What to expect at Resilience in Practice, our March Educational Escape in Margaret River
At a glance
Resilience in Practice: Self-care for Clinicians is a structured, 20-hour CPD program for doctors, psychologists, nurses and allied health clinicians. It runs over three and a half days, Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 March 2027, at Eight Willows Retreat in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia, with a group of ten.
Dates: Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 March 2027
Place: Eight Willows Retreat, Metricup, Margaret River wine region, WA
CPD: 20 documented hours (approved by MyCPD Home and RACP; aligned with Psychology Board of Australia requirements)
Group size: 10 clinicians
Who it is for: Doctors, psychologists, nurses and allied health clinicians
Price: From $3,850 + GST per person (shared chalet); $4,250 + GST (private chalet). Early Starling prices apply until Friday 16 October 2026
Included: Accommodation, curated meals and wine experiences, planned activities, 20 hours of CPD training, transport during the Escape
Not included: Flights and travel insurance
Why we built this
There is a particular kind of tired that a long weekend never reaches. You know the one I mean: it settles behind the eyes and between the shoulder blades, it follows you home from a shift that asked for everything, and it laughs politely when someone suggests a bubble bath.
I have spent twenty years working beside people who carry that tiredness quietly (and a fair amount of those 20 years being that person), and I have come to believe that what we need is a different kind of time. We need time with people who understand us. We need to learn new things in an environment, and at a pace, that lets us absorb them. And we need enough good food and sunshine that our nervous systems finally believe they are allowed to put things down.
That is what we have made for March. Our Educational Escapes (CPD retreats) are three and a half days in the Margaret River wine region, with ten clinicians and a table that is always set. I can't wait to host you.
What you will learn
I would love to promise you a week of pure lying about, but I am a clinical psychologist and can't help throwing in some knowledge. Resilience in Practice is structured, evidence-based professional development with 20 documented hours of CPD. It is also the kind of learning that has room to breathe.
We begin with the landscape of burnout, vicarious trauma and moral injury, and what each of them feels like in your own body rather than on a slide. Then we head into nature and practise what it feels like to shift that experience.
Over the four days we cover:
The personal and systemic threads that shape how sustainable a career can be, including how your culture, your upbringing and your values meet your professional identity
ACT, compassion-focused and EMDR-informed tools that work in the ninety-second gap between patients
An optional, small-group, silent EMDR session for a current work stressor, where you never have to say a word about what it is
The "shoulds" and stories that keep so many good clinicians stuck, and how to put them down without the guilt spiral
You leave with a written resilience plan and an accountability partner to walk it with you.
Self-care now sits inside what the Psychology Board's Code of Conduct and the Medical Board's standards expect of us. This is a way of meeting that expectation that you may actually enjoy, and practise.
"[We] learned a lot from the training session, and really enjoyed the opportunity to think about new ideas in an unhurried way. We are now approaching our work with greater understanding and greater confidence in what we are doing." Lynn, Medical team lead
How the days run
Mornings are for learning and afternoons belong to you. If you can make it up early, we start our mornings either at the beach or in the forest, practising what I preach: connection to nature, our bodies, mindfulness or reflection. If that's not your vibe, sleep in, go for a swim or enjoy your coffee with a new friend by the dam.
Learning is split between our workshop venue, with a view of the dam and forests, and nature itself. One session is on the beach, one is at a brewery, and small group sessions head outside. We take our CPD seriously, but learning was never made better under fluorescent lights.
Most days the workshop finishes around lunchtime, and then the region opens up. Jump on a bus with us and head to a winery, a farmhouse or a beachside café. We visit some of the region's most-loved spots, with time to see a few towns along the way. You can walk, swim, taste, nap or talk until the light goes gold. Some of our venues are award-winning stunners, but the atmosphere in "Margs" is relaxed and coastal. Dress up for lunch if you want to, but no one will judge your trackies either.
In March the south-west is usually at its best, with warm, dry, blue-sky days, a little cooler at night, and the ocean still holding the summer warmth. It is also the start of vintage, so the vines are heavy and the whole region hums. Bring a jumper for the evenings, because you will want to be sitting outside for a lot of them.
Ten people, one long table
The group is small on purpose. Ten people from different corners of healthcare, around one long table, is the sort of number where everyone is known by name by the end of the first lunch and by something closer to friendship by the last. Many of the conversations that never quite fit into supervision happen here, on a slow walk or over a glass of something local, in a group where being honest feels a little easier. I will be there the whole time, and so will Joel, our Hospitality Host, who will be quietly making sure that you want for nothing.
Margaret River
Margaret River sits about three hours south of Perth, at the far south-west corner of the continent, on Wadandi Boodja, the Country of the Wadandi people of the Noongar nation. Tall forests meet limestone caves and long white beaches, and the Indian Ocean does the rest. It has become one of Australia's great food and wine regions, with small producers, cellar doors tucked among the trees, breweries with views, and farm tables where you can taste what grew down the road that morning. It is easy to love and hard to get bored of, and we have walked its paths enough to know where to take you.
