What to expect from your first retreat
Never been on a recovery retreat before? Here's an honest look at what the week looks like, day by day.
If you’ve never done a recovery retreat before, the unknown can be its own obstacle. People often arrive imagining either a clinical residential programme or something looser and more “wellness-y” than what we actually do. Here’s what the week is really like.
Arrival day
You’ll fly into Essaouira (ESU) or Marrakech (RAK) and we’ll help arrange transfer. You arrive at the riad in the afternoon, settle into your room, and there’s tea on a low table somewhere in the courtyard. No agenda for the first evening beyond a shared meal and brief introductions. Most people sleep deeply that first night — the journey, the sea air, and the simple relief of having arrived all add up.
A typical day
Mornings open with optional meditation and yoga led by Morgan on the rooftop. Breakfast follows — fresh bread, fruit, coffee. By mid-morning we gather for the day’s main session: music therapy, group work, or a creative workshop, depending on the day. Sessions are smaller than people expect — ten people maximum — and Chris is in the room throughout.
Afternoons are mixed. Some are programmed — a hammam visit, a walk through the medina with a local guide, a cooking session with the chef. Others are deliberately unstructured: time to rest, write, walk the beach, or just be.
Evenings close with dinner, often cooked together. Some nights there’s a gentle group reflection. Others, someone produces a guitar and the conversation runs late. There’s no pressure either way.
What surprises people
Three things, usually. First, how quickly the group bonds — by day two, people are talking like they’ve known each other for years. Second, how tiring it is in a good way: feeling your body and emotions properly again, after years of numbing, takes energy. Third, how much of the healing happens outside the formal sessions — over breakfast, walking, in quiet moments on the rooftop at dusk.
Departure day
We close with a final group session in the morning. There’s space to talk about what to bring home, what you’ll need for the weeks ahead, and how to stay in touch with the people you’ve met. Then a last meal together, and you’re on your way.
It is, deliberately, not a clinical week. It’s not a holiday either. It’s something closer to a workshop in a place that knows how to look after people.