You’re not stuck. You’re repeating an unconscious emotional pattern that is ready to shift.
2025 Healing Retreat overview
This year’s theme is grief.
We all carry grief energy, and this one-day event offers five unique workshops focused on healing through it. These workshops are ideal for beginners and those new to alternative healing practices like talking circles, writing to heal, art therapy, and compassion inquiry.
The goal is to create a fun, welcoming space where trying something new is encouraged. Because of the deeply personal nature of healing, we’ve designed a flexible schedule that honors each participant’s process.
Our emphasis is on spiritual healing and community, with support from local spiritual healers. Inspired by The Belly Monster Book, Jenny, Amy, and their team of practitioners aim to validate trauma—not label or diagnose—but to offer tools and perspectives that highlight how healing can be found in everyday moments.
Let me know if you'd like a version for a flyer, social media post, or something more formal!
2024 Belly Monster
2024 Belly Monster
2023 Belly Monster
2024 Belly Monster
Testimonials
The Belly Monster Retreat has been a powerful space
for transformation and healing.
Participants describe it as warm, welcoming, and deeply supportive—a place to reflect, explore discomfort, and embrace creativity. Many found strength in community, connection, and the freedom to tune into healing energies. Whether it took time to open up or came naturally, attendees felt aligned, empowered, and inspired by the journey—and yes, they friggin’ loved the agenda.
Location
Site: The Aux Evanston, IL
Accommodations: Airbnb's in or around the Evanston area of Chicago, IL are highly encouraged
if you are traveling from afar.
Please email jenny@approachablehealer.com
for any questions about the area
Retreat Overview
Jenny's workshop
Guided Healing: Bilateral Meditation for Grief
In this workshop, we will use bilateral beats to guide our journey toward healing grief through connection with a higher self or others. Before we begin the meditation, there will be a brief discussion to help you set the deal intention for your personal healing journey.
Many therapists who are open to spiritual healing have discovered that clients can connect with experiences beyond the present moment using EMDR and bilateral beats.
This workshop welcomes participants of all beliefs, and even if you don’t believe in the afterlife, you can still benefit. If you prefer to meditate and connect with
your wisest self, that is just as powerful as reaching out to loved ones who are no longer with us.
During this hour-long workshop, we will explore ways to communicate with your loved
ones in their healed forms or to
tap into the most healed version
of yourself. We will provide tissues, masks, bilateral beats, journals, pens, oil pastels, and art paper.
Just bring yourself and be ready
to discover which intention you need to set before embarking on this journey.bilateral beats,
journal, pen, oil pastels, and art paper provided.
Bring yourself and learn which intention is the one you need to set before diving into the journey.
Amy's Workshop
Grief Reimagined: Moving Through Loss
Participants will move beyond the simple act of missing people; unraveling the narratives we’ve built around loss and discovering new ways to process our grief.
Imagining what can you do differently to move the grief through you.
Workshop Highlights
-Learn to focus on the reasons behind your grief rather than just the act of missing someone.
-Explore the complexities of grieving past ex-partners by focusing on the emotions tied to the loss rather than romanticizing the past
Becky's Workshop
Courageous Embodied Grief
Elements of grief weave their way through our lives and our bodies as we navigate different experiences of loss.
Whether anticipated, sudden, cultural, ancestral, societal, or existential, each loss takes shape within us as we move through the cycle of life force energy and the countervortex of death and grief.
In this experiential session, participants will explore how they embody grief while recognizing and nurturing capacity within self to endure the current of grief with courage and curiosity.
Mike's workshop
Grief to Grace: A Writing Journeyl
Elements of grief weave their way through our lives and our bodies as we navigate different experiences of loss.
Whether anticipated, sudden, cultural, ancestral, societal, or existential, each loss takes shape within us as we move through the cycle of life force energy and the countervortex of death and grief.
In this experiential session, participants will explore how they embody grief while recognizing and nurturing capacity within self to endure the current of grief with courage and curiosity.
