Heal the healer

For the past, two years I have conducted a weekend “Heal the Healer” retreat for consumers and human service providers. This round table discussion will discuss that experience. The Holistic Nurses Association provided contact hours for the retreat. There are very few programs being offered that allow nurses to rejuvenate and self-heal. Nurses primarily see their responsibility as the care of others, often neglecting their own well-being. This program was designed to allow nurses to learn in an interactive environment that allows practice of new skills and the use of different modalities for presentation of content. Therefore an interactive, learning environment was created that incorporated workshops, small group activities, films, games, exercise, meditation, and prayer. The retreat was designed to explore the nexus between spirit, mind, and body. When taking care of one's health, there is not only a concern about gaining bio-medical health information there is an emerging paradigm shift toward incorporating intuitive knowledge as well. A holistic approach to health and healing with emphasis on prevention and self-healing was used. After completion participants were able to more effectively restore harmony and balance to themselves and those in their care. The participants in this workshop will be able describe the qualitative research findings from the retreat, and how they can be used to improve care: See learning objectives.