Level 1
Weekend of Recovery
Hope Springs Institute

April 18-20, 2025

Taking Back Ourselves invites you to a Weekend of Recovery for Women and Nonbinary Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault.

The TBO Weekend will be held April 18-20, 2025 at the incredible Hope Springs Institute in Peebles, Ohio. In our many years of retreat and conference experiences, Hope Springs has been the best space we have found to meet the needs of survivors’ restoration and recovery. Hope Springs creates the environment and safety for survivors to do deep, life-changing work.   

Each weekend will accommodate a maximum of 25 participants and 6 facilitators. This ratio of specialty facilitators to participants in small groups is a powerful adjunct to recovery. Each member of the TBO team brings decades of experience and skill with survivors of trauma, utilizing the same clinical boundaries and code of ethics as adopted by the American Psychological Association. The Weekend strengthens participants' ongoing recovery work with individual and/or group psychotherapy, twelve step programs, and spiritual work, and is not meant to be a substitute for the participants' local support systems that are consistent with their own recovery.

Participants will learn and implement tools for inner and outer safety, tell their story and be heard—with the power of community—and create a new template for recovery that will continue long after the weekend.

The Taking Back Ourselves Weekend is designed with profound respect and attention to not only what is comfortable and safe, but also what is most empowering. The facilitator team utilize mindfulness, bodywork, music, art, authentic movement, and empowerment—modalities in healing not often available to this degree in traditional talk therapy or recovery venues. It will be an opportunity for survivors to find the places in themselves that seem immovable in recovery, and to embrace their strength and sense of aliveness as survivors. 

For a Taking Back Ourselves Weekend to take place, it will need to be affordable and viable to attend. We know that women typically spend less and engage far fewer resources when it comes to self-care. They often spend their money on their children or families before they commit to their own recovery needs.  This is especially true for women struggling below the poverty line, on reservations, or in violent or alcoholic households.  We wish to provide a space for women, no matter where they are from, to create a vibrant and strong community of healing. 

There are deep scholarships available to women who cannot afford the tuition, as well as ways to find support for travel. The monies received are spent on the provision of service, small stipends and modest travel expenses for the facilitators—but primarily for tuition scholarships for those in need. It is critical for women to be able to afford to give a Weekend like this to themselves. Creating the resources to go on a Weekend is an empowering part of the process.  It is a potent step in the journey of recovery. 

When you apply:

You will be contacted by one of our TBO facilitators for a pre-Weekend interview. They will help assess what you need to feel safe and comfortable as you participate on a Weekend, about your hopes and goals, and what brought you to applying for TBO.  

During that interview, we assess if this is the right Weekend for you. It is important for you to know that no one with a sex offender history can apply. If this is a part of your story, we will be happy to help you find the right resources for you.

The interview will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions and get a feeling for what’s ahead. If you are in therapy, you will be asked to give your therapist the attached document to sign as a letter of support. As the Weekend of Recovery draws closer, you will hear from us about how to prepare for the Weekend, as well as information about transportation and ride shares. 

The interview is an essential part of the process. We ask that you not make travel arrangements until you have the interview.

When you come to the Weekend:

It is a daunting experience to walk into a room full of strangers, virtual or in person, much less into a weekend like this. One of the most inspiring things we hear from participants is how scary it was to even sign up and come—and how incredible it was to meet incredible women on that first day and realize that they were not alone. The women who come to Taking Back Ourselves are from all walks of life. They have come through so very much to be there. It is an extraordinary experience to be in the company of courageous and empowered women.

The most important thing you can do is to establish as a community what it means to be safe with others and within yourself. Participants utilize mindfulness, body work, movement, art, journaling, and really great music to learn some new skills that can help you feel safer and more grounded as you continue to work on your recovery. Women also have a chance to tell the story of the abuse with safety and the support they have always deserved.

They have a chance to take steps to remove some of the blocks that may be in their way of making additional progress.

Women are always surprised how much they laugh, how much they share, and how deeply satisfying it is for them to feel safe enough to authentic—for some it is the first time they have ever felt free enough to be themselves.

On the last day of the Weekend, the TBO community prepares to leave with all the tools participants have learned throughout the weekend. Much may have changed for the participants, but those around us are still the same. So, this segment is vitally important as participants go back to their families, loved ones and communities to continue on in their lives.

Participants are asked to commit to be at Hope Springs from 1pm on Friday April 18 until 3pm Sunday afternoon, April 20. In respect for the safety and community, it is essential that we have this boundary and begin together as a community. Because Hope Springs is approximately 2 hours from Columbus and 1 ½ hours from Cinncinati, participants are asked to take this into consideration when making their travel arrangements. There are modestly priced hotels and motels by the airports and within a short distance from Peebles, Ohio, if you need or wish to stay the night before the weekend or Sunday evening.  We will arrange ride shares or transportation from Columbus or Cincinnati airports for participants.

After the Weekend:

Alumni join the vibrant family of TBO and build a support network once they participate in a weekend. They have the opportunity to keep the fire burning and to continue to grow in a strong community of empowered women connected to one another and to themselves in new and vibrant ways. Alumni of a Weekend of Recovery can access monthly offerings of yoga, somatic work, art, and join the remarkable community of connection of TBO. 

Paying for a Weekend:

Scholarships are offered on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested in being considered for a scholarship, please apply here before moving to the registration process.

Click here to learn more about empowering yourself to go on a Weekend.

Level 1 Weekend of Recovery

$1000 Single Room (first come, first served)

$850 Double Room

$700 Triple Room