Ruth and Steve's Workshop
Breathwork for Grief:
A Healing Workshop
Grief is a profound and personal journey, often held in the body as unspoken emotions and tension.
This Breathwork for Grief workshop offers a safe, supportive space to explore and release the pain of loss through conscious breathing techniques.
Through guided breathwork, meditation, and gentle somatic practices, participants will be invited to connect with their emotions, process grief at their own pace, and find moments of relief and renewal.
This practice helps to soften the weight of sorrow, allowing for clarity, acceptance, and a deeper sense of inner peace.
Led by an experienced facilitator, the workshop will include:
• A grounding meditation to create a safe container for healing
• Instruction on breathwork techniques designed to move stagnant emotions
• A guided breathwork session with curated music to support emotional release
• Time for reflection, journaling, and optional sharing in a compassionate group setting.
No prior breathwork experience is necessary—just an open heart and a willingness to explore. Whether you are navigating recent loss or carrying grief from the past, this workshop offers a space to honor your journey and find a sense of connection and comfort.
Join us as we breathe, release, and heal—one breath at a time.
Peter's workshop
A Sound Healing Workshop for
Grief Integration
Heart Healing: Grief lives not only in the mind and heart but within the body and energetic field. In this closing workshop, participants will be guided through a transformative sound healing journey designed to support the release of held emotion, invite heart-centered renewal, and integrate the day’s deep personal work through vibration, breath, and visualization.
We’ll begin by setting personal intentions, followed by a brief introduction to how specific frequencies—like 417 Hz for releasing pain, 528 Hz for cellular healing, and 174 Hz for grounding—work with the body’s natural energy centers. Using crystal bowls tuned to 432 Hz, ocean drum, Zen singing bowls, Solfeggio tuning forks, gong, rainstick, and shamanic drum, Peter creates an immersive vibrational field that helps soothe the nervous system, restore energetic flow, and open space for gentle emotional release.
Throughout the session, you'll be invited to connect with your inner self, visualize light and healing moving through your heart and body, and rest in deep stillness. Whether you're navigating fresh loss or carrying long-held sorrow, this sound bath workshop offers a powerful way to close the retreat day with peace, grace, and vibrational support. Journals, tissues, and integration prompts will be provided. Just bring your full self—and let the sound help you carry the rest.Grief lives not only in the mind and heart but within the body and energetic field. In this closing workshop, participants will be guided through a transformative sound healing journey designed to support the release of held emotion, invite heart-centered renewal, and integrate the day’s deep personal work through vibration, breath, and visualization.
We’ll begin by setting personal intentions, followed by a brief introduction to how specific frequencies—like 417 Hz for releasing pain, 528 Hz for cellular healing, and 174 Hz for grounding—work with the body’s natural energy centers. Using crystal bowls tuned to 432 Hz, ocean drum, Zen singing bowls, Solfeggio tuning forks, gong, rainstick, and shamanic drum, Peter creates an immersive vibrational field that helps soothe the nervous system, restore energetic flow, and open space for gentle emotional release.
Throughout the session, you'll be invited to connect with your inner self, visualize light and healing moving through your heart and body, and rest in deep stillness. Whether you're navigating fresh loss or carrying long-held sorrow, this sound bath workshop offers a powerful way to close the retreat day with peace, grace, and vibrational support. Journals, tissues, and integration prompts will be provided. Just bring your full self—and let the sound help you carry the rest.
Paul's workshop
Soul Sounds workshop led by
Musical Mindset.
Soul Sounds workshop led by Musical Mindset. This intimate session features an intuitive acoustic sound healing set that celebrates the beauty of feeling what is alive within us.
Through the vibrant tones of the didgeridoo, melodies of the native flute, and soothing ukulele songs, accompanied by his overtone vocals, this sound journey will create a rich tapestry of sound that invites deep emotional connection and exploration. These instruments, steeped in ancestral traditions, serve as powerful catalysts for expression and awakening, connecting us to the wisdom of those who came before us.
