The Holistic Healing Arts Retreat: An Intensive, Experiential Intervention for Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma

Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of an intensive, experiential intervention, the Holistic Healing Arts Retreat, for improving posttraumatic symptoms (primary) and comorbid depression and perceived stress (secondary). Method: The sample consisted of women exposed to childhood physical or sexual abuse, sexual assault, or domestic violence in a two-arm randomized control trial comparing retreat now (n = 49) versus retreat later (n = 60) conditions. We also examined the retreat's effectiveness for improving potential transdiagnostic mechanisms (self-compassion, experiential avoidance, nonreactivity, negative self-affect) common to emotional disorders. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 1, 4, and 7 months following the retreat. Results: Linear mixed-effects models, adjusted for age and level of trauma exposure, showed statistically significant improvements in posttraumatic symptoms (d = .65, .55, .70), depression (d = .42, .39, .41), and perceived stress (d = .47, .50, .57) at 1, 4, and 7 months, respectively, with the exception of posttraumatic symptoms at 4 months, which showed a trend (p ≤ .06). Linear mixed-effects models, adjusted for age, also showed statistically significant improvements in self-compassion (d = .78, .71, .62) and experiential avoidance (d = .34, .34, .51) at 1-, 4-, and 7-month time points, respectively; nonreactivity (affect regulation) at 1 and 7 months (d = .58 and .44, respectively) and nonjudging (negative self-affect) at 4 and 7 months (d = .63 and .71, respectively). Conclusions: These results suggest this intense, experiential, holistic, retreat-based intervention is effective and efficient among trauma-exposed women for lasting change in trauma-related outcomes, as well as transdiagnostic mechanisms. Clinical Impact StatementThis randomized clinical trial suggests that the Holistic Healing Arts Retreat, an intense, experiential, 5-day intervention, is effective for improving trauma-related symptoms among a racially and ethnically diverse group of women with a history of chronic trauma exposure, including child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. It also shows that the retreat is effective for enhancing self-compassion and improving nonreactivity to triggering stimuli, as well as reducing avoidance of internal emotional and cognitive experiences and negative self-affect. For most outcomes, the beneficial effects lasted for 7 months after the retreat ended.