherine May for everyone joining Welcoming the Dark: The Winter Circle Series. I wanted us all to have it before our first gathering to anchor us as we begin.

The registration page is now complete, and there are still a few spots left. Space is limited to just 10 participants, so if this is calling you, don’t wait too long.

I’m so excited to begin. Think: healing circle meets book club, wrapped in silence, connection, candlelight, and deep rest. We’ll gather around fire and feasts, invite the cold in as teacher, and explore Wintering as sacred art including tuning into our inner winter as a nervous system state.

Gathering Dates:
🌒 Friday, June 21st
🌘 Friday, August 16th
🕠 5:30–9:00 PM

As a special offering, I’m also opening up a limited number of one-off 2-hour Wintering sessions with me designed to support your personal Wintering journey. These are intentionally slow-paced, deeply reflective, and gently held spaces. Come as you are, and we’ll meet the season together.

https://carissarodgers.com/welcoming-the-dark-winter-circle-series/

06/05/2025

As the earth turns inward and the light grows faint, Winter invites us to slow down, reflect, and tend to our inner world. It’s not a season to rush through, it’s one to honour.
And yes, Winter is coming. Not just the season, but the invitation to pause, breathe, and listen.

Welcoming the Dark: Winter Circle Series is a women’s gathering created for just that. Join us at the Tara Labyrinth & Meditation Yurt in Innes Park for two soulfully held evenings on June 21 and August 16, 2025.
These gatherings are designed to embrace the quieter, deeper wisdom of the season. Through meditation, gentle movement, and reflective practices inspired by Katherine May’s Wintering, we’ll journey together in stillness, story, and renewal.

Each participant receives a copy of Wintering to accompany this inward path. Spaces are limited.

More details and booking: https://carissarodgers.com/welcoming-the-dark-winter-circle-series/

Send a message to learn more

21/04/2025

SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS AND A GENTLE SLOW SHIFT

In 2012, I opened Wide Bay Counselling and Psychotherapy. Back then, it was just me, one room, one nervous system, holding space for whoever walked through. I went full-time in practice 2015, leaving behind my role as a Counsellor and Community Educator after over a decade in Community Organisation.

By 2018, we welcomed our first team member. And now, in 2025, we’ve grown into a steady and grounded team of four counselling staff, one admin, and another team member starting soon. We’ve worked nationally and internationally, supporting fire services, aviation crews, and first responder teams. We have hospital contracts, school contracts and a variety of small and large contracts around our region.

I’m so proud of what I’ve built, what we’ve built. For many years I’ve been in the driver’s seat, growing this practice while raising children, continuing my learning, assisting on trainings, and holding the wide web of care this community needed.

Now, I’m gently stepping back from the business side of Wide Bay, from being the main go-to, the director, and the owner. Daniel, my husband, will now lead the practice, and I’ll stay on as a therapist, but my heart is being poured into something new.

I’m moving from boss girl to soft girl. And my heart couldn’t be more content with that change.

Being a therapist is the only career I’ve ever had. I began training nearly 20 years ago, and for almost the last ten, I’ve dedicated myself to body-based trauma therapy, learning and practicing approaches that work directly with the nervous system.

One thing I know about nervous systems is this: when we truly emerge from survival, life changes. The pace changes. Priorities shift.

But this doesn't happen overnight, as Instagram would have us believe. Reshaping the nervous system is not another hack; it's a slow descent into the body.

That’s where I am now. My pace of living, breathing, and loving is much slower. I’ve grown down. And in that slow descent, I’ve touched some deep wisdoms I want to bring into the world, but through something quieter and truer. A slow body of work.

I want nothing in my world to be rushed anymore. No more urgency.

It feels like I’ve finally taken the biggest exhale of my life.

What does this mean for you, dear reader?

Nothing major, really. It’s more of a declaration for me. A celebration of a shift.
A shift that still has me practicing and holding events, but not holding the Wide Bay Practice.

This next chapter is called Slow Healing. It’s not a brand. It’s a rhythm. A remembering. An invitation to walk alongside me in a slower and more spacious way.

It might sound unusual, but lately I’ve been drawn to this phrase - exhaling like moss. It’s become my latest (and favourite) therapy saying for clients. It captures the softness and slowness I’m leaning into and the kind of rhythm I want to live by now. Wishing you more exhales like moss too.

With gratitude for all that has been and all that is still to come.

Carissa ✨

06/04/2025

Held - A Holy Heart Immersion now has new dates and will be held in October! We are already half full with only 4 spaces left!

This retreat is by application only, and after careful consideration, I’ve had to make the difficult decision to decline some recent applications. Held is for women who are truly ready to go deep. A certain capacity for personal work is assumed, so this is not your first dive into healing. It’s expected that you have already engaged in therapy or some form of personal growth and development.

This is an advanced retreat designed for those with an established foundation in their healing journey. You will know if you feel the call if a readiness is stirring within you. If you feel that pull, I invite you to apply.

October offers perfect swimming weather at the retreat venue. With creeks and dams, you can immerse yourself in nature and water, adding to the healing experience.

If you’re unsure if this experience is for you but feel a curiosity, please reach out for a conversation. I’d be happy to explore whether Held aligns with your current path.

https://carissarodgers.com/held-retreat/