“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It just no longer controls you.”
Many of the people who come to the PTSD Retreat Competa have already spent months, or even years, engaged in some form of psychotherapy or psychiatric treatment, with varying degrees of success.
At the PTSD Retreat Competa we do not offer guests any form of medical therapy. We believe that just by taking some time out, away from the stresses and strains of daily life, and perhaps doing something totally different to challenge oneself, or learn new skills, PTSD symptoms can be reduced or eradicated.
That is why PTSD Retreat Competa offers many different activities and pastimes, as well as specific challenges.
In addition, the PTSD Retreat Competa invites guests to consider a whole range of alternative holistic therapies to promote their overall well-being. These therapies can go a long way to relaxing and de-stressing the body, and the mind. Seminars and free trial sessions of many therapies are made available to guests at the PTSD Retreat, and should they prove useful and/or enjoyable, guests have the opportunity to explore them further during their holiday, or afterwards.
Here is a list of just some of the holistic therapies available to try at the PTSD Retreat Competa:
Clinical Hypnotherapy
The clinical hypnotherapy techniques used today were founded in the latter days of the Second World War, when US Army psychiatrists were desperate to find ways to heal the worst psychological injuries of servicemen returning from the front line. The psychiatrists found that by using clinical hypnotherapy techniques, in just a handful of sessions, sufferers could identify the core stressor(s) for their PTSD symptoms, effectively reducing their intensity, or eliminating them completely.
The clinical hypnotherapy clinic in Competa, The Beat Retreat, is run by one of the PTSD Retreat Competa founders, Sarah Yuen RCH, who has combat experience herself, from tours of Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011. On her return from theatre, Sarah trained specifically to help veterans counter PTSD. She presents a free seminar at the PTSD Retreat Competa, showing how clinical hypnotherapy can be used to eliminate all pain in the body, reduce anxiety, and stop panic attacks in their tracks. She teaches interested guests how to use self-hypnosis techniques to achieve these results on their own. Free, individually-tailored, trial sessions are also available to PTSD Retreat Competa clients.
Reiki
During the fight, flight or freeze response to trauma, which is the underlying reason for most PTSD symptoms, the body can bury emotion in an attempt to assist the person through the traumatic experience. It is usually a temporary measure. But those emotions can become permanently trapped, stored in the body as cellular memory. Through deep relaxation and a calming of the spirit, which Reiki provides, those trapped or buried emotions can be gently released. PTSD is an injury of the spirit. Reiki can calm and restore the spirit.
Seeing suffering every day; being repeatedly exposed to horrific trauma or inhumane acts committed on others, can eat at the soul or the spirit of those expected to help. Reiki reminds the body how to feel calm again. When the spirit has been calmed and quieted, the physical healing of the body can begin.
The PTSD Retreat Competa works in tandem with Reiki San Andreas, run by British therapist Julie Narewski, who presents a seminar at the Retreat, explaining exactly what is involved and how it works, as well as a free demonstration for interested guests.
Acupuncture
Any situation which causes emotional, physical or mental trauma can result in PTSD. The use of acupuncture for PTSD has been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety levels and stress responses, among other things. Typically, acupuncture for PTSD is administered by stimulating specific points on the ear or the body. These points are responsible for controlling nervous function, as well as mitigating stress levels. Recently, the Pentagon has begun investigating the beneficial effects of acupuncture for PTSD after numerous studies found that combat veterans could be relieved of their symptoms using acupuncture – especially depression and pain. The improvements were found to be rapid and significant. Acupuncture has also been seen to be extremely effective in alleviating migraines and insomnia.
Penelope Knight Dip. Ac, RRPr has been practicing acupuncture for ten years in Canada and is now a resident of the Spanish Axarquia region. She provides her services to the PTSD Retreat Competa, and gives a free demonstration of her therapies, explaining all the uses! For those afraid of needles, clinical hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis techniques can be used beforehand to dull all sensation in the skin.
Penelope is also a Reiki Master, a Reflexologist and a Qigong practitioner and brings those skills to the PTSD Retreat Competa as well. She often combines acupuncture/ acupressure with Qigong and Reiki, as she finds combining techniques is very effective and allows her to tailor treatments for each individual.
Yoga
In a study published last year in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, a group of female patients who completed eight yoga classes showed significant improvement in PTSD symptoms—including less intrusive thoughts and calmer nerves—than a similar group that just had eight sessions of group therapy. Yoga can improve heart-rate variability, a key indicator of a person’s ability to calm oneself. The US military is now investigating yoga’s therapeutic potential. In a preliminary study at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., nine active-duty soldiers with PTSD were able to sleep better and felt less depressed after 12 weeks of yoga.
Competa Yoga in the centre of town is a beautiful tranquil space to escape to and relax, while attending a variety of yoga and pilates classes to suit all levels. But the PTSD Retreat Competa also brings yoga to the resort, for guests to participate in sessions on the purpose-built yoga platform set amongst the firs and cacti.
Therapeutic Massage
Many different types of therapeutic massage are on offer at the PTSD Retreat Competa. From aromatherapy massage to sports massage, as well as lymphatic drainage massage, where the masseur helps move excess fluid that has built up in the body through the lymph vessels. This type of massage helps people suffering from swelling, tenderness, infections, hormone imbalances, fatigue, depression and anxiety. Contact us for all the different types of massage available.
PTSD RETREAT COMPETA 