Hello and welcome to Mental Wellness Retreats. 

My name is Sophie and I’m a registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN), with 17 years (and counting!) of experience and knowledge, working within the NHS. 

From a young age, I always knew I wanted to be a nurse. I would play dress up in my mums uniform and practice putting bandages on any willing person! When I discovered the specialism of mental health nursing as a teenager, I instinctively knew what my career would be. I have always had a caring nature, a thoughtfulness towards others and fascination in human behaviours and understanding someone’s story. 

Qualified as a nurse by 21, I found a passion for working with young people and children, with this becoming my specialism, along with eating disorder treatment. Another real interest of mine was working with depression. I discovered I had the ability to hold hope when others couldn’t, to find joy where others could only see darkness and hold space for people, no matter what their circumstances or beliefs were. I have worked in both inpatient hospitals and community settings, providing nursing care and therapy. By 31 I had far exceeded my own expectations in my career and became a Senior Nursing Manager, overseeing several hospitals.

Creating Mental Wellness Retreats has been a life long dream of mine. With the growing pressures we each face in life, where the daily grind is glorified and being busy or stressed is the norm – I wanted to create a space where people could not only come to relax but where they could learn about why we behave the way we do, why our bodies react the way they do and what we can do to help make life that little bit easier. I want to give people the nursing TLC that we all need at some point in our lives. 

Statistically 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental illness in their lifetime but unfortunately, our modern society exacerbates this. Mental health care is imperative for everyone. Yet services are not always accessible for everyone. Mental wellness is something we all want and need, to live a fulfilling life. 

Mental Wellness Retreats is the UK’s first Wellness Retreats run by qualified and registered Mental Health Nurses. Here you can expect to find evidence based activities and resources, as well as utilising wellbeing practices that have stood the test of time such as yoga, breathwork, meditation, mindfulness and other spiritual practices.