5 Reasons (based on research) Why Healing Retreats for Black Women Are More Than a Trend—They’re a Lifeline
The transformational power of pausing, feeling, and being supported.
A Personal Note from Montina
I absolutely love my job as a therapist……Like I love it! It’s not just because I get to witness transformation—it’s because I get to hold space for Black women as they remember who they were before the world told them they had to be everything for everyone. My clients come to me carrying grief, silence, and the weight of always being strong. But over time, I watch them begin to prioritize themselves, speak up without guilt, and stop performing just to be accepted. I see them reclaim their voices, reconnect with their bodies, and release perfectionism in favor of peace. Therapy becomes more than a service—it becomes a journey of self acceptance. The process is tender, powerful, and honest. It’s about emotional unlearning, self-trust, and honoring truth—no matter how long it was buried. And witnessing that shift? That’s why I do this work.
I created the Don’t Call Me Strong Retreat because I know what it means to carry too much for too long and what can happen if you don’t get relief.
As a therapist, I’ve spent years supporting Black women who were expected to lead, care, perform, and push through—often while neglecting themselves. But I didn’t just witness it in others. I lived it too. I knew we needed more than talk therapy alone. We needed full-body healing. We needed space to be soft, seen, and supported.
That’s why this retreat exists.
Not as a luxury. As a necessity.
I guide clients through a healing journey that honors their truth, challenges old patterns, and builds deep self-trust—so they can speak up, feel safe in their bodies, and stop carrying what was never theirs to hold.
The Truth Is: Weekly Therapy Isn’t Always Enough
Talk therapy is powerful—but sometimes, the nervous system needs more than 50 minutes a week to unwind what years of over-responsibility and emotional neglect have done.
When Black women experience parentification or constant pressure to perform, it shows up in our bodies. In our inability to rest. In the silence we keep around our pain.
Healing retreats offer what traditional settings often cannot: immersion.
So, What Makes a Healing Retreat So Effective?
These aren’t spa weekends or surface-level self-care getaways. At a well-designed retreat—especially one rooted in cultural understanding and somatic healing—you’re not escaping your life. You’re reclaiming it.
5 Research-Backed Reasons Retreats Work for Black Women
A Retreat Interrupts Survival Mode - Immersion helps the brain exit hypervigilance and rewire safety, especially when paired with trauma-informed methods like EMDR and somatic practices.
A Retreat Reconnects Your Mind + Body - Most high-functioning Black women are disconnected from their bodies due to overperformance and emotional suppression. Retreats use breathwork, movement, and rest to recenter you.
A Retreat Provides a Nervous System Reset - With consistent routines, nourishing meals, and a calm environment, your body learns how to feel safe—without earning it.
A Retreat Can Equip You With Lasting Tools - It’s not a one-time high. Our retreat includes real emotional processing tools you can use long after you leave.
Our Retreat Offers Culturally-Centered Support - Being in a space with other Black women who “get it” reduces shame and isolation. The community is part of the medicine.
What Retreat Guests Have Said about the Don’t Call Me Strong Retreat
Healing doesn’t happen in isolation—and these women proved it. Here’s what past retreat guests had to say about stepping into rest, release, and radical self-care:
“….Some of the things that I’ve encountered, I felt like I was the only person. To be able to come here and realize that it's not just me, I’m not alone, is very helpful for me….”
“….Thank you so much for putting this retreat on and allowing space. Allowing space for healing, thank you….”
This Isn’t a Getaway. It’s a Turning Point.
At Don’t Call Me Strong, we use trauma-informed care, EMDR-based principles, and nervous system healing to help clients break free from survival mode and reconnect with their voice, body, and needs.
When you experience the Don’t Call Me Strong retreat, here’s what you can expect:
✅ 3 days of guided healing sessions, somatic practices, and quiet reflection
✅ Safe community with other Black women who are done people pleasing and over-functioning
✅ Deep rest, emotional clarity, and a renewed connection to yourself
✅ A clear path forward—without guilt
Are you ready to reclaim what ‘people pleasing’ took?
Healing takes space, and space is intentional. That’s why Don’t Call Me Strong is a retreat with limited spots—because real transformation requires presence, not performance. We keep the group small so every woman is seen, supported, and able to fully engage in her healing without getting lost in a crowd. This isn’t a weekend to escape your life; it’s a space to meet yourself more deeply. To prepare, you’ll be asked to set intentions, show up for yourself fully, and let go of the pressure to have it all together. If you’re ready to stop people-pleasing and start honoring your own needs, the time to claim your spot is now—because this kind of healing can’t be rushed, and it certainly shouldn’t be crowded.
At DCMS, we teach clients how to release the pressure to always lead, fix, or care for everyone else—so they can create a life grounded in rest, boundaries, and self-respect.
If you are ready to reclaim what the weight of people pleasing took, what putting others before yourself took, what are you waiting for register or get on the waitlist for our next retreat here - https://www.myersgallowaycounseling.com/dont-call-me-strong-retreat-workshop
References:https://www.auctoresonline.org/article/understanding-the-hidden-struggles-cultural-and-somatic-expressions-of-depression-and-anxiety-in-black-women?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468749924001029?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1264807/full?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/rapid-personal-growth-with-emdr-why-retreats-and-intensives-work?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8528965/?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.medstarhealth.org/blog/retreat-based-trauma-treatment-research?utm_source=chatgpt.com 