You came to NVC to learn how to communicate with others more effectively...

 

What if the real work starts inside?

📍 October 5–8, 2026 • Ben Lomond, CA 

Reserve Your Spot Now

Bring compassion & care to old pain and persistent patterns.

Most people learn Nonviolent Communication because something "out there" isn't working -- a conversation, a relationship, or a work situation.

The basics of feelings & needs help. And yet — something still feels stuck. You keep having the same arguments. You keep getting triggered. 

If you've hit that wall there's more to let go of, and fall is the perfect time for releasing the old.

This retreat is about exploring that deeper place where true change takes root. 

Guided by NVC Certified Trainers, Kristin Masters & Mary Goyer, this multi-day retreat takes you beyond the conversational model of NVC and into the inner landscape where lasting change actually lives —  Self-Empathy, stretched to its full potential.

The Fall Season Invites Gentle Healing & Letting Go...

💬 Self-Empathy Beyond the Basics

Learn to bring compassion to all that's underneath feelings and needs — the recurring patterns, the stuck stories, and chronically unmet needs. We'll unpack Self-Empathy as a full practice, not just a step in a process.

🔁 Breaking the Patterns That Keep Repeating

Why do the same dynamics keep showing up — in various relationships and situations? We'll work with the inner patterns that fuel our outer ones, offer empowering lens shifts. 

🔥 Triggers and What They're Really About

A trigger isn't just a problem to manage — it's information. We'll learn to slow down, get curious about what's firing, and meet ourselves with something other than shame.

🧠 Working with Small "t" and Big "T" Trauma

We'll gently explore how NVC intersects with trauma awareness, so you can bring more compassionate and healing lens to your own history without getting swamped by it.

🛑 Over-functioning & Burnout

If you're white-knuckling life certain needs are likely at play. Learn what drives chronic over-functioning and how to replenish before hitting "empty."

🐺 Your Inner Critic

A noisy self-critic can make it hard to hear needs. We'll work directly with these voices — not to silence them, but to understand and tend what they're trying to protect.

Whole-Body Nourishment

 

🍂 Deep Practice, Real Application

This isn't a lecture or a workshop. Engage in interactive exercises, role-plays, and real-life scenarios to heal, all within a supportive community you'll fall in love with. 

🍂 Skilled Facilitation

Mary and Kristin bring years of NVC experience, clinical training, and deep personal practice to this work. You'll be held with warmth, expertise, and gentle playfulness.

🍂 Time in Nature

The redwoods do something to a person. Hikes, unstructured time, journaling on a quiet trail — it's built into the rhythm of each day.

🍂 Nourishing Meals

Wholesome meals prepared by our onsite chef, with many dietary accommodations available.

Click Here for More Details

Whole-Body Nourishment

 

🍂 Deep Practice, Real Application

This isn't a lecture or a workshop. Engage in interactive exercises, role-plays, and real-life scenarios to heal, all within a supportive community you'll fall in love with. 

🍂 Skilled Facilitation

Mary and Kristin bring years of NVC experience, clinical training, and deep personal practice to this work. You'll be held with warmth, expertise, and gentle playfulness.

🍂 Time in Nature

The redwoods do something to a person. Hikes, unstructured time, journaling on a quiet trail — it's built into the rhythm of each day.

🍂 Nourishing Meals

Wholesome meals prepared by our onsite chef, with many dietary accommodations available.

Words from Past Participants

Kristin and Mary are the best! Such a dynamic duo. 100% recommend.
— Shawn Flowers
I saw community in a whole new light... an inspiring and connecting week.
— JoDell Davidson
I built warm relationships, felt gently supported with playful, attuned leadership... and the meals were delicious.
— Kara Stella
A space for authentic vulnerability, learning, and genuine healing... lots of laughter, too!
— Lisa J. Arthur
Kristin and Mary share deep NVC wisdom and practices in a way that is very warm + supportive in working with growth edges.
— Cecilia Kremer
This was the most heartwarming group experience you might find yourself in.
— Lucie B.
Register now

Choose from these accommodation options:

 

We’re committed to making this retreat as accessible as possible. We have two "work-exchange" spots (for $550 reduced rate). Email us directly for info.

Single Occupancy Rooms

$1325

  • One person per room, shared bath
  • 3 meals/day included
  • Only two available
Register Here

Double Occupancy Rooms

$900

  • Two people to a room, shared bath
  • 3 meals/day included
Register Here

BIPOC Reduced Rate - Double Occupancy

$550

  • Two people to a room, shared bath
  • 3 meals/day included
  • Offered at cost for anyone identifying as BIPOC 
Register Here

Camping Pass

$600

  • Camp on the quiet, gorgeous land at Quaker Center
  • Use showers and onsite facilities
  • 3 meals/day 
Register Here

Commuters Pass

$550

  • Stay offsite and join for all group programming
  • 2 meals/day included (no breakfast)
Register Here

 The inner work is where you start really getting traction with NVC. But you don't have to do it alone. Let us help you. 

Spaces are limited — don't wait to reserve yours.

❤️ With love,

Mary & Kristin

Kristin Masters

NVC Certified Trainer since 2010

Kristin came to NVC in 1994, working with Jean Morrison in Alternatives to Violence programs at San Quentin — and realized its full power when it saved her marriage in 2001. She's been all in ever since.

She brings attunement, depth, and a rare capacity to hold both grief and joy in the same room. One of her particular gifts — and passions — is working at the intersection of grief and gratitude, believing we're meant to carry heartbreak and celebration in community, not alone. Her facilitation draws on many models, with NVC as root and guiding sun.

Kristin creates brave spaces where people feel genuinely seen, whether in learning environments, conflict, or personal healing. She relates to even the most serious of matters with what collaborators describe as "attuned play and creativity" — you'll often find her singing, making art, or listening for what the mycelial network beneath our feet already knows about belonging.

Mary Goyer

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NVC Certified Trainer ¡ Holistic Counselor

Mary has spent her career at the intersection of leadership development, trauma healing, and Nonviolent Communication — working with educators, executives, and teams in high-impact organizations who are ready to do the deeper work.

She draws on her training in Marriage & Family Therapy, mindfulness, and somatics to create the conditions where real growth happens: not just skill-building, but the kind of inner shift that changes how people show up in every room they walk into.

Her facilitation style is direct, warm, and participatory — equally at home with a small team navigating a hard season or a large organization building a new culture. She co-owns GROKtheWorld, a training company spreading NVC tools internationally through games, books, and workshop materials.

Step into a new way of communicating, healing, and relating.

Spaces fill quickly. Don’t wait to reserve your spot.

Register now

❤️ With love,
Mary & Kristin