Food and hospitality
Joel spent 10 years as a chef and another 10+ working in luxury food experiences. He has built the Escape's meals and tastings with the same care I have put into the learning. You make minimal food decisions, no booking decisions and no logistics decisions for four days.
Breakfast baskets arrive at your door, lunches run long because nobody is watching a clock, and there are tastings at wineries and breweries, grazing tables with a view, a cheese tasting, and relaxed dinners at the end of the day. Every curated meal and planned experience is included, as is the 5% venue gratuity. You will be looked after in the way we spend our working lives looking after others.
This March we are heading to Vasse Felix, Shelter, Meelup Farmhouse, Lagoon and White Elephant.
Where you will stay
We stay at Eight Willows Retreat in Metricup, in four-star chalets set among natural bushland with plenty of space. You can choose between two options.
Shared two-bedroom chalet: your own queen bedroom, with a shared bathroom, living space and deck. Tell us if you are coming with a friend and we will put you together.
Private one-bedroom King chalet: your own living room, a spa bath and a private deck for a sundowner of your own.
Price and current offers
Prices are per person and include accommodation, curated meals and wine experiences, planned activities, 20 hours of CPD training and transport during the Escape. Flights and travel insurance are not included. The balance is invoiced in two instalments, in December and late January.
Early Starling prices (until Friday 16 October 2026)
Deposit: $250, taken off the price of your Escape
Shared chalet: $3,850 + GST
Private chalet: $4,250 + GST
From Saturday 17 October 2026
Deposit: $500
Shared chalet: $4,100 + GST
Private chalet: $4,500 + GST
More ways to save
Both of these run until 7 December 2026.
Refer a Friend: you and your friend each take $250 off. It works whether you book saying "Sarah is booking this week" or you email us later saying "I booked last week, and now I've talked Sarah into it". It also combines with Early Starling, so if you get in quick but find your friend later, we take the extra discount off your final invoice.
The Murmuration Discount: book together as a group of three and each of you takes $350 off the total price. You can claim your Supervision discounts at the same time. It cannot be combined with Early Starling.
If the payment schedule doesn't fit your workplace, write to us and we will find a way that does. We also have an employer brochure for the people who sign things off.
After the Escape: Supervision and Integration Package
I care about this part more than almost anything else in the program. A week away is lovely, but as little as 7% of what we learn in a workshop is still with us without some follow-up. So once a month for six months, you and your Escape friends reconnect online for 60 to 90 minutes, with me, to talk through the practice issues and cases that tested you, and to keep your plan alive together.
When you book it with your Escape, the package is $800, reserved with a $200 deposit. If you add it after the Escape, it is $1,000.
Getting there
Jetstar flies direct to Busselton Margaret River Airport from Melbourne (about 4 hours) and Sydney (about 5), and that is where our adventure begins. From Brisbane, fly to Perth (5 hours) and take a coach or drive south over the weekend before.
A small suggestion for Victorians and Tasmanians: the weekend before we start is a long weekend for you. Fly direct from Melbourne on Sunday, spend two days in Margs before we begin, and let the Escape arrive gently. Sydney travellers can fly in direct on the Saturday.
On Friday we run a coach from Busselton to Perth at around 1pm, in time for the 5:45pm Melbourne flight or the 10:40pm to Sydney, so you can be home by Friday night. Or stay on for the weekend, which I highly recommend. There is also a direct flight from Busselton to Sydney on Saturday 13 March, and Busselton to Melbourne on Sunday 14 March.
Perth clinicians, this one is for you. You have probably driven past those wineries a hundred times on the way to somewhere else. Here is your chance to take a proper holiday in your own backyard, with no flights and no jet lag, all on your professional development budget.
Full travel details, including coaches from Perth, are on our Getting to the Escape page.
Questions we are often asked
Is this another wellness retreat?
No. It is structured professional development, with a syllabus, an evidence base and documented CPD hours. The food and wine are there so that four days of honest and reflective work feel good rather than heavy, and they also build the kinds of relationships you want to keep in your professional life.
Do I have to talk about my trauma in front of people?
No. The EMDR session is optional and silent, and it focuses on a work stressor rather than anything personal. You never have to disclose what it is. We follow it with an optional yoga session to help integrate it in your system.
Is the deposit refundable?
The deposit is non-refundable, unless you arrange to transfer your place to someone else. If we have a waitlist, we will also do our best to fill your spot and refund your deposit. Our full terms and conditions are at starlinghc.com.au/tandcs.
Will my employer help?
Many do. Our 20 hours of CPD are approved by MyCPD Home and RACP, and aligned with requirements for the Psychology Board of Australia and other professional organisations. We have an employer brochure and are happy to provide invoices in whatever format suits.
What if the payment schedule doesn't fit my workplace?
Write to us and we will find a way that does.
Reserve your place
We will be hosting an amazing group of health professionals in Margaret River, and we would love to have you at our table. If you have any questions, get in touch and we will answer them as soon as we can.
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