This workshop is a sacred space where you can fully experience the depth of your emotions and connect to the essence of what it means to be alive.
Retreat Overview
*
Jenny's workshop
Guided Healing: Bilateral Meditation for Grief
In this workshop, we will use bilateral beats to guide our journey toward healing grief through connection with a higher self or others. Before we begin the meditation, there will be a brief discussion to help you set the
ideal intention for your personal healing journey.
Many therapists who are open to spiritual healing have discovered that clients can connect with experiences beyond the present moment using EMDR and bilateral beats.
This workshop welcomes participants of all beliefs, and even if you don’t believe in the afterlife, you can still benefit. If you prefer to meditate and connect with
your wisest self, that is just as powerful as reaching out to loved ones who are no longer with us.
During this hour-long workshop, we will explore ways to communicate with your loved
ones in their healed forms or to
tap into the most healed version
of yourself. We will provide tissues, masks, bilateral beats, journals, pens, oil pastels, and art paper.
Just bring yourself and be ready
to discover which intention you need to set before embarking on this journey.bilateral beats,
journal, pen, oil pastels, and art paper provided.
Bring yourself and learn which intention is the one you need to set before diving into the journey.
*
Mike's workshop
Grief to Grace: A Writing Journeyl
Grief is a deeply personal journey, and writing can be a powerful tool for healing. This workshop invites writers of all backgrounds to explore loss through the lens of their own spirituality—whether rooted in faith, nature, personal beliefs, or a search for meaning.
Through guided prompts, reflective exercises, and supportive discussion, participants will learn how to shape their emotions into words, creating poetry, prose, or journal entries that honor their experiences.
Whether you're processing a recent loss or revisiting old wounds, this workshop offers a safe, nurturing space to transform grief into art. No prior writing experience is necessary—just an open heart and a willingness to explore.
*
Paul's workshop
Soul Sounds workshop led by Musical Mindset. This intimate session features an intuitive acoustic sound healing set that celebrates the beauty of feeling what is alive within us.
Through the vibrant tones of the didgeridoo, melodies of the native flute, and soothing ukulele songs, accompanied by his overtone vocals, this sound journey will create a rich tapestry of sound that invites deep emotional connection and exploration. These instruments, steeped in ancestral traditions, serve as powerful catalysts for expression and awakening, connecting us to the wisdom of those who came before us.
This workshop is a sacred space where you can fully experience the depth of your emotions and connect to the essence of what it means to be alive.
*
Amy's Workshop
Grief Reimagined: Moving Through Loss
Participants will move beyond the simple act of missing people; unraveling the narratives we’ve built around loss and discovering new ways to process our grief.
Imagining what can you do differently to move the grief through you.
Workshop Highlights
-Learn to focus on the reasons behind your grief rather than just the act of missing someone.
-Explore the complexities of grieving past ex-partners by focusing on the emotions tied
to the loss rather than romanticizing the past
*
Becky's Workshop
Courageous Embodied Grief
Elements of grief weave their way through our lives and our bodies as we navigate different experiences of loss.
Whether anticipated, sudden, cultural, ancestral, societal, or existential, each loss takes shape within us as we move through the cycle of life force energy and the countervortex of death and grief.
In this experiential session, participants will explore how they embody grief while recognizing and nurturing capacity within self to endure the current of grief with courage and curiosity.
*
Ruth and Steve's Workshop
Breathwork for Grief:
A Healing Workshop
Grief is a profound and personal journey, often held in the body as unspoken emotions and tension.
This Breathwork for Grief workshop offers a safe, supportive space to explore and release the pain of loss through conscious breathing techniques.
Through guided breathwork, meditation, and gentle somatic practices, participants will be invited to connect with their emotions, process grief at their own pace, and find moments of relief and renewal.
