Resilience in Practice - Self care for clinicians

A skills-based self-care retreat for clinicians...

Resilience in Practice is a clinically grounded, skills-focused retreat designed for clinicians (doctors, nurses psychologists, allied health) working in complex, high-demand systems. It offers practical, evidence-informed tools to support wellbeing, clarity and sustainability.

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This is not a retreat about escaping work - although we promote this too! - it is about learning how to remain effective, grounded and human within the work that you do, and recognising the values and practices that will sustain you.

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Why a Resilience Retreat?

Medicine and healthcare are demanding professions. Ongoing exposure to responsibility, emotional load, time pressure, and system constraints places even highly capable professionals at risk of burnout, moral distress, vicarious trauma and cumulative stress. Over time, this affects not only personal wellbeing, but decision-making, relationships, and capacity to care for others.

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Resilience in Practice is built on a simple premise: caring for yourself is not a luxury—it is a professional responsibility. Sustainable practice requires skills that support psychological flexibility, emotional regulation, and values-based decision-making, particularly under pressure.  It steps away from "just practice meditation" or "just have a bath" towards clarifying what meaningful change looks like to you; and short, sharp practices that you can practice whilst washing your hands or changing wards.

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This retreat creates structured space to pause, reflect and build practical skills that can be taken directly back into clinical and professional environments.

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What This Retreat Offers

Resilience in Practice combines high-quality professional education with a carefully curated retreat experience. Participants engage in structured learning alongside restorative experiences that support integration, reflection, and nervous system regulation.

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Key elements include:

• Practical, evidence-based skills grounded in contemporary mental health science

• ACT-informed strategies for managing stress and burnout, values alignment to your work, and psychological flexibility

• Mindfulness-based tools that are usable in real clinical settings

• Opportunities for reflection, discussion, and application to individual practice contexts

• Guided reflective practice on what increases risk of burnout or vicarious traumatisation - and what helps reduce it

• Time to rest, recharge and reflect on what gives you vitality

• Develop a self-care plan that you might actually use and pair with an accountability buddy

• Thoughtfully curated food and wine experiences that support restoration and connection to peers

The emphasis throughout these workshops is on practical application, not theory for its own sake.  The bonus takeaway is that many of these skills and resources can also help your clients!

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Why Starling Health Collective?

Resilience in Practice is designed and led by a clinical psychologist with deep expertise in mental health, trauma, and systems-based care.  Alice has worked within medical teams for 20 years, and understands the system pressures, hierarcy and difficult conversations that come with practicing within medical teams and community mental health teams. 

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Unlike many retreats that focus on wellbeing without clinical depth, this program is grounded in:

• Extensive experience in mental health and psychological practice

• A strong public health and systems perspective

• A clear understanding of the realities of healthcare work, including risk, accountability, and complexity.

• Conversations that can lead to change

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The retreat is intentionally designed to bridge evidence-based psychological knowledge with the lived experience of healthcare professionals. And then it gives you what you desperately need - a break.  A break from clinical decisions, food decisions and activity decision - sit back and let us take care of you.  We have curated a balanced program of rest, rejuvenation and incredible experiences to wrap around the professional development.  Drawing on extensive expertise in food, wine, and luxury hospitality, the retreat environment is curated with the same care as the educational content. Meals and experiences are designed to support restoration, enjoyment, and connection—recognising that how people are cared for matters.

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Ongoing Supervision and Peer Connection

Starling Health Collective offers a 6 month program of clinical and peer group supervision as part of its regular package of care.  Once a month for 60-90min, reconnect online with the friends that you made on the retreat, consolidate your learnings and problem solve issues with maintaining your self-care plans "in real life".   ​​​

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Education, Standards and Accreditation

Resilience in Practice is designed to meet professional education and ethical standards, with formal accreditation details to be confirmed.

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Continuing Medical Education (CME)
This retreat is structured to meet CME requirements and is registered on MyCME.  It will address the following areas:

• Education activities: educational development, short format learning, wellbeing education sessions, (Category 2: Knowledge and Skills)

• Reviewing performance:  Peer reflection and journalling space is offered throughout the retreat to allow for critical reflection.  Supervision spaces allow for realtime feedback of how you are implementing changes in practice.  Other areas in this section include: critical reflection, peer support groups    

• Measuring outcomes: Measures of burnout, self-compassion and team cohesion will be administered, with consideration as to how these may be applied to teams.  Supervision sessions will provide a space and motivation for reviewing outcomes.

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Australian Psychological Society (APS) Requirements
Content is aligned with APS ethical principles and Codes of Conduct, including reflective practice, professional competence, and self-care as an ethical responsibility.
Details regarding APS mapping and CPD hours to be confirmed here.

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Sample Program (TBC)

A sample program will be provided closer to release. Indicative elements include:

• Morning mindfulness - join us for an immersive mindful walk through the bush, rainforest or beach and learn to reconnect to nature in the present moment.

• Morning skills-based sessions (ACT-informed resilience and mindfulness tools) that translate theory into how health professionals can use this every day to transform not only their practice, but their outlook on life.

• Small-group discussion and applied reflection

  • Having difficult conversations with family​

  • Working within pressure systems

  • Protecting boundaries

• Free time in the afternoon for rest, reflection, or optional wellness activities

• Curated shared meals and facilitated informal connection

  • Depending on the location, join us for winery lunches, beach breakfasts, short hikes or incredible waterfront dining experiences.​

  • Join Joel for cheese and wine tastings

• Practical integration sessions focused on applying skills to clinical contexts

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The program balances structured learning with sufficient space for recovery and integration.

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Optional Experiences

Participants may choose to include additional restorative experiences, such as:

• Massage or bodywork

• Yoga or movement-based sessions

• Guided mindfulness or reflective practices

These are offered as optional enhancements and are not required to benefit from the core program.

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Who This Retreat Is For

Resilience in Practice is suited to doctors and clinicians who:

• Work in demanding or high-responsibility roles

• Want practical, evidence-based tools rather than generic wellbeing advice

• Feel close to burnout but might throw their stethoscope at the next person who mentions the words "self care" or "mindfulness".

• Are seeking sustainable ways to care for themselves while continuing to care for others

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Please note: we periodically offer specialist Resilience programs tailored specifically towards one craft group - e.g. doctors, psychologists, nurses.  If this is of interest, please check our Retreats page, or make an enquiry with us. ​

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