Retreat Description:
Calling all BIPOC community leaders, advocates, first responders and healers serving communities of color.
Last year we brought our communities together for one day of connection and reprieve at our Thriving in the Eye of the Storm retreat. This year, we are extending the retreat to 2 days.
Welcome to Thrive 2026: The Reclamation!
Thrive 2026 will continue the theme of connection and reprieve but with a deeper dive into what it means to be disconnected and how to return to our bodies. The systems we operate within continue to ravage our sense of safety and freedom leaving many of us in a constant state of fear. That fear is by design and is meant to keep us disconnected from ourselves and each other.
This year we will unpack how systems strategically use dysregulating tactics and policies to ensure we remain in fear and therefore remain disconnected.
We will learn about the negative collateral we store within our bodies due to the many ways we are disenfranchised in capitalistic structures. We will leave with a clear pathway to feeling connected to ourselves, our respective cultures, and to each other regardless of our cultural lineage.
We will once again have a host of gifted community healers to assist on our journey of reclamation.
*If part of your identity is Black, Indigenous, a Person of Color, or Multiracial and you live in a White presenting body, you are welcome here. We do not want those marginalized identities to be erased, hidden, or left behind!
What To Expect:
- Learn a framework for understanding how dysregulating policies and practices are intentionally used to create and maintain disconnection.
- Identify what you have been severed from and what you want to reclaim.
- Establish your practice of reconnecting and grounding. (Who/what will be a part of your practice?)
- Identify and engage with multiple modalities of healing to determine which will assist in your practice of reconnecting to self.
Designed For: Those who serve communities of color – community leaders, organizers, social change advocates and educators, community healers, mental health providers, and first responders.
Date/Time: Friday, November 13 – Saturday November 14, 2026, 9am-4pm each day with a 1 hour lunch break.
- Fri, Nov 13th from 4-4:30pm: Optional large group Sound Bath ($10 per person)
- Sat, Nov 14th from 1-3pm: Options to participate in one or several healing modalities. The Healing Sessions are provided at an additional cost that will be paid directly to the healers. Sign up details will be provided in the last 2 weeks before the event. If you’d rather not participate in a healing session, plan to spend the time connecting with others, journaling, or resting.
Location: The ROAR Center (3035 S. Parker Rd BLDG E-510, Aurora, CO 80014)
Hosted By: Joy Life Counseling, Dr. Melody Brown & Experience Change
Meet Your Facilitator
Dr. Melody Brown, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Melody Brown, PhD, LMFT is the owner of Systemic Solutions, LLC and serves the community by providing public speaking, training, clinical supervision, and consultation to organizations seeking to improve their services through an equity and community conscious lens. She identifies as Black/African-American, Cis-Gender Female, Queer, Mostly Able-Bodied, Married, Raised Christian with Meta-Physical Practices and Beliefs. She grew up in Louisiana and learned early on to pay attention to issues of injustice and oppression. She learned to appreciate and love her intersecting identities and loves passing that appreciation on to clinicians living on the margins.
Meet Your Healers
LeKisha Moore (Bitcraft Works)
Kisha bridges psychology and spirit through Ancestral Insight Readings, helping you explore inherited patterns, emotional cycles, and generational strengths for empowered healing.
📧 mybitcraftworks@gmail.com
🌐 tarotoracle.co
Jessica Watson (RYT 200)
Jessica guides participants in slow, mindful movement and breath to reconnect with body and self.
📧 jessiwatson@comcast.net
📱 303-350-7956
Joshua Oliver Al-Hakim (Wiser Intentions)
Joshua combines Reiki energy healing, chakra balancing, aura assessments, and Spiritual guidance to support emotional, physical, and spiritual alignment.
📧 joshua@wiserintentions.com
📱 720-440-2169
Michael Mendoza, LPC (Healing Hands Holisitic Therapy)
Michael blends licensed mental health therapy (including EMDR) with spiritual tools. Using oracle cards, ancestral medicine, and energy cleansing to support the whole person.
michael@hhhthx.com
www.hhhthx.com
Cynthia Randall (Peace in Needles Integrative Therapy)
Cynthia offers AcuDetox – a gentle ear acupuncture protocol proven to support emotional healing, reduce stress and cravings, and promote balance and clarity.
📧 cynthia.fes@gmail.com
📱 720-384-9860
Joy Ewing, LMFT (Joy Life Counseling)
Joy is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and offers EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol – a method using drawing, templates, and self administered bilateral tapping through phases of EMDR.
joylifecounseling@gmail.com
720-815-5251
Cost
- Individual Rate: $250
- Individual Rate + Sound Bath (Fri 11/13, 4-4:30pm): $260
- Group Rate (3 or more registrants from the same organization): $190 per person
- Group Rate + Sound Bath (Fri 11/13, 4-4:30pm): $200 per person
Refund Policy
Cancellations received at least 30 days before the workshop will be refunded 100%. Cancellations received less than 30 days before the workshop will receive no refund or credit. Your registration may be transferred to another participant if needed.
Scholarship Spots
If you are in need of a reduced rate, please contact joshua@experiencechange.net. We are committed to making this event accessible to all.
CEs- Certificate of Completion
A certificate of completion for 10 hours will be emailed to every participant who attends the full retreat. Certificates will not be provided for partial attendance. A Certificate of Completion satisfies Colorado DORA Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) requirements for LPCs, LMFTs, and LACs. LCSWs can complete an “Independent Learning Form” to satisfy DORA CPC hours. If you are licensed outside of Colorado, please see your state’s profession and rules.
Accommodations
To request accommodations for this event or to inquire about accessibility, please email joshua@experiencechange.net by October 30, 2026.
Your Hosts!