This practice helps to soften the weight of sorrow, allowing for clarity, acceptance, and a deeper sense of inner peace.
Led by an experienced facilitator, the workshop will include:
• A grounding meditation to create a safe container for healing
• Instruction on breathwork techniques designed to move stagnant emotions
• A guided breathwork session with curated music to support emotional release
• Time for reflection, journaling, and optional sharing in a compassionate group setting.
No prior breathwork experience is necessary—just an open heart and a willingness to explore. Whether you are navigating recent loss or carrying grief from the past, this workshop offers a space to honor your journey and find a sense of connection and comfort.
Join us as we breathe, release, and heal—one breath at a time.
*
Peter’s Workshop
A Sound Healing Workshop
for Grief Integration
Heart Healing: Grief lives not only in the mind and heart but within the body and energetic field. In this closing workshop, participants will be guided through a transformative sound healing journey designed to support the release of held emotion, invite heart-centered renewal, and integrate the day’s deep personal work through vibration, breath, and visualization.
We’ll begin by setting personal intentions, followed by a brief introduction to how specific frequencies—like 417 Hz for releasing pain, 528 Hz for cellular healing, and 174 Hz for grounding—work with the body’s natural energy centers. Using crystal bowls tuned to 432 Hz, ocean drum, Zen singing bowls, Solfeggio tuning forks, gong, rainstick, and shamanic drum, Peter creates an immersive vibrational field that helps soothe the nervous system, restore energetic flow, and open space for gentle emotional release.
Throughout the session, you'll be invited to connect with your inner self, visualize light and healing moving through your heart and body, and rest in deep stillness. Whether you're navigating fresh loss or carrying long-held sorrow, this sound bath workshop offers a powerful way to close the retreat day with peace, grace, and vibrational support. Journals, tissues, and integration prompts will be provided. Just bring your full self—and let the sound help you carry the rest.Grief lives not only in the mind and heart but within the body and energetic field. In this closing workshop, participants will be guided through a transformative sound healing journey designed to support the release of held emotion, invite heart-centered renewal, and integrate the day’s deep personal work through vibration, breath, and visualization.
We’ll begin by setting personal intentions, followed by a brief introduction to how specific frequencies—like 417 Hz for releasing pain, 528 Hz for cellular healing, and 174 Hz for grounding—work with the body’s natural energy centers. Using crystal bowls tuned to 432 Hz, ocean drum, Zen singing bowls, Solfeggio tuning forks, gong, rainstick, and shamanic drum, Peter creates an immersive vibrational field that helps soothe the nervous system, restore energetic flow, and open space for gentle emotional release.
Throughout the session, you'll be invited to connect with your inner self, visualize light and healing moving through your heart and body, and rest in deep stillness. Whether you're navigating fresh loss or carrying long-held sorrow, this sound bath workshop offers a powerful way to close the retreat day with peace, grace, and vibrational support. Journals, tissues, and integration prompts will be provided. Just bring your full self—and let the sound help you carry the rest.
Your healing team
Together, Jenny and Amy create a nurturing space for self-exploration and
healing, ensuring that your experience at the Healing Retreat is both enriching
and transformative. Embrace this opportunity to heal through art, collaboration,
and the wisdom of experienced therapists.
Secure your spot and be part of a journey that promises laughter,
learning, and lasting change. 🌱
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Jenny Korotko, ATR, LCPC, SEP
Trauma, Somatic & Art Therapist
Join Jenny as she guides you through transformative workshops designed to process and heal childhood wounds.
With her expertise in art therapy, compassion inquiry, and somatic experiencing therapy, Jenny will help you uncover and reshape accidental core beliefs, leading to profound personal growth.
Becky Carter, LCPC
Trauma/ Somatic Therapist
Becky Carter is a Licensed Trauma Therapist at Family Resilience Group in Arlington Heights, IL, with over two decades of experience in helping individuals from diverse backgrounds heal relational trauma.
Trained in Somatic Experiencing and Transformative Touch Therapy, she specializes in complex trauma, dissociation, and sexual abuse. As a biracial, cisgender, transracially adopted female with West African and Sicilian ancestry, Becky has a particular interest in racial trauma, adoption, racial identity, and intergenerational trauma.
She is an LGBTQIA2S+ affirming therapist who facilitates groups for survivors of sexual trauma and offers services for organizations, consultations, and small group discussions.
In her free time, Becky enjoys blogging and poetry
Amy Hahn, ATR, LPC
Art Therapist & Counselor
Amy brings her art therapy acumen to help
you confront and tame your ‘belly monster’.
Her workshops offer creative strategies for engaging with your inner challenges, and processing grief providing you with tools to foster healing and integrate wellness practices into your everyday life.
Mighty Mike McGee
Author & Poet
Mighty Mike McGee is a well-traveled stand-up poet from downtown San José. He’s toured his poetry and humor approximately one million miles throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
McGee has appeared on CBC, NPR, and HBO's Def Poetry Jam. McGee was appointed Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County for 2018 & 2019. He produces and hosts events all over San José. For the last two decades, McGee has been a proud poetry teacher to thousands of students throughout the Santa Clara Valley and beyond.
See mike here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHpYxVb58Y8
Co-Founders
Living Well Psychotherapy, Evanston IL
Steve Thorpe, LCPC and Ruth, LPC are
a married couple who bring their
combined expertise to their workshops.
Steve, a licensed Professional Counselor specializing in individual, couples, and family therapy, integrates traditional psychotherapy with various evidence-based practices such as EMDR, Hypnotherapy, and Somatic work. Ruth,
a mental health professional with a
focus on wellness, uses a body-based approach to help clients unlock trauma and stuck emotions.
Together, they create a holistic and transformative space for healing, drawing on their extensive experience and
passion for personal growth, human potential, and sustainability.
www.livingwellpsychotherapy.com
Peter Canellis,
Sound Healing Specialist
Peter is the founder of Saints and Angels Healing Through Sound in Chicago, where he creates immersive sound healing experiences that help people reconnect to their bodies, release emotional blocks, and return to a state of peace and balance.
His journey into sound healing began during a time of deep personal crisis, when his partner became critically ill and Peter himself was diagnosed with cancer. Through this profound experience, Peter discovered the powerful intersection of sound, faith, and intention—and has since dedicated his life to helping others access their own healing through vibrational resonance.
Peter’s sessions are infused with the frequencies of crystal singing bowls, tuning forks, gongs, shamanic drums, and angelic invocations, paired with guided meditations and teachings that invite participants to connect to the divine within. He specializes in autoimmune and cancer work, grief work, trauma release, nervous system regulation, and chakra balancing, and works with clients of all ages in private, group, and corporate settings. Whether in his stunning, soundproofed Chicago studio or at a community event, Peter’s work is always guided by love, truth, intention and an unwavering commitment to the healing potential within us all.
Paul Grosso, Musical Mindset
Apostole (Paul) Grosso aka Musical Mindset
a multi-talented musician and sound healer who combines the power of live looping with a diverse range of instruments and genres. Based in Chicago and with a background rooted in Greek culture, Paul began his musical journey at a young age, mastering the darbuka and incorporating his upbringing sounds into his unique compositions. From native flute to jar harp, harmonica, didgeridoo, and his own vocals, Paul creates an immersive sound healing experience for each individual.
As a sound healer, ceremony facilitator, and advocate for personal growth, he uses his raw expression and authenticity to guide others on their transformative journeys. For Paul, music is not just a form of artistic expression; it is a reflection of his own experiences and a means to inspire and connect with others.
Through his offerings, he aims to encourage individuals to authentically express themselves and embrace their own unique path. Prepare to be captivated by Paul Grosso, aka Musical Mindset, as he takes you on a musical and movement journey unlike any other.
